Sunday, May 4, 2008
Art & Investments: Top 10 Spanish Artists to Buy in 2008
To view PicassoMio's picks for top artists to buy, please click here.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Eating Out in 21st c Madrid – Top 10 Restaurants, Restaurants to Avoid & Restaurants Wanted
Gone is the Madrid of the last century, where it was hard to get culinary variety – ethnic cuisine meant a Valencian paella or Basque tapas and gourmet implied the then-pretty-cheesy restaurants at some of the local luxury hotels. Well, our culinary limitation was one of the last remaining tragedies of the Franco era... (its interesting, how you can even tie food to politics)
Today’s dynamic Madrid is capable of competing with London, New York or Los Angeles, in terms of its culinary diversity and taste. Damn right!!
Here are some of the more special ones (in alphabetic order, I think):
Don Lay (Chinese)
Paseo de Extremadura
If you have never been across to the other side of Manzanares river, this is a good reason to go. Great fish and a nice selection of Dim sums. Don’t be discouraged by the Iberico-Chino décor…
;-)
El Chaflán (Contemporary Spanish)
Avenida de Pio XII, 34
Don’t be turned-off by its association with a pretty unimpressive hotel, El Chaflan is beautiful and a modern version of Spanish-ness. Very well designed, you will find some of the more interesting takes on traditional Spanish, especially Andalusian flavors, here. Go for one of their fish dishes.
Goya Restaurant Terrace & Gardens, Hotel Ritz (Spanish)
Plaza de Lealtad, 5.
During summers only, the Goya’s terrace and garden extension, offers one of the most beautiful dining experiences in Madrid. Wine selection is decent, food is reasonable, but this is probably one of the most romantic dining destinations, in Madrid, during the hot summers. My preference is a table in the terrace so you can look into the garden and see the who’s who of Mad. Caution: The restaurant itself is pretty avoidable!
Gumbo (American – Cajun)
Calle Pez 15
Located in the hip, young Calle Pez, this is homely New Orleans cuisine. Don’t forget to order the fried green tomatoes. After the meal, go get smashed in one of the hundred bars on this street or in the neighbouring bario Malasana.
Kilimanjaro (West African – Senegalese)
Somewhere in bario Lavapies
Located in Madrid’s most cosmopolitan yet authentic neighbourhoods, the chefs at Kilimanjaro prepare some of the better Ceebu Jen and Chicken Yassa, this side of the Mediterranean. Its quite perfect for a Saturday afternoon and after your meal, you can pick-up decent pita bread and Indian spices, in the local shops.
La Taqueria de Alamillo (Mexican)
Plaza del Alamillo, 8.
If you find yourself with an urge for some real Mexican food, this is it. Good margaritas and micheladas (spiced beer – for those with a hangover) and hell, pretty good Mexican food, by any standards. All in the vicinity of La Latina’s popular hangouts, where the beer is cheap and its easy to get laid :-)
Lhardy (Spanish – Madrid)
Carrera de San Jeronimo, 8.
Smack in the center, this place has been going on since first half of the 19th century. The only place to have the hearty cocido Madrileno (the popular regional stew) for lunch. This is the real stuff!
Santceloni (Contemporary Spanish)
Castellana, 57
Quite possibly, one of Mad.’s best restaurants! If you think food ought to be elaborate, this is it. This man, Santi Santamaria, knows his ingredients – tuna, frog legs, everything…, and shows them off like no one else. Go there, please!
Tienda de Vinos y Comidas (La Taberna del Guitarrista & El Comunista) (Spanish Home Cooking)
Calle Augusto Figueroa
In the cool gay neighborhood of Chuecca, this intriguing place (known by its three preculiar names), is the one with the red facade, and probably has some of the best home-cooked meals in Mad.. Whether you go for the lentejas (lentils), liver or kidney, you just cannot go wrong. And don’t be surprised if you run into Almadovar or another aging (dying) landmarks of Movida Madrilenia! And I am moving out of Madrid, if this taberna is ever replaced by a cheesy “fashion” restaurant, Chuecca-style.
Restaurants to Avoid:
1. Anything to do with Sergi Arola (La Broche, etc): I am pretty wary of rock-star chefs, to begin with and his stuff gets pretty boring after the first time.
2. Olsen: Why did we need a Northern European restaurant ??!! On the other hand, the vodka selection is not bad.
Today’s dynamic Madrid is capable of competing with London, New York or Los Angeles, in terms of its culinary diversity and taste. Damn right!!
Here are some of the more special ones (in alphabetic order, I think):
Don Lay (Chinese)
Paseo de Extremadura
If you have never been across to the other side of Manzanares river, this is a good reason to go. Great fish and a nice selection of Dim sums. Don’t be discouraged by the Iberico-Chino décor…
;-)
El Chaflán (Contemporary Spanish)
Avenida de Pio XII, 34
Don’t be turned-off by its association with a pretty unimpressive hotel, El Chaflan is beautiful and a modern version of Spanish-ness. Very well designed, you will find some of the more interesting takes on traditional Spanish, especially Andalusian flavors, here. Go for one of their fish dishes.
Goya Restaurant Terrace & Gardens, Hotel Ritz (Spanish)
Plaza de Lealtad, 5.
During summers only, the Goya’s terrace and garden extension, offers one of the most beautiful dining experiences in Madrid. Wine selection is decent, food is reasonable, but this is probably one of the most romantic dining destinations, in Madrid, during the hot summers. My preference is a table in the terrace so you can look into the garden and see the who’s who of Mad. Caution: The restaurant itself is pretty avoidable!
Gumbo (American – Cajun)
Calle Pez 15
Located in the hip, young Calle Pez, this is homely New Orleans cuisine. Don’t forget to order the fried green tomatoes. After the meal, go get smashed in one of the hundred bars on this street or in the neighbouring bario Malasana.
Kilimanjaro (West African – Senegalese)
Somewhere in bario Lavapies
Located in Madrid’s most cosmopolitan yet authentic neighbourhoods, the chefs at Kilimanjaro prepare some of the better Ceebu Jen and Chicken Yassa, this side of the Mediterranean. Its quite perfect for a Saturday afternoon and after your meal, you can pick-up decent pita bread and Indian spices, in the local shops.
La Taqueria de Alamillo (Mexican)
Plaza del Alamillo, 8.
If you find yourself with an urge for some real Mexican food, this is it. Good margaritas and micheladas (spiced beer – for those with a hangover) and hell, pretty good Mexican food, by any standards. All in the vicinity of La Latina’s popular hangouts, where the beer is cheap and its easy to get laid :-)
Lhardy (Spanish – Madrid)
Carrera de San Jeronimo, 8.
Smack in the center, this place has been going on since first half of the 19th century. The only place to have the hearty cocido Madrileno (the popular regional stew) for lunch. This is the real stuff!
Santceloni (Contemporary Spanish)
Castellana, 57
Quite possibly, one of Mad.’s best restaurants! If you think food ought to be elaborate, this is it. This man, Santi Santamaria, knows his ingredients – tuna, frog legs, everything…, and shows them off like no one else. Go there, please!
Tienda de Vinos y Comidas (La Taberna del Guitarrista & El Comunista) (Spanish Home Cooking)
Calle Augusto Figueroa
In the cool gay neighborhood of Chuecca, this intriguing place (known by its three preculiar names), is the one with the red facade, and probably has some of the best home-cooked meals in Mad.. Whether you go for the lentejas (lentils), liver or kidney, you just cannot go wrong. And don’t be surprised if you run into Almadovar or another aging (dying) landmarks of Movida Madrilenia! And I am moving out of Madrid, if this taberna is ever replaced by a cheesy “fashion” restaurant, Chuecca-style.
Restaurants to Avoid:
1. Anything to do with Sergi Arola (La Broche, etc): I am pretty wary of rock-star chefs, to begin with and his stuff gets pretty boring after the first time.
2. Olsen: Why did we need a Northern European restaurant ??!! On the other hand, the vodka selection is not bad.
Restaurants Wanted in Madrid:
1. Cheap California Burritos
2. Better Argentine Grills
3. More Mediterranean flavors - Lebanese, Moroccan, you name it!
4. Decent Hamburgers
5. Authentic Indians
6. Lots more Cubans, Peruvians, Colombians (hell, whatever happened to our Hispanidad?)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
