Madrid, Part 3: Eating

Let's get the main finding on the record without delay: you can eat
very well in Madrid for moderate amounts of money (perhaps we have
been conditioned by high Irish prices, and what seems cheap to us
might not seem so to others).

I still don't understand the deal with tapas. Some bars seem to charge
for them, while others put them up free of charge. If, however, you
ask for a particular tapa, you are likely to be charged for it -- and
then you might also be given a free one along with it. We enjoyed the
uncertainty of trying different bars to see what might happen. I'd buy
into the tapas tradition more readily than I'd go for the salted
peanuts or potato crisps favoured in Ireland.

Dining out was a venture into the unknown. We had no restaurant
recommendations to follow, and no great knowledge of Spanish cuisine.
We knew about paella and tortilla, and the Spanish enthusiasm for fish
but, beyond that, very little. But not to worry: there would be food,
and we would find things to suit our palates.

We have a strategy for choosing restaurants in cities we don't know.
The first criterion is that the place be busy, particularly with a
clientele that is, so far as we can guess, local. Second, the menu
posted outside should suggest to us that we might find something to
our liking. Third, we look at price: sufficient to give some modest
assurance of quality, but low enough that if the meal is disappointing
we would not too greatly regret the expenditure. Whether our method
was successful, or it just happens that food in Madrid is universally
good, we were pleased with all our meals.

We had supposed that with some knowledge of Romance languages
(reasonable French, patchy memories of school Latin) and food (we eat
every day) we would be able to make some sense of menus. Our first
foraging trip had disabused us of that idea. We could recognise a few
things, like paella and langousta, but most items were mysteries to
us. Many places had English versions of their menus, which helped
greatly, but this rarely included the "menú del dia" (menu of the
day), which generally represents much better value than the "carta".
One strategy was to use the carta as a menu phrasebook, but often the
menu del dia included dishes which were not on the carta. You might
wonder why we didn't use a phrasebook or dictionary, but we didn't
have either, and the dining adventure was so interesting that we did
not wish to spoil it.

Our suppositions about language were not totally unfounded. We managed
to decipher a few things. Emboldened by having correctly divined that
merluza was hake, I ordered cochinillo in the hope that it would prove
to be pork. The food that arrived intrigued me; it was nothing like a
pork chop or piece of pork roast, and the bones were small, like those
of an unfamiliar bird. It took me a few minutes to realise that I had
ordered suckling piglet. And very good it was.

Herself and I like fish. We wondered how we might fare in Madrid,
given the famed Spanish enthusiasm for seafood, set against the fact
that Madrid is a long way inland. Obviously, it is now easy to get
fresh fish from the port to the table quickly, but the city's culinary
tradition probably developed before railways and motorways. In the
event, we found plenty of fresh fish, but we also discovered that
there is a tradition of eating salted fish, particularly salted cod
(bacalao).

Inevitably, because we spent our time in heavily-touristed areas, most
of the places in which we ate catered for tourists. We did try to spot
those which seemed to have a local trade also (people wearing business
attire is often a good guide, and you might also see staff greeting
customers in familiar manner). Typically, restaurants which depend
mainly on tourists concentrate on processing customers and getting
their money rather than trying to ensure that people have a good
dining experience. This was generally less evident in Madrid than in
some other cities we have visited. Many of the staff seemed willing to
engage with us, despite our inability to speak Spanish. We made return
visits to some places, and it was very pleasant to be recognised and
acknowledged by staff.

But there was one restaurant which vexed us. A large placard outside
advertised a full dinner with wine for a relatively low price (I think
it was about 9 euro). When we were seated, the menus proffered did not
include the special. That leans a little towards sharp practice,
relying on the fact that some diners will not ask for the menu which
attracted them in the first instance. We are not such diners; we asked
for the special menu. Neither the food nor the wine were memorable,
but they weren't too bad, either -- what can you expect for 9 euro in
Madrid? But when the bill arrived, there was 7% added for VAT. We
didn't know enough law or Spanish to contest the charge, but I am
fairly sure that we were "done". It was the only instance we
experienced of a quoted or indicated price not being tax-inclusive.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

Following up to Padraig Breathnach

I still don't understand the deal with tapas. Some bars seem to charge
for them, while others put them up free of charge. If, however, you
ask for a particular tapa, you are likely to be charged for it -- and
then you might also be given a free one along with it. We enjoyed the
uncertainty of trying different bars to see what might happen. I'd buy
into the tapas tradition more readily than I'd go for the salted
peanuts or potato crisps favoured in Ireland.

My understanding is that you pay where the function of the place
is tapas but you often get a free one with a drink in a bar

Our suppositions about language were not totally unfounded. We managed
to decipher a few things. Emboldened by having correctly divined that
merluza was hake, I ordered cochinillo in the hope that it would prove
to be pork. The food that arrived intrigued me; it was nothing like a
pork chop or piece of pork roast, and the bones were small, like those
of an unfamiliar bird. It took me a few minutes to realise that I had
ordered suckling piglet. And very good it was.

It is isnt it. And ditto of lamb.

But there was one restaurant which vexed us. A large placard outside
advertised a full dinner with wine for a relatively low price (I think
it was about 9 euro). When we were seated, the menus proffered did not
include the special. That leans a little towards sharp practice,
relying on the fact that some diners will not ask for the menu which
attracted them in the first instance. We are not such diners; we asked
for the special menu. Neither the food nor the wine were memorable,
but they weren't too bad, either -- what can you expect for 9 euro in
Madrid? But when the bill arrived, there was 7% added for VAT. We
didn't know enough law or Spanish to contest the charge, but I am
fairly sure that we were "done". It was the only instance we
experienced of a quoted or indicated price not being tax-inclusive.

I think you are right, I dont recall IVA going on afterwards.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Following up to The Reids

I think you are right, I dont recall IVA going on afterwards.

SWMBO says the Paradores room prices are Ex IVA. Cant remember
about the menus.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Reid SWMBO is telling porkies. usually 7% is whacked on the price. For full
Parador prices for 2005 on 5 sheets of A4 open this PDF file.!
http://www.parador.es/english/tarifas/ito_eng_05.pdf

"The Reids" wrote in message
...
Following up to The Reids

I think you are right, I dont recall IVA going on afterwards.

SWMBO says the Paradores room prices are Ex IVA. Cant remember
about the menus.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can
email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a
spamtrap

Following up to Nige

Reid SWMBO is telling porkies. usually 7% is whacked on the price. For full
Parador prices for 2005 on 5 sheets of A4 open this PDF file.!

the point was, is it in quoted prices, or added after. Not is it
charged.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

"The Reids" wrote in message
...
Following up to Nige

Reid SWMBO is telling porkies. usually 7% is whacked on the price. For
full
Parador prices for 2005 on 5 sheets of A4 open this PDF file.!

the point was, is it in quoted prices, or added after. Not is it
charged.

I invariably find that Spanish hotels display a price without any IVA or
local add ons. This is because the basic room charge is always the one they
can control. Isn't this normal ? Don't you anticipate it every time?

Dining out was a venture into the unknown. We had no restaurant
recommendations to follow,

I thought I had recommended a mexican, and even found a picture of it :-)

Dining out was a venture into the unknown. We had no restaurant
recommendations to follow,

I thought I had recommended a mexican, and even found a picture of it :-)

Following up to Nige

the point was, is it in quoted prices, or added after. Not is it
charged.

I invariably find that Spanish hotels display a price without any IVA or
local add ons. This is because the basic room charge is always the one they
can control. Isn't this normal ? Don't you anticipate it every time?

I don't generally worry about it, as for menus, I cant remember.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

Padraig Breathnach schrieb:

Dining out was a venture into the unknown. We had no restaurant
recommendations to follow, and no great knowledge of Spanish cuisine.
We knew about paella and tortilla, and the Spanish enthusiasm for fish
but, beyond that, very little. But not to worry: there would be food,
and we would find things to suit our palates.

We have a strategy for choosing restaurants in cities we don't know.
The first criterion is that the place be busy, particularly with a
clientele that is, so far as we can guess, local. Second, the menu
posted outside should suggest to us that we might find something to
our liking.

Inevitably, because we spent our time in heavily-touristed areas, most
of the places in which we ate catered for tourists.

That was my question: Were you able to find restaurants with English
menues and many local customers?

Regards, ULF