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Thursday, June 28, 2018

MENU's Iberian Exploit 14. Madrid

Our final stop in Spain was Madrid and we had no idea how much this city had grown. Put it in the same bracket as London and New York - it is vast. We had to exit the motorway half an hour before we even saw the City and entered a rather daunting series of ring roads to get to our AirBnB, which was on the other side of the city. We had purposely booked somewhere on the outskirts as it had good rail connections to the city and we had no desire to drive into the centre. Probably one of the nicest places we booked on our tour, it was a small apartment attached to a large house with a kitchen, diner, lounge, bedroom and our own sheltered courtyard. It was a sunny courtyard some of the time, as we were still being plagued by Europe's very wet and chilly Spring! The owners are English and Dutch, so communication was no problem and they were very friendly and helpful. They have lived in Spain for many years

The comfortable lounge area. We had TVs in most of the places we stayed in,
but rarely turned them on except to see the news

Our courtyard

We always like to sit outside, especially in the evening; its a South African thing

Our bedroom had the bathroom en suite

Once we had checked in we needed lunch, so we got the car and went exploring only to find
that there were three restaurants 250 meters away! We decided to sample one of them.
The one with free parking got our business

Its a vast space, we think often used for functions and we were rather thankful
that Spain eats lunch later. Many business people came for lunch

The really reasonable lunch menu. By now we were able to understand most of it,
having tried most of these dishes on our journey

Clams with beans, full of salty sea flavours; soft white beans,
rich tomato sauce and lots of small clams in their shells

Prawns from the Wok made us realise how much we were missing the Asian flavours
that are so much part of our normal diet. It came with sliced peppers, courgettes,
onions and eight mini shrimps in a well flavoured sauce which might have benefited
from a hint of chilli, but that's not something we found much in Spain

John chose the chicken fillet, served with very good chips, The split open chicken breast was
cooked a la Parrilla (on the grill) and well flavoured with lemon, herbs, olive oil and garlic

Lynne chose the Escalopines of steak in the Pedro Ximenez sauce, also with chips.
The sauce was redolent with the sherry flavours. The cut was cheaper, probably
blade or skirt steak, and so a little tough, but full of meaty flavour

Time for Postres (afters). The Tarta de la Casa,
layers of orange custard and cream between pastry for John

And a classic rice pudding, topped with cinnamon for Lynne (which John would rather die than eat - bad boarding school memories!). Not too heavy, with good creamy texture

We treated ourselves to a bottle of ubiquitous Verdejo, the house wine,
which went very well with the lunch and had no faults

The snow topped Sierras surrounding Madrid spoke to the distinct chill in the air

The next morning we took a fast train the four stops into
the centre of Madrid and got out at the Plaza del Sol

It's a city full of life and fun. These crazy acrobats were getting money in the hat

A place of Ham, the Museo del Jamon has lots of quick snacks should you need one

Outside, the menu. Sadly, we'd had a large breakfast of wonderful
chocolate croissants from Lidl, so were not tempted at this early hour

The Plaza Mayor is very popular for lunch and we did look at some of the restaurants but, as with any major tourist venue, they were very expensive and overrated. We could have eaten Paella, but saw two young Englishmen eating some and asked them what it was like. Very average, came the answer, as they pushed away their half finished plates, which each cost €25

We set off to explore Madrid

Another view of Plaza Mayor. Our landlady had given us a map and a route so we
could try to do all the normal tourist things in one day. It was quite a mission

Tourists enjoying the sun at the fountain

Exiting the Plaza onto a side street

Lots more restaurants; this is a well known tourist restaurant,
rather pricy for our end of holiday budget

And we found, we must admit by accident, the longest operating restaurant in the world,
according to the Guinness Book of Records. Botin has been open since 1725.
Lots of tourist groups were going in and it did look charming

until we saw the menu. It looked good, but the prices were scary; even the menu of the house
which was about three times the price of our normal lunches

And round another corner a Mercado

It was just about to close for lunch; we ran in and explored quickly

We so wish we could do this in Africa, but we just don't get it right.
All that is sold is food for purchasing and taking home to cook

So fresh and tempting

Oh, that seafood. As we have said many times before, if only Checkers
fish counter could look an eighth as attractive and as fresh as this

Fresh from the sea (over 300 Km away), glistening and tempting

Baby lamb

The shelves at the back remind us of what we used to sell at Main Ingredient

Look at that tuna at the back of the counter, not black and bloody
but pink and fresh - and look at the variety

Fresh fruit from all over the world. No, not from Hermanus

Lynne was tempted by this stall and bought two enormous artichokes for our supper

How could you not be tempted and they cost €3 for the two

Real tomatoes, with amazing flavour

Back down a side street, it was only half an hour to siesta time and we have to admit that
at this point we were thoroughly turned around and lost, which had consequences

It was nearly 3 and we needed some lunch. This sounded tempting.
Remember the name of this "restaurant" bar at your peril

We were ushered down to an empty basement room

and ordered one of our favourite local beers

The menu from which we ordered

A goodish salmorejo with iron-like jamon

Four spears of fresh white asparagus soaked in vinaigrette and ruined, then buried under a salsa
of green and black olives, red and green pimento, off-putting raw onion and some salad

And the worst dishes we had on our entire trip. We cannot believe that a restaurant would have the gall to serve these. The pork had been hacked into pieces and then cooked to death. Most of it was bone, or gristle or dried out and inedible. There were only two pieces on the plate that were edible. Fried eggs and bad chips with deep fried peppers do not a lunch make

John's was, if anything, worse. These overcooked bits of fatty beef rib would have
made good dog food. We think both meat dishes were cooked in a deep fat fryer.
He does not do fat or bone, so he ate the chips

Dessert was called chocolate brownies, and was wet and grainy

Apple tart with the crust burnt and a soggy bottom. The apples were OK but nothing else was!

At least it was quite cheap! Sometimes you get less you pay for, and on this occasion we certainly did. The food on this trip has mostly been good value and edible. This was not

We were heading for the Royal Palace and could see the mountains in the distance

We passed a famous Flamenco restaurant and all the chefs were on the other side of the road
having their break before the evening service started. They looked a jolly bunch

Crossing the viaduct on the way to the Palace

Voracious pigeons fighting over a bread roll

The Royal Palace of Madrid, another with architectural references to Buckingham Palace

The side entrance to the Cathedral, which is next to the Palace

Buskers are welcomed

The other side of the palace with the gardens

and John made a return trip after 47 years to the famous statue of the Man of La Mancha,
part of the Monumento Cervantes in the Plaza de España

which is rather dominated by the huge building behind it

And finally on our list of sights to see for the day, the Temple of Debod presented in 1968 by Egypt to Spain in gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the Abu Simbel temples from being buried beneath the waters of the Aswan dam

Sadly for us, it was closed for renovations. We had walked miles and kilometres that day and now
we discovered that we had get almost right across the city to a train station. As we didn't have the necessary travel pass for the metro, we had to walk a long way, and then take two buses before we finally found a station we could use. How to lose 6 kilos on holiday, walk

We had a lazy morning, the end was nearing and we were becoming a little weary of travel. We then went to another local restaurant in our area, which was Fuencarral. We began with a refreshing ale. They brought us a plate of rather sad deep fried balls and turnovers with almost nothing inside them, obviously bought in. We thought this was one of our courses, but it was a free tapas

Finally, our first courses arrived. And these were really delicious. Really good tomatoes
hollowed out and stuffed with tuna then capped with a good topping of baked cheese

Then the crisp croquettes filled with what tasted like a mixture
of butternut and sweet potato with some salad leaves

John's fish was covered with a gremolata of parsley,
garlic and grated lemon and served with a small salad

Lynne had a huge crumbed escalope dusted with grated cheese and accompanied by crisp chips.
No slap chips in Spain. It was more of a Vienna Schnitzel than the advertised Milanese

We whiled away a pleasant hour having lunch in the sun

Then it was time to hop on a train and head for the Prado. There is lots of restoration

going on in Madrid and this building is the Ayuntamiento de Madrid, the top-tier

administrative and governing body of the municipality of Madrid, aka City Hall.

It is not all that it seems. The outside is a fabric facade, giving an impression of

what it does or will look like when they have finished the work behind the 'curtains'

An amusing way to fool people. In order to get your bar to move,
you have to pedal as you drink. Very thirsty work

A special tip if you are heading for Madrid. If you turn up at 5 and get into the queue, they open the Prado museum at 6 for two hours each evening free of charge to 500 people. You might have to wait an hour but not more and queueing beneath the trees is quite pleasant. Just take hats and water. You can try to turn up later, but the queue is long and you might miss the cut off

It is a most impressive building

The 16th Century San Jerónimo del Real Church, next to the Prado

We got our free tickets and entered at 6

We had marked on the programme the pictures we most wanted to see, like this El Greco and the Goya collection and had to really motor through the museum to see most of those. It is huge, just

like the Louvre, make a plan beforehand or you will wander aimlessly. (Strictly speaking you are

not allowed to take photos....John sneaked this one with his phone)

Coming out at 8 pm, having seen Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Goya's Naked & Clothed Majas, Tiepolo,

El Greco and Velasquez as well as some new to us, we were quite Pieta'd out and exhausted

A fountain outside the Prado in lovely twilight

A huge Scottish thistle on the rather wild path to the station

and the traffic doesn't stop

We sorted out which track we were supposed to be on

and arrived back in our neighbourhood to see a lovely sunset

Spending the last evening working on our laptops and Kindle with another refreshing ale
for John and a glass of wine for Lynne. We loved Madrid and would like to return one day

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Iona tasting before supper at Hussar Grill, Camps Bay

At one of the recent trade wine tastings we met the manager of the Camps Bay Hussar Grill and he invited us to one of their regular Monday evening guided wine tastings - a different wine farm presents the tasting each week. You can phone and ask to attend should you be in the area. They start at 6.30 and you need to book. They can only accommodate 35 people. Our invitation was also for dinner afterwards. The Hussar Grill is up Camps Bay Drive, and not on the sea front

We were welcomed at the bar with a glass of Miss Molly bubbly

They have two draught beers from Darling Brewery, Rogue Pony Pale Ale and Blood Serpent dry hopped Lager, and cold Castle Lite on draught. A good collection of spirits and the two barmen, who don't drink,can make good cocktails

The restaurant is quite cavernous with several different areas

There are lots of tables, some with good views

It is a popular local haunt. Hussar Grill which was started in 1964, has several branches and franchises in South Africa and one in Zambia

They are committed to using only Class-A grain-fed beef and game

Chef Johann van der Spuy welcomed us and chatted for a while about the restaurant and his food and later guided us through our choices from the menu for dinner

The Specials Menu

They have an impressive and extensive wine list (this is just some of it) which has won a Diners Club Platinum Award, but if you bring your own wine to drink, they do not charge corkage. This is quite an incentive if you have a collection of good wines

Time to begin the free guided wine tasting. This week it was Iona from the Elgin valley and our guide was Juliette Collins, their Sales and Marketing Manager who has been with the farm for 5 years. Werner Muller is the winemaker. These tastings can be for up to 35 people, so if you are interested in attending, contact the Camps Bay Hussar Grill

These are the wines we tasted. We began with their classic cool climate Sauvignon Blanc, full of green fig leaves, herbs and elderflowers; it is full on the palate, crisp and long and refreshing with minerality, again with those classic Sauvignon Blanc flavours. One of our top Sauvignons, this scores very highly with overseas wine writers. The vineyard is on the top of their hill and is cooled by sea breezes daily. Then the Iona 2016 Chardonnay with vanilla wood, rich golden fruit and only 15% new oak. The fruit on the palate is ripe peaches and pears with melons, and lemons adding the counterpoint, the wine has warmth and long flavours with good complexity and minerality. Winemaker Werner is more gentle than most in his treatment of the Chardonnay and it shows

Some snacks for each table, good olives, home made crisps

... and some biltong; all went well with the wines

Heads down for tasting the wine. Next came the Mr P Pinot Noir, a reasonably priced entry level Pinot for the market. Vanillins, roses, lovely soft red berries on the nose, tight red fruit on the palate which opens out in the glass. Then the Solace 2015 Solace Syrah from a single biodynamic vineyard where Rozy Gunn seeks solace. No commercial yeast is used, just a natural ferment and no sulphur is added. It is spicy and so attractive on the nose with incense wood and on the palate with sweet, spicy berry fruit. Then finally the One Man Band blend of Shiraz 57%, Merlot 15%, Cabernet Sauvignon 9%, Petit Verdot 9%, Mataro 7%, Viognier 3%, Perfume and fruit leaps out of the glass at you, cassis and cherries on the nose and the palate which is rich. full and complex with some dry tannins showing quality. Well worth buying. A very good tasting

We were delighted to be given the remains of the Solace to enjoy with our supper

The waitress brings this platter of the meat on offer that evening to each table so you can choose which you would like, what size and how you would like it cooked

Our starter of pork belly had a dark sticky sauce with orange and spices with a little chilli and some rather chewy crackling

An enormous lamb shank in a rich mirepoix and tomato based sauce nearly sank Lynne (she had asked for a small one) and she needed a doggie bag to take the left-over home to enjoy the following day (We do not have a dog, we do eat what we take home). The meat was tender and falling off the bone

John had the steak that Chef recommended, the T Bone rib steak, with most of the fat rendered off specially for him but still pink inside. The phenomenal chips were triple cooked and a couple were stolen by Lynne

We shared a dish of butternut and, hurray, freshly made iron rich creamed spinach - thankfully, no kale

Those chips, dusted with flaked salt, were glassy crisp on the outside and fluffy inside

When they told us we were having dessert, we blanched, being so satisfied already, but were utterly charmed by these small glasses of chocolate vodka topped with cream. Just right for the end of a large and satisfying meal. Thank you Chef Johann

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