Taberna San Isidro

We were walking around and were ready for dinner. Taberna San Isidro was nearby, open and fit the bill. They had a €9.90 menu.

Paella--the rice was too mushy but it had a nice flavor.

 



 

Caldo--chicken soup with a few noodles. Nothing too exciting.

 

 

Pork leg--this one was much more tender than the one at Taberna Alhambra. This was actually pretty good.

 

 

I wasn't sure what I ordered and was surprised when a whole fish arrived. Other than having to dig through the bones and deal with the head, the flesh was actually pretty tender and nice.

 

 

Profiteroles with chocolate sauce--pretty tasty.

 

Flan--this was the best part of the whole meal. Light and with a nice caramel sauce.

 

 

 

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Cafe de Oriente

After touring the Royal Palace, we had lunch at nearby Café de Oriente. They had a nice menu del dia for €11.60, 3 courses including bread, drinks and 2 amuse bouche.

 

I loved their crusty bread.

 

 

Amuse bouche--egg salad sandwich and bacalao mousse on toast.

 

 

Smoked salmon salad. Nice and refreshing.

 

 

Eggs with blood sausage--very tasty.

 

 

Roasted pork leg with potatoes.

 

 

Thin merluza steaks with ratatouille.

 

 

Cheesecake--this is light and airy, not the usual cheesecake we find in the states. I like the thick and dense cheesecake better.

 

 

 Chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

 

 

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Venta de Dulces



Near the Church of Corpus Christi, at #3 Calle de Codo, is a non-descript brown door where you can purchase homemade cookies from the nuns at the convent.

Buzz the top button--marked "monjas" and wait for the nuns to answer and buzz you in.

 



 

Once inside, walk to the left, through the courtyard, and through the next set of doors. You'll find a rotating cabinet. Let the nun know what you'd like to purchase. The cookies are placed on the shelf and rotated back to you. Place your money on the shelf and rotate it back to the nuns. They'll send change back. On the day we visited, only the shortbreads were available. They were good with a hint of lemon. I hear the almond cookies are good as well.

 

 

 

2013 01 14

Walking Tour of Madrid

We followed the walking tour outlined by Rick Steves and saw most of Madrid's sights in a few hours. The tour started at Puerta del Sol and the bear statue.

Symbol of Madrid--bear pawing the madrono tree.

 



Across the street from Puerta del Sol is the Governor's office. In front of the Governor's office is a plaque marking "Kilometer 0"--the center of Spain.

 



 

Plaza Mayor--built in 1619.

 

Plaza Mayor

 



 

City Hall

 

 

Cathedral de Almudena

 



Front of Cathedral de Almudena--facing Royal Palace

 



 

Royal Palace

 

 

All these sights are west of Puerta del Sol and are within 1/2 mile of Puerta del Sol. The museums are east of Puerta del Sol. The Prado and the Reina Sofia museums have free admission in the evenings. Wait in line to get a ticket then enjoy the museum for 2 hours. The Prado is closed on Mondays and the Reina Sofia is closed on Tuesdays. The Prado has masterpieces by some of Spain's most famous artists, including Goya, Velazquez and El Greco. The major piece of work at Reina Sofia is Picasso's Guernica. The Thyssen-Bornemisza makes up the 3rd of the triad of museums. This is a collection amassed by Baron Thyssen and his wife. As Rick Steves says, it's "minor works by major artists and major works by minor artists," including some impressionism. If you're short on time, this is the museum I would skip.



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La Mallorquina

La Mallorquina is a confiteria near Puerta del Sol that has been in business since 1894. It's famous for its cream-filled Napolitana, so of course we had to order one. It was okay--good enough to get one when you're in the neighborhood but not good enough to go out of your way to get it.

Cream-filled Napolitana for €1.20

 

 

Other options, but the Napolitana actually looked the best.

 

 

 

2013 01 14



Taberna Alhambra, Madrid

We were tired after spending our first day walking around Madrid and wanted an early dinner. It was 7:30 pm and most places were not open yet. We had eaten a calamari sandwich, grilled sardines and jamon and we just wanted to have a sit-down dinner. We found Taberna Alhambra and decided to give it a try.

This was the special of the evening--Codillo Asado--a hunk of grilled pork leg with potatoes--€9. Talk about heavy. The pork was tasty but would've been better if it was more tender.

Racion of Gambas a la Plancha--grilled prawns. These were delicious and super sweet. Not too bad for €8.

2013 01 13

Museo del Jamon, Madrid

We happened upon the Museo del Jamon towards the end of the day. It was time for tapas and everyone was enjoying a little jamon with some cerveza.

This was a plate of jamon bodega with 2 beer for €3.20. How can you beat it? If you wanted jamon of a higher quality, you could pay more. Since my palate is not that sophisticated, the house jamon served me just fine.

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