Hey everyone,

I recently moved to the New York City area from Boston (actually, I'm in Stamford, CT right now but I go into the city every weekend). I just graduated from BU and now I'm working and missing my college days!

I saw this site and I thought it would be a great idea to try to meet some people that share the same interests as me. So if people from the NY/NJ/CT area are interested, maybe we could arrange a Madrid Reunion where we'd all go out for tapas and dancing. I was in Spain my junior year of college and have so many great memories and wild adventures!

Please give me some feedback guys, and hopefully we can have a noche madrilena en los EE UU.

- Bobby

Hey Man I'm into a NYC thing.
I know Nate, Annie, and Karl who would also join in.

Hey Bobby!

I'm in! Let me know when and where and I'll be there!! There was an NYC MM gathering about 1 year ago or so, and a bunch of people attended, so I'm sure we can get good attendance!

Have you been to been to Meson Galicia http://www.culinarymenus.com/mesongalicia.htm yet in Norwalk? I haven't but I have been to Pika Tapas in New Haven and it's wonderful, they're owned by the same people.

Hasta pronto y buen provecho!

-GG

I was hoping someone would plan another reunion...I couldn't make the last one. although I really wanted to .

Okay,
All we need is a place and a date.
I'm thinking last saturday in August which would be the 31st but of course...its only a suggestion.

As far as Tapas, I know one place under the 59th street bridge but its terribly expensive but its awesome.

We were at the first meeting, and would love to join you for another one. but we'll be away on August 31. One note for Spain lovers in NYC: Enrique Bunbury from Heroes de Silencio will be at Summerstage in Central Park for free on August 10.

Caminante,
It would be a shame if you can't attend.
August 31st was just a suggestion. What days would be good for you?

The 24th of August would be good (or virtually any other week but the week of the 31st.)

Vale, pues,

I'm glad to see that so many of you are already showing interest, even though I just placed this post a few days ago.

Well, I think that we should shoot for either the 17th or 24th of August. The 24th may be better just so people that don't check this site too often can see this post in time.

Again, I'm glad to see so much interest, and I'm looking forward to more feedback about when works well and maybe other possible restaurant suggestions... I'm going out of town this week but I'll check the message board on Sunday.

Ya nos veremos,
Bobby

I don't leave for Spain until the 4th! I'm in too!

And Joe Sambuca (you should know this!) -- the BEST tapas in NYC are found in the e. village, 10th st. and 1st avenue a place called XUNTA.

not only is the food/sangia spain-a-licious, but when the bill comes, you will also fall off of your seat...CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!!!


Jill

Lo siento Sevilla!

That's it!
August 24th @ 8PM? at XUNTA.
Does that sound good to the group?

I'm there!! Although you'll need to give me DETAILED DIRECTIONS on how to get there!!

Hasta pronto!
-GG

Cool GG!

Once its firmed up I'll post directions.
GG & Bobster I graduated from UB and lived in Stamford for two years. Its a groovy town. Stamford that is.

:p

Bummer! The 24th I will be out of town! I can't believe I will miss another MM get-together. Any chance of a different date? The 17th is good for me...saludos cariñosos, esperanza
Just to add ...Xunta is GREAT! It is like a little slice of Galicia here in Manhattan.

I will be there barring any unforeseen catastrophes in my life!

Hasta la vista,
jill

LOL!!!!!!!
This is so funny.
I want Esperanza to be able to join us.

Any objections to the 17th of Augusto????

It would be cool if everyone had the opportunity to attend.

The 17th is fine with me!!!

OK! 17th is even better for me!

jill

Ok great,

It seems like we amass more people every day!!! It was great to come back from Boston and see so many people interested....

Let's do the 17th of August at 8 pm at Xunta. GG, where do you need directions from?

Ok, well we got the dinner part down, how about the party afterwards? I'm new in the area so I'm up for any suggestions. I heard Webster Hall is really fun but some of you are probably more familiar with the area that I am....

Hope to hear from you all soon.

~ Bobby

Looks like we have a plan.

Granada Girl? Will you be driving or taking the Metro North?

Afterwards... hmmm....let me think about that?
Lots of good places in that neck of the woods.
Webster Hall may be tooo much.

I think we have six or so...Sevilla99...do we need reservations????

Yes, we should make reservations as early as possible. I actually went to Xunta last nite and had great sangria, tapas and even saw a brief flamenco show!

Joe Sambuca, can I leave the reservation making up to you?

jill

Sure Jill.

What I need to know is who's definetly attending this gig.

RSVP by monday August 12th.

Thanks Joe, for making the reservation for us all... My husband and I will be there...Xunta at 8pm on the 17th. Looking forward to it!!

Hi to all of you crazy Madridman Spain lovers: I haven't been posting for awhile but I still visit periodically. Anyway, after hearing from Esperanza who got my MM.com blood heating & now getting an Email from Ed (Caminante) I would like to partake in The 2nd annual NYC MM.com dinner at Xunta on the 17th. I see the great job that was done in putting this together & my compliments to the Bobster & Joe Sambuca. Looking forward to meeting ya'll next week & re meeting Caminante. By the way I will be coning with my partner Kathi.

My wife and I will be there!!! See you all then!!!

I'm glad to see all this excitement. I remember posting this topic a couple weeks ago and wondering if anyone would reply! I guess I got my answer. I'll be there as well, with a friend of mine. Joe, you're taking care of the reservations? I would say to make a reservation for 10 right now, and we can adjust it later on if need be.

See you all next weekend!

~ Bobby

So!
Here it is. I have:
1)Me= Joseph Sambuca
2)Bob & Friend
3)Jill Aka Sevilla99
4)Billy & Beloved
5)Esperanza & Beloved
6)Nate (who I'm sure has a beloved out there in the universe but for the sake of the party is solo)
8)Caminatte & Beloved
9)and I'm counting Granda Girl

So we have 12. If anyone else wants to come along let me know by 5PM Eastern time August 12th.
Gee I sound so annoying???

I'm also sure we can squeeze one or two more people if anyone else decides to come along.

This should be fun!

Okay we have two mre individuals joining us, MS. Ann O'connor and Hubby to be.
so we have 14.

BAD NEWS! NO RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED!

So maybe we should try making this thing @ 7PM start to avoid a long wait?

Xunta
174 First Ave between 10th & 11th Street
212-614-0620

BY Train
Take the 6 train to 14th Street transfer to the L train towards Brooklyn and exit on 1st Ave (or you can exit @ 14th Street and simply walk east to 1st Ave if its a nice night). Then walk downtown a few blocks to 174 first ave.

if you're driving use Yahoo maps for specific instructions but if you need help e-mail.

We should have no wait at 7pm.

Thanks Rich for setting everything up!
Looking forward to meeting all of you.

Jill

wait wait wait..

just found the damn thread!

hi all.. let me introduce myself.. been lurking around for the last couple of days..

would love to join you all!

Rori

cool Rori!
you gots the details. I'm glad you're joining us.

See you all tonite! I can't wait!

jill

Have fun everyone, with my "blessings"! I'll be there in spirit.

Saludos, MadridMan

We had such a fun time at Xunta last night.I loved getting to meet everyone. Joe Sambuca, Nate, Caminante-without his wife-, Bobster and his friend Valeria,BillySki and Kathi, Sevilla99, my husband and I were all there. We had a great place in the front of the restaurant around two large barrels...it was perfect for everyone to be able to talk. Jill-Sevilla99-suggested the stuffed aceitunas which were fabulous. We also had wonderful tortilla, luscious calamares, magnificent grilled chorizo, amazing empanada de pollo, pretty good patatas bravas, mushrooms in sherry sauce, queso manchego, shrimp wrapped in bacon...and really good bread. We had 3 jarras de sangria too! But they did not have dessert or coffee there...which was a bummer! We all wanted FLAN. But there is an italian pastry shop next door that was our second stop. We got a chance to sit next to different people and have some more great conversation. We missed Madridman!!! We toasted Madridman and Joe Sambuca mentioned that he met him in Madrid and what a wonderful guy he is( but we already knew that!) Jill( Sevilla99) took some photos which she promises to post soon. All in all it was a really fun time. Tom and I had to get back home to our kids, so we want to know where you all went afterwards...
I know we will do this again. I Loved meeting you all!!

I want to tell everyone that I had a marvelous time at the dinner. The company and food was excellent. Every Madridman party I go to I have fun. I love hearing stories and experences from others, I learn alot. I would love to do this again.
Hopefully, next time, Madridman can join us. Last night, everyone wanted to meet you, Madridman. There were only a select few of us that actually met you in-person.
See everyone later.

Hi Nate, What did you guys do after we left? And yes, MM : we missed you terribly!

Hola: Oh Yes it was a ball in NYC's East Village last night. Xunta was an outstanding choice & the food was terrific as well as the people. I must say it was alot more fun than last years get together and eating and sharing Tapas as opposed to one meal per person was a better idea. It gave a deeper sense of Community by sharing & serving each other. It was nice to see Caminante again and to finally meet Esperanza along with her personable husband Tom. I also wish our sponsor MadridMad was present but alas he was unable to attend. He certainly was represented in Spirit and some good stories were told regarding each persons impression and experiences with MM. Joe Sambuca is to be commended for his hard work putting this together and Bobster gets a "High Five" for sounding out the call for the 2nd NYC gathering.Good Luck to Seville 99 on her Brave undertaking in going to live her dream in Spain. My beloved Kathi & I were thrilled to be at The party & it was truly a Party atmosphere. Thanks to MadridMad for the treat to our Italian Sweets and we tried hard to have FLAN which was unavailable at this Tapas Bar so a vote was taken & it was unanimous that Italy was close to Spain & also a Romance Latin Country in Language & Traditions so we were not straying far from our Spain plus the Pastry shoppe was just next door.It was great to put faces to out cyber friends and swap stories & Love of Spain 1st hand. Can't wait til the next one which at least will be an annual event.

Well Esperanza, that's part of the fun- if you don't come out with us, we leave you guessing about what we did :p

Just kidding, though I do have to say that I had a great night with all of you yesterday. It was great to see such a great turnout, and sorry I was the last one there even though I organized the event! I'm not going to blame anyone for being late (Val).

I hope to organize another event soon, maybe around the end of the year or in January. Of course, you guys should definitely keep in touch on this thread and maybe we'll fix something up sooner.

Joe Sambuca (Rich), you're a funny guy, and I look forward to reading some of your pieces. Val and I had a great time with you guys afterwards. For those poor souls that couldn't join the late night forays, we went to a bar called Leopard Lounge (or something similar) and started pounding ron y colas, beers, and then tequila shots. We went to a couple more bars around, then somehow ended up in 91st Street celebrating a bartender's last night on the job. The taxi ride at 3 am was crazy too- I was discussing politics with the cabbie as he blasted his own club mix- it was like a disco on wheels.

Needless to say, last night was an adventure. Jill, sorry you had to leave early- you left right before the DJ started playing dance music!

Everyone feel free to keep in touch via this thread or you can email me at bobby@rehani.com. After a wild weekend, it's time for me to cook myself dinner and get ready for work

Besos a todos,

Bobby

It was fantastic afterwards was insane.
Xunta was a terrific choice. Not to sound melodramatic or anything, I felt truly lucky to have been in the company of such nice and beautiful people and I look forward to our next party. New York, MAdrid, Tapas, and sangria. Life is Beautiful.
Bobster you're sure one nut that made it out of the shell and I thank you and crazy Val for the hangover. Sevilla99, good luck and I'll see you in Madrid in September if not before, I'll e-mail you my details about my trip to MAdrid. Develop the pics.
Billy Ski, Esperanza you both rule. Say hi to your beloved ones . Ed, stay away from Sangia you mad man.
MAdridman, you're responsible for all this and we all thank you.
Nate next time you tell an embarrasing story about me I'll kill ya....joking

Til next time
RC

I had a great time too. BillySki, great to see you and Kathy again. Bob, Joe, Jill - great job on the organizing! Esperanza great to meet you and Tom.

Sorry I left a little early. Sounds like you guys had a great time. Maybe next time, and hopefully my beloved can join us. We're definitely going to go to Xunta sometime soon. It's about 20 minutes from home for us.

One question:

Were most of the orders Raciones or Tapas? (Just for future reference)

Hi all!

Had a great time! I promise to post the pictures when i get them developed...

I'm very excited (and much more calm) to head over to Spain now.

Hasta pronto,
Jill

I'm SO happy to know you all had such a good time in NYC. Shame about the flan but it's fine. Thanks to billy ski for taking care of that for me. I'm sure JoeSambuca was once again smartly dressed - and I thank you for putting all this together!!! .

Hope you can all do again sometime soon and can't wait to see those photos!!!

Happy-n-Proud to be a small part of your lives, MadridMan

Pictures are in!

They look great and bring back fond memories.
However, I'm having some trouble posting them. Can anyone help???

Jill

Crap!
I can't post the pic either!!!
What the freak!

I am so disappointed about the photos...it was such a fun and memorable evening! Jill, I know you are leaving in a few days, so just wanted to say "Buen viaje" and I will see you in March when I am there with my students. I am SO jealous...I wish I were going to Madrid to begin new adventures. Keep us posted. And buena suerte amiga.
un abrazo, Esperanza

Hola from Boston!

Sounds like you SpainLovers in NYC had a great time recently. I hope you get to post those pics soon, Jill, because I would love to see them! Next time we are in the city, we will definitely try Xunta.

By the way, Jill, I was in Sevilla in 99 too! Were you studying there? If so, where? I studied at the Centro Norteamericano on C/ Harinas for 2 semesters--98 and 99.

What are your plans for moving to Spain? Mucha suerte!

Saludos,

Sarita

ALRIGHT YOU LAZY PEOPLE- it's time for me to get you all motivated again :p

I was thinking that we should have a dinner at the beginning of January. I know it's early but with people checking this message board infrequently (I haven't checked it since the beginning of September!) and holidays, I figured I'd give you all a heads up.

What do you guys think? Xunta was fabulous, but maybe we can try something else out in the city... give me some feedback guys, and I'm sure we can get even more than the 15 or so people that came last time!

Hope to hear from you all soon!

Best,
Bobby