MadridEating; Starting with a glimpse of Spain

I guess the best way to start posting about our Madrid food trip is to begin with a post that truly showcases what Food Loving Madrid is all about – quality, freshness and seasonal produce. As Spanish gastronomy today gets widely associated with Progressive Cuisine/avant-garde (and God forbid if you still think that Molecular Gastronomy is a cooking style … I mean seriously ?? ) You can’t deny the fact that it is in Spain where our new cuisine was born. BUT! the difference is that (besides having the basics right) they have and understand what quality & freshness are.  And how do you say all this in Spanish ? Simply say …

Well ok not so, however at mercado de San Miguel you sure can find all of it. Located just outside the Plaza Mayor, it sure is the buzz of the area. Mercado de San Miguel first opened its doors on 13th May 1916 and has been through quite a number of vigorous renovations, opening and closing every few years. And recently just reopened its doors again. It is framed with glass in a detailed Beaux Arts architectural structure, simply gorgeous.

Here at the San Miguel market, it is where the produce takes center stage, where you would be able to taste what you’re going to buy and be sure that only the best seasonal produce is sold to you.

However as gathered from my good friend Adam (who took us around for a day), these days, hardly any real marketing is done here. Locals and tourists flock here to eat, feast and be merry. It is also a meeting point for professionals and gourmands who come for advice or well … whatever they need. Books and kitchen utensils could also be purchased, however sadly, not anymore after the recent renovation. The bookstore folded, maybe it was due the fact that it sold cooking books so much cheaper that the mega book stores. But all these obviously did not dampen our spirits .. after all we are hardcore foodies! So much so we kind of returned back every evening .. hahaa I mean who would not love walking up to a stall, order the best produce available and have wine at the same time?!?!

Percebe Gallego or Goose necks (will post about it soon) .. the best sea creature I have ever tasted !!

Camerones (focused) & Gambas Blanca (out of focus)

Standing there and slowly peeling through and sucking on the heads of these bad boys devouring what Anthony Bourdain calls “the sauce that God made” then using these same hands covered with the goodness from all that fresh seafood to pick up my transparent plastic cup of chilled Chardonnay and repeating the process again and again like the mechanism of a well oiled coal train. Then when we were done here the obvious question was .. “so what next??” (we prefer to refer to ourselves foodies, but it’s all a disguise for our true nature, HUNGER. Some might refer to us as gluttons, but neh, we don’t like them people … hahaaa)

I mean honestly, tell me you don’t like having freshly shucked succulent oysters with a well chilled, fine bubbled champagne. Liar liar much now, shame on you … hahaaa … but for those who don’t, fret not …

Pintxos (pin-ch-Os)(tx is pronounced as ch as in chin)

Whats that?? Well it is a finger food, like a tapa however slightly bigger and served on a slice of bread. the French have their tartin and the Spanish their pintxos. They say the best pintxos in Spain come from the Basque Country and within, San Sebastian serves the best pintxos (and of course we also made our way down to San Sebastian hahaaa … ) Anyway, the pintxos above (clockwise), Pulpo (octopus), anchoa (anchovy), avruga caviar and bacalao (salted cod). Savoury bites of the sea …

Now for the real reason why we kept going back (well at least mine) …

Jamón ibérico de bellota! Absolutely the finest cured meat in the world !!! (well for me anyway) And with further information gathered from Adam, the best of the finest jamón ibérico de bellota does not leave Spain. And the finest jamón ibérico de bellota in Madrid is found here at mercado de San Miguel. (so now you know the reason for our daily visits .. hahaa) Will do a separate post on this.

Something about the way the fatty & savoury notes from the jamón ibérico de bellota and the sweet & tannic notes from a well chilled sangria (served in a plastic cup as well) is perfect to cool you down on a sunny afternoon in Madrid … no I am not giving excuses to have more … as you can tell from the following photo I can resist the mighty jamón ibérico de bellota …

hahaaa .. well not so …

Not forgetting all the sweet lovers out there, mercado de San Miguel also offers a large variety of pastries from the pastelarias ..

Hope this post gives you a better insight into what really counts at the end of the day – knowing good produce and wanting to appreciate it for what it is first before any creativity kicks in. Keep checking back for our Madrid journey .. till the next post ….

Happy Fooding !!! Ahí nos vemos !!!

Please follow the link HERE for more photos at mercado de San Miguel