Europe knows chocolate: chocolate and wine, chocolate and fruit, and our new found obsession – chocolate and churros. One of Spain’s most famous desserts, these fried dough pastries and thick chocolate drink are perfect for any occasion.
Interestingly enough, Spaniards order this insanely delicious combination at any time of the day – including breakfast. Yes, chocolate for breakfast – count me in! The most famous chocolatería and where we are the most famous per se, is Chocolatería de San Gínes, a mere three minute walk from the Sol Metro, right between Calle Arenal and Calle Mayor. To say that we are regulars here would be quite the understatement, but somehow we still don’t seem to care that they know us so well.
San Gínes, as we affectionately call it, is easily one of the most touristy places in all of Madrid, but that doesn’t stop us from indulging in our favorite late night treat. Open 24 hours a day (dangerous, I know), this chocolate and churro hang out is the place to go if you want a taste of Spanish culture. Though most people order the typical chocolate con churros, I definitely recommend Porras, which are thicker versions of churros. They have a very simple menu – churros, chocolate, tea, café, and ice cream, but I would recommend staying with the original masterpiece.
I’m officially twenty – or as you’d say in España, veinte, and it feels so great. Last night we celebrated by spending the night at the local Dubliners in Sol and watching the Superbowl. Unfortunately for us, the game was five hours behind us so we were up quite awhile and once the stadium black out occurred we all headed home. Quite honestly, I wish we had stayed because it was a great game (according my Twitter timeline the following morning), but we all saw Queen Bey perform, so we were all quite satisfied – the Chargers nor the Giants were in it so I did not have much invested in the Harbowl.
Birthday at Dubliners
Despite not having any particular in either team and public affairs aside, I was happy that Ray Lewis was able to retire with a SB ring. Though I do not condone his off the field behavior, his tenacity, sheer competitiveness and resiliency is admirable as a fellow athlete. Perhaps my most favorite thing about the legendary linebacker is his notable pregame routine (see below):
We found our beds around 3:30ish (around the blackout) and had to get up early for class. I had extreme birthday luck when my first class was canceled and then my Blogging class was extremely easy. After school I went for a great run, plopped down on the couch, started some homework and fell asleep next to Alinah.
Found on my run
We were supposed to head to a group dinner but all of us ended up sleeping through it until 10. We headed over to Lateral (one of our new favorite restaurants) an hour later where we indulged in some delicious tapas and “salads” (if you can call them that) then walked over to San Gínes, our favorite, because who needs cake when you have churros?
Candlelit Dinner at Lateral
Queso de Cabre Ensalada – complete with Champiñons, Lechuga, Tomates y Queso
It was a wonderful twentieth birthday, more than I could ever ask for – surrounded by new friends and girls who I consider my family. I can’t wait to see what’s in store this next year; if this first day is telling of anything, it’s going to be amazing.
Let me start by asking, why in the world isn’t Spanish food more popular in the United States? I live in two cities where Spanish is widely spoken and where the cuisine would be widely accepted, but I still have yet to come across any Chocolate con Churros places in the East Village. I digress.
Mercado San Míguel
The food here is absolutely amazing. I have yet to have a full meal per se, but don’t let that fool you. I think the only thing we’ve really eaten are tapas and croissants for desayuno (breakfast) that we split among ourselves – we look back on our days here and realize we forget to eat full meals most of the time because we snack here and there (but once again I’m going to blame the extremely warped sense of time here). Madrileños typically have a Café con Leche (Espresso coffee with steamed milk) for a breakfast around 8 or 9, which is followed a few hours later by a brief break where they are free to grab another coffee or snack. Around 2:30, they head out to lunch which can either be menú del día (prix fixe) or just sides of things – we usually have been snacking on pincho de tortilla and other tapas like items. What seems like a million hours later, but is actually only 10PM , dinner is usually served. It’s an extremely awkward time, or so it seems to eat dinner, but seeing as most Madrileños don’t go to bed until the wee hours of the morning, it only seems natural.
A cup of café con leche
Wine flows as freely as water here
So far,the girls and I have pretty much have had the same foods from the same restaurants because we are obsessed but here’s our top choices since being here.
Chocolate con churros – Jess and I have frequented the most famous Chocolatería in all of Madrid known as San Gínes. In no less than seven days, we have indulged ourselves five times. The waiters know us (I’m sure by the name las chicas locas americanas) and have begun to give us porras gratis, which are thicker delicious versions of churros FOR FREE.
Our favorite Churro Place
Pincho de Tortilla – This Spanish delicacy is composed of egg, onion, and potatoes. It can be served either hot or room temperature, though I prefer the warmer pincho. Accompanied with a side of bread, this comida (food) is always a favorite. When munching away at our local Mercado de San Miguel (the NY version of Eatly), Madrileños can be seen eating this as a late breakfast, lunch or dinner side. This is definitely one recipe I need to learn before returning home!
Pincho de Tortilla
Croquetas – I’m not entirely sure how to explain this tapa, but when I asked my roommate, Alinah, to help me come up with some descriptive words, she said, “Oh those fried balls?”Essentially coquetas are a mix of potato and jamón, but are particulary creamy and deep fried. Can anybody say YUM? I’m so excited to try and make these at home!
Croquetas
Paella – As if it wasn’t already the most famous food of Spain, I am in love with Paella (and I’ve only had it once)! Jess and I are on a mission to find a really good plate, but are honestly waiting to go to Barça and Valencia to find our new favorite place 🙂
That’s about all the food for now, but I promise to keep updating my facebook with my latest food adventures 🙂
