20 April 2020*
Woke up on this 12th day of my #imaginarytrip and took my time, having a little bit of time to relax. Last night’s excellent #imaginarydinner at Xerta was fantastic, but late — so I get off to a slower start. Nevertheless I head for the nearby Sants railway station for the express train to Madrid.
I decided on this #imaginaryday in Madrid I’m just gonna eat…do little else, but just eat. Hey, one can still dream, right? A 2.5 hours later, we roll into Atocha. A Metro ride and I’m in my “usual” Salamanca area and I go and drop my bag off. I then head to lunch, as it’s late enough for places to open. And my destination today is the much beloved Viridiana.
For more years than most people can count, Viridiana has been the place that every top Madrid chef had to put in their time, to learn at the side of Chef Abraham García. I relax over a drink and decide on a few dishes that’ll get me going. And it didn’t take too long, as I was enjoying a crispy glass of albariño, when my starter arrives…
Oh my! What a starter right? I love snails, and these were just gorgeous… The good thing about these is that it takes time to properly get them out and enjoy them, so you can just keep going… But all good things come to an end…
Chef García brings out a refreshing wee gazpacho with strawberries, an excellent rendition, and then the “main” course comes out…
Oh dear once again…such good marrow. So rich. I was economical with the bread this time (unlike the last time I was there) because this is just the first of many stops today in this #imaginaryday of excess… So good, so rich. So I needed to have a walk.
I thanked Chef García and headed out for a bit of a walk. I decide to walk south-west, past Fuente de Neptuno and arrive about 15 minutes later at my second destination of the day, Casa Alberto.
This old school place, open since 1827 (!!), is quite popular but I sneak in and get one of the tiny tables across from the bar. I think I need to sit down for this order. I guess I wasn’t done with the snails, cuz…
A different take here, cooked in a spicy tomato base that gets that unique bitterness from the snails. Messy eat here, but the locals seem impress how I manage well with 2 long toothpicks… Then for the next course…
¡Orejas! I just love them, this time cooked in that similar tomato sauce. This way you get the collagen in the sauce and it’s a messy, sticky but lovely treat. Again, I was slow on the bread as this is just my second stop… I finish this, and I really need a stroll now! I thank the proprietor and head out the door, appreciative of him dropping a few extra wet wipes on my table with the bill…
I head south now, past Atocha, where I arrived earlier in the day, and after another 15 minutes of walking I found my next destination, Gallinejas Embajadores.
Now some people who know Madrid and its cuisine may start to ask me WTF would I go here after all I’ve had already today? Well, it’s something that’s extremely hard to find anywhere else in the world, so…
I won’t explain. If you know, you know. Let’s just say as an offal eater, this is pretty awesome… But if you don’t want to know, you don’t want to know. I thanked the frier of the lovely offal and headed on out, getting quite stuffed but glad for the long walks in between stops. The day is still young, and I guess I’m gonna push myself…
I head back north, slightly west, towards Centro and 20 minutes later I stop at the venerable Casa Lucio.
It’s a bit of a posh place and famous with VIPs, but it’s worth a short stop. It’s mid-afternoon and the tourist hordes have gone and I stop by just before they finish their lunch service. A quick stop as I just needed one dish…
Yep, rabo de toro. Now eating this on the 4th stop of the day is quite a bad cardiovascular idea, but hey, the clogging is in my #imaginaryaorta right? Lovely, rich, just absolutely gorgeous stuff… I kept myself to one dish and headed out, as even in an imaginary trip it’s starting to get a bit too heavy. So I start on my way back for the long walk north-east back towards Salamanca…
Just over half hour later I get back to Salamanca and I’m near my hotel, and I decide, why the hell not. One last stop, as the one thing I’ve not had yet today for this now-5-part lunch…
Of course conveniently I’m staying near a Joselito’s, so it’s convenient to have this as a snack before my siesta…
A jamón flight at this hour, after 4 filling stops, is not a healthy way to do things — even on an #imaginarytrip — but yet it’s done. Lovely to savour every piece of all 3 selection, just pure joy. Even if you get a top quality one elsewhere, it’s just not quite the same as having it here in Spain… So good.
But I’m about to pass out, so I finish the 3 trays of delight, drain my third glass of dry sherry, and head out of this “fast food” joint and stumble to my nearby hotel, where I truly need a siesta. You really start to understand why it’s so much a part of the culture…
Oh, this has been a fabulous if not excessive #imaginaryday of eating here in Madrid…and the day is only half done! It shall continue — after the siesta!
Viridiana
Calle de Juan de Mena 14
Casa Alberto
Calle de las Huertas 18
Gallinejas Embajadores
Calle de Embajadores 84
Casa Lucio
Calle de la Cava Baja 35
Joselito’s
Calle de Velázquez 30
Madrid, España
melhuang1972 