TAPAS AND SHERRY TASTINGS IN MADRID
The Ubiquitous Uncle
Pepe Overlooking the Puerta del Sol
In addition to fine art
and excellent
shopping, Madrid is also the capital of tapas, with hundreds of tapas bars and restaurants to indulge
the quest for the perfect tasty morsel.
MADRID'S SHRINE TO SHERRY
An Oasis of Sherry Tasting Amid the Bustle
of Madrid
In our quest for tapas, we were fortunate to happen upon the Taberna La
Venencia, which
specializes in Vinos de Jerez and Manzanilla de Sanlucar. The taberna is
located on a busy street not far from the Plaza Mayor, but once inside
you feel as if you've walked into a local taberna in Jerez or Sanlucar,
with dark wood furnishings and many barrels of wine. In addition to
wines from the barrel, the taberna offers a wide variety of sherries and
manzanilla in bottles. The tapas selection was limited but good: the
most interesting was a tangy rocquefort cheese spread on toasted
bread.
We were delighted to see La Venencia mentioned in a July 9, 2000 New York Times travel
article on Madrid. The article brought back great memories, as 'Frugal Traveler'
columnist Daisann McLane wrote: "Cortes put me in the mood for a Madrid
night on the town. I headed straight for the Calle Echegaray, a narrow street not far
from the Prado that's lined with little bars and restaurants. I was thrilled to find that
the sherry bar where I learned to tell the difference between a fino and a manzanilla 12
years ago was still there. Nothing seemed to have altered inside the dark, narrow bar of
La Venencia. Even the dust on the barrels appeared intact. The bartender handed me a fino
and a small dish of perfectly fresh green olives, and marked my bill, as is the custom
there, in chalk on the bar." The article also said: "La Venencia serves sherry -- fino,
manzanilla, amontillado and oloroso -- from large wooden casks, along with fresh olives,
smoked trout and cheese plates. A glass of sherry is around $1, and the plates range
from $1.50 to $4."
TABERNA LA VENENCIA, CALLE ECHEGARAY 7, PHONE: 4297313
WHERE TO
DINE
TAPAS
Enjoying
Sangria on the Plaza Mayor
There
are dozens of tapas bars surrounding the historic Plaza Mayor,
including many with outdoor tables. We also found excellent tapas just a
block south of the plaza at Taberna San Isidro on Calle Toledo. This
cheery, brightly decorated taberna featured a
wide selection of tapas, including delicious mushrooms, chorizos, and
snails. The taberna also offered a very reasonable prix fixe dinner
which included two courses, including a respectable
paella.
TABERNA SAN ISIDRO, CALLE TOLEDO 24, PHONE: 3650244
DINNER
For truly memorable paella, we highly recommend
La Barraca, which is open for dinner after 7:30 p.m. This homey restaurant
specializes in paella, prepared in several styles. We enjoyed the
traditional paella valenciana accompanied by an excellent bottle of
Herencia Remondo Rioja 94 from the Bodegas Palacios.
LA BARRACA,,
CALLE DE LA REINA 29, PHONE: 5327154
Traditional large paella pan
WHERE TO
STAY
We recommend the hotel we stayed in primarily because of its
convenient location, almost directly in between and just a few minutes
walk from the Twin Towers of Madrid tourism: the Museo del Prado and the
huge Cortes
Ingles department store complex on the Puerta del Sol. Hotel Suecia is a
comfortable, smartly decorated, Swedish-run hotel on a quiet street off
one of the main avenues, Alcala.
HOTEL SUECIA,
MARQUES DE CASA RIERA 4, PHONE: 5316900, FAX: 5217141
Food and Wine of Southern Spain
Costa del Sol
Jerez and Seville
Valdepeņas and La Mancha
Toledo
Spain Links
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