Madrid: Asturianos, Amazing Seafood and Cheese Flan

The other night, sick of packing, we got hungry and decided we were not going to cook. First, we called a Korean restaurant we’d heard good things about (the restaurant is appropriately called Korea); they did not have any tables open for that night. So we decided to go out for some tapas instead. It was raining steadily, but it is hard to park in Madrid, so instead of driving (we’re borrowing a car from a friend who’s out of the country), we took the metro.

The place we went to, Asturianos, is an unassuming little bar with four tables for drinks and tapas and a dining room in the back, out of sight, for more formal dining. We took one of the tables by the bar. As the name implies, most of the food in this restaurant is from the region of Asturias, in the north of Spain. Asturias is a great place to eat, known for abundant fresh seafood, bean stews (such as fabada and fabes con almejes, the former a hearty dish of white beans, chorizo and other goodies and the latter, slightly lighter, made of fava beans and clams), and excellent dairy products including great cheese, such as Cabrales. We took a vacation to Asturias in 2008 and loved it: in addition to the insanely good food (and do you need any more reason to go?), it is green, lush, full of orchards, hills, cows, charming architecture and dramatic cliffs looking out over the Cantabrian sea.

Asturianos has a wine list of over 300 wines, including several by the glass. I ordered a glass of Tres Patas, a young red from the Mentrida region, in the northern part of the Toledo province. This wine was a mix of garnacha and syrah grapes, and it was excellent. Bryan had a caña. With our drinks, they brought us some slices of chorizo, which was pungent and full of pimenton, along with finger-sized bread sticks.

We ordered two raciones: gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic) with piquillo peppers, and berberechos with garlic and parsley. Berberechos are smallish clams with pretty crinkled white and brown shells. The gambas were very tasty, fresh, full of garlic and made with quality olive oil, with pieces of piquillo peppers on the edges of the plate as decoration. We dipped into the sauce with pieces of big country bread they gave us, so there was nothing left at all on the plate. We were too hungry to take the time to photograph the plate. The second dish, the little clams, were even better: each of them meaty and tasting of garlic and the sea. We took a picture of that one.

Perhaps best of all was the dessert, and it took us by surprise because what can be better than seafood with garlic? We shared a flan de queso (cheese flan) which was a little individual flan, perfectly formed, tasting like the best cheesecake you’ve ever had, drizzled with a little caramel. Yes, we should have each gotten our own flan. The check was 43 euros.

Asturianos
c/ Vallehermoso, 94
28003 Madrid, Spain
915 335 947
(metros: Canal or Islas Filipinas)

Madrid: Taqueria Del Alamillo

Ricky went off to his grandparents last night, and dinner was up to us. Ana and I were kind of tired, because the whole getting rid of everything scene we are in is kind of stressful - there is a feeling that we are moving too slow, that it will never actually get done, that we are not going to be able to be ready when the time comes to leave. And there is the actual work, which is no fun at all.

The weather turned cold, and going out did not seem appealing. Staying in was not doing it for me, though, and I have been wanting Mexican food for weeks, but for one reason or another, we have not been able to get there. Last time, we drove out to the restaurant, found no parking in the area, and wound up going elsewhere. This time would be different.

We drove off and went to the pharmacy, where we picked up some of the medicines we had ordered. Yesterday was very productive in this regard. We were able to pretty much finalize our traveling medicine cabinet, and now we can start taking some anti-cholera vaccine. In Spain, if the pharmacy does not have something in stock, they tell you to come back later in the day to pick it up. So we did that. Then, having learned from our abortive attempt to drive to the restaurant last week, we found parking near a metro stop that was on the same line as the restaurant.

Now, Ana had been very reluctant to go out last night. She actually had not wanted to at all. But she went, because I wanted to. I appreciate that, greatly.

We got to the restaurant a little before 8:30. It was open, but only one table was occupied. We did not have a reservation. Ana had called, but they could only put us on the wait list. It's all but impossible to get a reservation here, especially at this time of year. All of December has been booked for more than a month, and last week they would not even put on the the wait list. We were greeted in a friendly and familiar manner, and then the hostess, Rita, told us that she did not have anything. Then she examined her book again, and said she had one table, and we could have it but it was reserved for 10 p.m. That was fine with us.

The restaurant is decorated in a traditional Mexican style, and there are paintings on the walls and many small items all around, giving the place a festive look. The staff is extraordinary. They are very welcoming, they greet you like an old friend. Many Spanish restaurants are either an extremely informal place where you stand at the bar or a very stiff, formal environment with either old, professional waiters, or youthful, supercool staff, neither of whch are particularly warm.

There are chips and salsa on the tables when we sit down. Ana asked for some additional spicy salsas, and they were quickly brought, along with margaritas. I ordered the ternera arrieta tacos con queso, while Ana opted for the pozole. We also got guacamole.

We drank our drinks and ate our salsa and chips and guacamole and we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves. The guacamole was terrific, so were the salsas. The margaritas were strong and tasty. When the food came, I was very happy. My three tacos had spicy, tasty bits of beef, well-marinated and with cheese. There was a large jalapeno served with it, which I cut up and put into the tacos. It was so good. I was so happy. I ate it without stopping to chew, I think. Ana's pozole, which is a Mexican stew, was good for the cold night. It was, though, not as good as the pozole which our friend Concepcion makes in Los Angeles.

This restaurant is so good, and so reasonably priced, it is amazing. It is really hard to go here during the winter, because the outdoor seating, which is probably 40 percent of the restaurant's space, is not available, so it is smaller and very hard to get space in. But it is so worth it. Our bill, for the guacamole, tacos, pozole, two margaritas, and a beer, totaled 41 euros. And when the check came, it was brought along with shots of tequila.

It was a good meal. I have scratched the itch. We may not make it back here again before we leave, but we will certainly come back here when we return to Spain.

Taqueria Del Alamillo, Plaza Del Alamillo, 8. Located near the La Latina metro stop. 91 364 2088. Closed Mondays.

Madrid: La Taqueria del Alamillo and Wakathai

One of the motivations for our travel is the thrill of the next meal. We enjoy eating. A great meal is the highest peak of public pleasure. It is to be relished and enjoyed, not just as it is happening, but for days and weeks and months afterward. When we can, we go out for a meal here in Madrid. When we have Ricky with us, this can be quite challenging. Ricky actually is just fine in restaurants now - when he was a tiny thing we used to have to take turns sitting at the table, one of us eating while the other walked around with him. Now, though, the difficulty arises because the dining hours are so late here. Most restaurants don't open for dinner until 9 p.m., and when you get there at 9, the restaurant is slowly waking from its slumber, and not operating crisply. Meals in Spain are leisurely affairs (which I like very much) but when you've got a boy who usually goes to bed around 8 p.m., and you're trying to keep him up and out and cheerful after 10 p.m., it often does not work out well.

Fortunately, Ricky spends most weekends here in Spain with his grandparents, leaving Ana and I free to have one or two nights out. Last night, it was very, very cold here in Madrid. A friend is out of town and has left us her car, so we decided to drive. One of our favorite restaurants is a little Mexican place in the La Latina district. It is called La Taqueria del Alamillo. The food is great, the service is friendly, and they give you tequila when they bring you the check. They are always booked up way in advance. Ana called them in November, and found that the weekend nights were booked for the rest of the year. Usually, though, we show up early in the evening, near 9 p.m., and they find us a table. She called them, and asked about being put on a waitlist for the evening. They were so busy last night, they refused even to do this, saying there were already too many people on the waitlist. So we decided to just go over there and see what happened. The traffic in the city is particularly bad right now, as the holiday shopping season has exploded around us. Not having a car usually, we had not taken this into account. We drove out there, eventually got there, and then found it was absolutely impossible to park. The large signs on the highway warning that all downtown parking lots were full seemed to be accurate. So, not having a parking space or a spot in the restaurant, we opted for an alternative venue.

We headed to Wakathai. It was our third visit to this restaurant, a Peruvian - Asian combination, offering food which is, for Spain, spicy. As a general rule, Spanish food is not spicy at all, and Spaniards are averse to hot flavors. Maybe that is why there was room for us at this restaurant last night.

It is a great place. It's located a bit outside of the main downtown area of the city, so we were able to find some parking. The staff is efficient and courteous, and you never have to wait long for your food. The location is comfortable and rather minimalist. There is enough space between tables so that you don't feel crowded. We ordered the tasting menu. I like ordering tasting menus, especially when I don't know a restaurant well. I feel like it gives the place a chance to show you what they are proud of, and they should know their own food better than anyone else.

It was a great meal. We had ceviche, we had nems (little rolls of rice paper stuffed with shrimp and pork), we had Vietnamese salad, we had a nice hot and spicy soup with wontons stuffed with corvina, we had a curry with duck, and then we had dessert. We ate well. Then we braved the cold again for the walk back to the car, and drove home.

Oh, a little more about the food. The ceviche they have is absolutely the best I've ever eaten. It has a great texture (important for me) and is very flavorful with many interesting elements and unexpected points of taste. It can be quite spicy in one spot, but it is always as part of the flavor. The worst part about it is that when you finish, there is no more of it to eat. They always have a curry of the day. It varies in its content. This time it was duck with lychees in a green curry, which was excellent. I actually preferred the curries we had previously, though, which were carrillada de iberico with greeen curry. The carrillada is a cut of pork from the side of the head, which is very tender. According to the Spanish labeling laws, pork can be called iberico if it is at least 75 percent black Iberian pig. Much of the great Spanish cured ham is iberico. Good eating.

Desserts were exceptional. We had one small coconut flan topped with dulce de leche and also a panna cotta. The panna cotta was so creamy and rich and topped with some orange marmalade and all I can say about it is that if it had been served in a bucket, I would have eaten it all. The flan was delicious as well.

Now it's time for coffee and a new day.

La Taqueria del Alamillo is located at Calle Alamillo, 8, Madrid. Reservations are a must. Phone: 91 3642088.

Wakathai, http://www.wakathai.com/, Calle Conde Duque, 13, Madrid. Phone: 91 5417876.