It was with some trepidation that we glumly left the hotel looking for somewhere to eat. During the course of the day we had managed to visit most of the surrounding barrios and, as we noted, we were largely unimpressed. By process of elimination, we decided to head out to the west of the city centre towards La Latina in pursuit of some food.
We made our way over and decided to settle for Casa Lucas, as it had been recommended in our Lonely Planet book, and because the gang of Germans behind us had gone on somewhere else and we didn’t want to risk bumping into them. The whole atmosphere of this area was decidedly different. It was much more relaxed, we heard less English being spoken and much less English signage too. The streets were quite busy and full of madrileños out for a bite and a drink. It was much better already.
We liked Casa Lucas a lot. We went in and sat at the bar, and we were impressed with the good variety of wine available. A glass of Rioja and a swatch at the very adventurous menu later, Gill opted for pan-fried chicken in soy sauce on a bed of toast and caramelised onions, topped off with sweetcorn mousse. I had salt cod in an aubergine stew with a cheese topping. Both were absolutely delightful. We stayed and ate, then when we left, we passed Casa Lucio next door. It turns out that that’s the one the guide recommended and the place where we went wasn’t in there at all – a real victory for serendipity!
We were really taken by the area, so we decided to move on, and get wellied in the various establishments that lined the street. Imagine our delight to find that the tradition of tapas is alive and well in Madrid. We had a variety of wines and tapas in a host of places, most notably a bar specialising in food from Extremadura, a dustbowl in Spain’s southwest, where we got wine in tumblers and some excellent chorizo, and another place that specialised in food and drink from the Canary Islands. We’d never even heard of Canarian wine before, which is a shame, because it was absolutely excellent, if a bit pricey (€3.80 a pop!). The hostess in that place also gave us a Canarian honey rum on the house as well, which was delicious also.
By this point, Gill was absolutely canned, so we headed off to the Basque place across the road for a Pacharán before rolling up the road. That place was a bit of a shithole, truth be told, and the barmaid was a bit up-herself (or ‘a sour-faced bitch’, depending on how you want to phrase it). But the Pacharán was a nice end to the evening.
Gill spotted a nice dress shop on the way home, that somehow seems to have wormed its way into our itenerary for the next couple of days. Joy of joys. [At time of writing, the cafeteria in the hotel has just started playing a muzak version of 'How Great Thou Art' - Hemmingway never got inspiration like this!]
Like Morrissey once sang, this night has opened my eyes. I think we both got the point of Madrid last night. It’s a city of hidden beauty, and that beauty is not to be found in its buildings, or its institutions, but more in the pubs and restaurants. It’s a city that seems to love life. We like it here now.
Great Photies!! X