MIAU

if anyone could find this restaurant, it's be me.

So today after class and cañas (tapa-sized beers in Spain), my friend Brittany and I stumbled upon a cafe called Miau (pronounced "meow"). I have truly become THE CRAZY CAT LADY. It's like all things cat-related call to me in a secret language. 

chorritas, pimientas, y patata

 Trust me though, neither of us were complaining! Brittany ordered the albondigas (meatballs) which I've had before (tapas lunch earlier in my stay) and I went with Chorritas con pimientas y patatas. I wasn't even fully sure of what I was ordering since I haven't seen this on any menus yet, but I thought it was worth a shot.

a bite of chorrita, pimienta, and crunchy pan

 It turned out to be spicy red sausage, green whole peppers, and sliced potatoes. Very good choice! The sausage was spicy, but not overly spicy when eaten with both the pepper (not spicy at all - more like a bell pepper) and the potatoes. The helping was also HUGE; Brittany and I shared both of our tapas between the two of us and we both had leftovers.

the remaining bits that I wanted so desperately to eat but couldn't.

Churros!

churros, chocolate, y cafe con leche

 I FINALLY tried the signature Madrileña breakfast, churros and chocolate! The little cafe where I've been stopping for breakfast in the mornings (and prime Juegos del Hambre reading time) has been clean out of churros the past couple of days.

fried battery goodness

 Luckily, this morning they had plenty! Spanish churros are much like regular Mexican churros - deep fried tubes of batter. But unlike their Mexican cousins, Spanish churros aren't rolled in cinnamon sugar. They're served plain and with a giant, steaming cup of chocolate.

chocolate for dipping!

The chocolate itself is almost like an extra thick version of hot chocolate; it's not plain melted chocolate, but a very smooth, milky, mild chocolate. Perfect for dipping! And after I had finished off all the churros, I still had plenty of chocolate left (they seriously fill the mug to the brim) and I literally just started eating it with a spoon! So yummy!!

Tabla de Tapas

Our spread.

 More tapas! Ordering the Tabla de Tapas (para compartir - for 2) is always a good idea! And every place has something different on their tapas menu; last night it was pan con jamón serrano (bread with serrano ham and a mayonaisse-based orange sauce), mini american hamburgers with barbeque sauce, bread with goat cheese and pesto, fried white fish with grilled eggplant on skewers, potatoes in a spicy orange sauce, and croquettes.

Bread with Serrano ham and a mayo-type sauce

The Serrano ham is always amazing; I particularly liked this first tapa because of the soft bread and mild flavored orange colored sauce that paired well with the chewy, stronger flavored Serrano ham. 

Sliders (mini-burgers) with Barbeque sauce

The mini burgers were also fun, since they were very much like American sliders. Lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, and barbeque sauce. 

Bread with goat cheese and pesto

The bread with goat cheese and pesto may have been my top pick of the tapas of the night! The goat cheese used was a very, very strong flavored cheese and the pesto was a nice complement on top. The toasted bread served as a base and didn't distract from the cheese or pesto. 

fried white fish with grilled eggplant

As far as fried fish goes, I'm not usually a fan, but this was a far cry from your fried catfish or bluegill. It was a very mild, white fish fried in a batter rather than cornmeal or breadcrumbs. It was skewered with grilled eggplant and was actually very refreshing.

Croquettes

 Croquettes are generally a staple on tapas menus, and these were very good as far as croquettes go. The inside wasn't too moist (to the point were it's gobby) as I've found a lot of the croquettes here to be. Just right.

mini potatoes with a spicy sauce

The potatoes were also amazing, but man...were they SPICY! The orange sauce was a different one used than with the Serrano ham and instead of being mild and cooling, it was probably a 3 on the 1-5 spicy scale. But since it was paired with potatoes (being a starch) the spiciness wasn't overwhelming.

no leftovers. not one.

Between the 2 of us, we managed to clean house with our Tabla de Tapas! I definitely plan on trying all the different varieties I can get my hands on while I'm here in Madrid!

Tapas: allday, errday!

Daiquiris!

 So with tapas being a BIG part of the madrileña diet (twice a day, in case anyone forgot) I've eaten so many these past 2 weeks!

Calzone Romano

 Food wise, they have been American cupcakes and hot dogs, Italian: a HUGE calzone with ham and mozzarella cheese, EVERYTHING fried: croquettes, fried shrimp, fried fish pieces, mini-empanadas, and lots and lots of Patatas!

Fritos variados

 Drinks wise, I've become a really big fan of the cerveza clara, which is a drink that's half beer/half fresca limón. I've also been sampling all the wines: white, rioja, and of course, SANGRIA.

Cerveza clara

Vino blanco

cupcake with "m&ms"

 And luckily, or not luckily considering my waistline, my friends from TEFL and I found a cupcake shop!It's filled with cookies and muffins and cupcakes upon cupcakes. It's all really frilly and adorable, and it just so happens to be right down the street from my classroom.

American hot dogs, complete with mustard and ketchup!

Dinner a la Madrid

 So since I've been here, I've been meaning to get into the Madrileña eating schedule - breakfast, 2nd breakfast, tapas, lunch and so on. And that means late dinner. So far, I have had 2 really great, late dinners! For the first, my TEFL friend Brittany and I walked around the streets of Sol and picked a restaurante con terraza (an outside terrace) area at random. We enjoyed a glass of Rioja (the typical, Spanish house wine) and an appetizer of marinated olives while we waited for our food. I ordered to Cerdo Solmillo, which was pork tenderloin in a glaze sauce and Brittany went with some simple fajitas. And with all the walking we've been doing, we went ahead and splurged on the Brownie Especial - brownie with raspberry flavoring.

Pork tenderloins

marinated aceitunas (olives)

brownie especial

 The second dinner was at a restaurant call Los Marcianos. Yes, the Martians. Complete with alien-theme decor. But luckily, we didn't let the eccentric outlook throw us off; the food was delicious! We split a tapas platter, which was actually a series of tapas served as separate courses. First, was the tomato/cheese salad, similar to ensalada caprese.

Chicken cordon bleu with squash

 That was followed by boiled potatoes served with little bowls of mustard, a spicy tomato sauce, sour cream, and goat cheese. The tomato sauce is the same used for Patatas Bravas, and it has a really big kick. Third was a kind of like a breakfast dish - crumbled sausage (possibly chorizo) and fried potato strings were served with an over-easy egg on top. Very yummy!

sausage, fried potatoes, and eggs over-easy

 The final dish had small chicken cordon bleu (filled with the ever-present jamón) on a bed of squash.

JAMÓN.

 And for dessert, we were brought a small torta (we think it was a rum-based cake) with a huge dollop of helado on top!

torta con helado - we think it was rum cake.

Day trip: Toledo!

Day trip! Destination: Toledo, Spain. On the list: site seeing, el Museo de Antiguos Instrumentos de Tortura, oh, and LOTS of yummy treats!

MAGNUM w/Macadamia nuts

First, after a bit of strolling and taking some lovely pictures of the old building and winding hills of Toledo, I stopped by a small shop and got a Magnum Macadamia ice cream treat. So yummy!

Tapas!

Around lunch, I dropped my bag at an empty table outside a cafe (Entre las Calles, I think) and ordered tapa del día, or the tapa of the day. It turned out to be a Heineken and this yummy meat and pea stew-type dish with bread. Pleasant surprise!

Tapa del día

Back to more strolling and more picture taking, followed by a SECOND ice cream treat, this time helado from an ice cream shop. I went with the always delicious frutos del bosque (which means fruit from the forest, so typically berry-flavored).

Helado: Frutos del bosque

I'm just gonna keep telling myself that all the walking and site-seeing burned off all those ice cream and bread calories. And anyway, excursion days don't count. Everyone knows that. Or they should :)

"What about 2nd breakfast? He knows about that, right?"

Well, this is certainly something I could get used to!

good book + cafe con leche + sweet treat

The Spanish eating schedule, that is. Let me break it down for you: the day starts with a cup of coffee or something similar at home, around 8 am. That's followed by a 2nd breakfast on the way to work/school, usually at a cafe - coffee/hot chocolate and churros or a potato-quiche type dish. Then at lunchtime (12 or 1), it's off to a tapas bar for bocadillos and vino or cerveza. That tides you over til actual lunch, around 2 or 3 pm. Around 3 or 4 it's merienda, or tea time. So another round of snacks, followed by an evening siesta. Then a 2nd round of tapas around 6 or 7, just to tide you over until dinner, around 9 or 10 pm.

Y'all, the chocolate was practically oozing out.

Crazy, right?? That seems like SO MUCH EATING compared to the usual 3-square-meals a day thing we have going in the US. But I guess when you break it down, it's not too bad. It's more like small but frequent snacking throughout the day.

cafe con lecheeeee.

And let me just say, with all the walking I've been doing the past 3 days, I completely understand the need for constant food and a longggg afternoon siesta. Today was actually my first attempt to follow this new schedule, and as you can see from the pictures, I thoroughly enjoyed my 2nd breakfast this morning. Cafe con leche, a chocolate pastry, and a captivating book, for the low price of €2. Here's hoping I don't gain 15+ lbs these next 6 weeks!