San Gines Chocolateria - Madrid, Spain

Pasadizo de San Ginés, 5
28013 Madrid, Spain
913 656 546

When I was in high school, I remember one of my Spanish textbooks was titled Churros y Chocolate. I always wanted to try real churros and not the Costco or Disneyland variety. Nothing against Costco and Disneyland, but I wanted the real thing. 

This chocolateria is located on Pasadizo de San Gines, in the corner of two alleyways meeting together. Knowing the place is an attraction for tourists, we were glad to see the local Madrileños enjoying a cup of hot chocolate in the evening.

Stepping inside, I felt like I was in a fancy schmancy bar. Everything was so bright and shiny, and the waiters were wearing crisp linen shirts and greeted us with a friendly "hola." We could have enjoyed our hot chocolate with churros at the counter for a discount, but decided to pay a bit extra and sat at the tables.

 

The chocolate was thick, rich, and wasn't overly sweet...almost a bittersweet taste. This was the real deal right here.

The churros came out in thin long strips and were hot and crispy. No soggy churros here. The churro itself was barely if not at all sweetened. The sweet component solely belonged to the pool of chocolate we would soon be bathing the churros in.

The moment I had been waiting for since high school had finally arrived. My heart beat with anticipation. What would it taste like? Would it live up to my lofty expectations???? I am making this a lot more dramatic, but isn't it more interesting this way??

The chocolate and the churro were a perfect marriage made in heaven. Who doesn't like deep fried dough? I sure don't. Who doesn't like chocolate? I sure don't. Here is a close up shot.

My dreams of trying real and authentic churros y chocolate have come to fruition. Yo pienso que churros y chocolate son muy delicioso. Más por favor!!

Giangrossi Helado Artesanal - Madrid, Spain

Calle Cava Baja, 40
www.giangrossi.es

After a nice dinner and walk down Calle Cava Baja, we strolled on into Giangrossi for dessert.  Considered as one of Madrid's best ice cream, this place serves Argentinean-style ice cream as well as other food items and interesting cocktails.  With its plush white seating and clean decor, this is the more hipper ice cream places that we have been to.

There were so many interesting flavors to pick from so we ordered the Degustacion — a tasting of 5 flavors of your choice (6.5E). We didn't want the 5 flavors all at once so we asked to get them one by one so that the ice cream wouldn't melt.  The mini scoops on the mini cones were placed on a line of melted chocolate and powdered cocoa.
 
Mascarpone with Mixed Berries
The ice cream had the flavor of mascarpone and mixed berries but also had this strange almost slightly gritty texture to it. The gritty texture of the ice cream was not a good thing.

Don't recall what flavor this one was. I know... bad blogger.

Our final three flavors were strawberry, lemon, and ??? The strawberry and lemon were both good and neither had the gritty texture that the mascarpone had.

Just because we didn't think the ice cream was all that fantastic doesn't mean we couldn't finish it.

Flipping through a couple of magazines in our hotel room, I saw that Giangrossi was mentioned as one of the better ice cream places in Madrid. I liked the space and decor of Giangrossi but thought the ice cream was not up to par with the image. If you are looking for a cool place to have a drink, food, and ice cream, Giangrossi might be worth a stop. Just don't expect to be wowed by the ice cream.

Museo del Jamón - Madrid, Spain

Even if you don't speak Spanish, I am sure one could probably figure out what Museo Del Jamón means. With various locations throughout Madrid, this was one of the places that we visited multiple times during the few days we were in Madrid. Not sure what the Madrileños think of Museo Del Jamón but we really liked it. If you are looking for a place that is quick, cheap, and tasty, you've come to the right place.

As you can see from the pictures, Museo Del Jamón is pretty much a museum of hams. Check out the myriad of hams hanging and the plethora of meats in the deli case.

So here is how it's done. Act like you've done this before, even if you haven't. Walk into the store and go straight to the counter/bar area for drinks and food. Otherwise, go to the deli side and get your various slices of jamón and other deli goods to take away as the Europeans say.

When I say that Museo Del Jamón is cheap, I mean cheap. You can get a bocadillo (bread served with some type of ham) and a beer for about 2E.

Complimentary olives

On a separate visit, we got complimentary tomatoes and bell peppers with small chunks of ham. 

Croissant stuffed tomato and jamón.
The croissant bread was actually crunchy and the addition of the tomatoes and jamón went perfectly together for that salty and slightly sweet and acidic combination.

Bocadillo with jamón and tomato
For the price of this 1,50E bocadillo, I have no complaints whatsoever. Same combination of tomatoes and jamon and bread.

Guess what you wash these sandwiches down with? Cerveza!!! Even the beers at Museo Del Jamón are cheap. Straight from the draft and refreshingly cold. Perfect during those hot days in Madrid.

Turns out for breakfast, you can get a breakfast special: Pan Tumaca with your choice of coffee or beer for only 2 euros~! This deal cannot be beat.  It was pretty funny that a lady sitting next to me was enjoying a cerveza at 9AM in the morning. When in Madrid, do as the Madrileños do.

Pan Tumaca is essentially a slice of toasted bread rubbed or in this case smothered with a tomato paste-like spread, topped with what else, but jamón and a drizzle of olive oil.

Can't have breakfast without eggs right? This was an order of scrambled eggs on top of bread and also included in this breakfast combo was a slice of bread rubbed with tomato and topped with jamón.

Museo Del Jamón is not a fancy pants type of establishment. Food and drinks here are meant to be quick and cheap. If you are looking for a snack in between meals or just don't feel like spending a whole lot of money, this is the place. The Louvre and Prado have nothing on this museum.

Cerveceria Cervantes - Madrid, Spain

Plaza Jesus, 7
28014 Madrid, Spain
914.296.093

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.

Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. 

Wouldn't you like to get away? 

Sometimes you want to go 

Where everybody knows your name 

and they're always glad you came!!

In case you haven't realized it yet, that was the theme song to Cheers. Nobody knew our names at Cerveceria Cervantes, not really sure they were glad we came either. But if I were a local, the Cheers theme song is probably how I would feel at the locals only spot. If you're looking to get a feel for where the locals go and hang, this is the place. Minus us that night of course....

With Spanish being spoken, smoke lingering in the air, and beers flowing from the tap, this is the place that Madrilenos go to linger after work and hang out on the weekends. 

Since we weren't sure of what to order because we didn't really do to much of our usual food research for Cerveceria Cervantes, we had to go with the tried and true "Look at other people tables method." Don't act like you've never done this either....

The table before us was snacking on an order of various types of terrines. Being a lover of pates, terrines, and foie, I had to get an order of this. The plate came out and it was a very large portion for a very reasonable price. Don't remember the exact assortment of the 4 different types but all were tasty. This could have easily been shared by 3 or 4 people.

Meat and bread. Can't go too wrong with that combo and my order was no exception to the rule. Simple and satisfying.

Also got an order of shrimps on a piece of sliced bread lathered with aioli. Loaded with a generous amount of these little shrimps, this dish was tad too salty.

Cerveceria Cervantes didn't have the best food on our trip but this place probably had one of the most authentic Madrileno dining/bar experience we had. Noisy restaurant, crowded seating, smoke everywhere, and limited English usually would be a recipe for a bad restaurant, but these just a few reason why this restaurant was enjoyable. Cheers to you Cerveceria Cervantes!

Casa Mingo - Madrid, Spain

Paseo de la Florida, 34
28008 Madrid, Spain
915.477.918
http://www.casamingo.es/

Casa Mingo is an Asturian style tavern/restaurant that opened in 1888. No 1888 wasn't a typo. This is definitely the oldest restaurant that we have ever been to. The restaurant's decor is a bit of a rustic and darkened wood throughout.

Check out the wall of cider. Don't think they'll be running out of cider anytime soon. The restaurant is known for their reasonably priced food and a simple and concise menu. The most popular items on the menu are the roasted chicken and the cider.

La Cidra (5,20)
The Sidras Mingo is only 5E for a bottle. I now understand why this restaurant is popular with the local college kids. It's the cheap booze.... The bottle of cider had nice bubbles and a faint apple flavor to it.

Chorizo a la Sidra - spicy chorizo sausage cooked in cider (3,30)
I didn't find anything about this chorizo spectacularly special. Was good but nothing to rave about.

Cheese
A generous amount of cheese was given with each order. Once again cheese was good but nothing fantastic.

Mixed Salad (5,50E)
I wasn't very impressed with the mixed salad. It came in a pre-packaged container with saran wrap covering it. The dressing was two packets of vinegar and one of olive oil. Nothing special about this salad.
Is it that much harder to at least put in a bowl and make their own dressing?

Casa Mingo Roasted Chicken (9,50E)
Ahhh the moment I had been waiting for. One of the main reasons why Casa Mingo is as popular as it is. The chicken was moist and nicely roasted. Overall we all enjoyed the chicken but once again was nothing spectacular.

Casa Mingo is popular with the locals and tourists alike because of the fact that it isn't expensive and serves solid and simple food. Ohh yeah.. the fact that they sell alcoholic cider doesn't hurt them either. I think my expectations of Casa Mingo were too high coming in. If I only had a few days in Madrid, I don't feel Casa Mingo is worth a special stop.