Madrid: Maestro Churrero, Buen Retiro Park, Buying Jamon at Ferpal, and Lunch at La Posada de la Villa

We really hadn't planned on getting Chocolate con Churros, even though it's a favorite breakfast for many. I'm just not a big fan of Churros....as we know it in SoCal. But Emilio, one of the owners of the apartment we were staying in really said that we should try the Chocolate con Churros (for some reason folks tend to call it Churros con Chocolate) at Maestro Churrero in Plaza de Jacinto Benavente, which was quite close to the apartment. So on our last morning in Madrid we headed over. We cracked up when we found the place; we'd passed it once at least everyday we were in Madrid. It really looked like some fast-food joint.

So, how did we like it? Well, the churros weren't overly sweet, but crisp, light, and reminded the Missus of youtiao for some reason. The chocolate was thick like pudding and not overly sweet either. The Missus enjoyed it much more than I did, so I'm thinking we may have this again if we're back in Spain.

Maestro Churrero Cafeteria Churreria
Plaza De Jacinto Benavente 2
Madrid, Spain

After this we headed back to Puerta del Sol. While the Missus loves the Tio Pepe sign, my favorite landmark is the Bear and The Madrono Tree, which is the National Coat of Arms of Madrid.

While the sun was shining brightly, the temperature was still fairly mild, so we headed down Calle de Alcala......

Here you can see the top of the Metropolis Building, a landmark on longest and one of the oldest streets in Madrid.

We walked to Puerta de Alcala.....

Then right into Retiro Park, a very nice green area that was once the lair of the Monarchy in Spain.

There are gardens, sculptures, galleries, and a lake.....called "Estanque del Retiro", Retiro Pond, which is does not resemble any "pond" I can think of.

The grand structure you see in the photo is the Monument to Alfonso XII.

After a nice stroll in the park we headed up Calle de las Huertas, then, somehow ended up on Calle Concepcion de Jeronima...and the intersection of Jeronima and Calle Toledo. The Missus immediately recognized the shop on the corner Calzados Lobo. this store specializes in espradilles; shoes and sandals and has been around since 1897. The Missus suddenly just "needed" some sandals. Though it looked pretty mellow from the exterior, it was packed......

I just tried to stay out of the way and hide in a corner while the Missus went about things.

Actually, the guy that helped the Missus was a total pro; the Missus told him Her size.....metric of course, which he brought, in addition to a size smaller, which he thought would fit Her better and did.

The Missus was quite happy, until She came upon Casa Hernanz....which claims to have been in business since 1845....check out the line.

Talk about buyers remorse. I didn't feel so bad though, as I really didn't want to stand in this line. As we walked around the streets near Puerta del Sol, the Missus reminded me of how boring my tastes are in clothes....so I ended up buying some bright, bright, blue loafers....I was actually going for the red; but even the Missus backed down on those.

We had a flight the next morning and started thinking about having something to snack on....and Ferpal, which we'd visited earlier came to mind. So we stood in line.....

And got some of the Jamon Iberico Pata Negra; the top of the line Jamon......as you'll see in a later post, even at 160 euros a kilo, this was worth much, much more.....

It was getting close to 1pm....early for lunch by Madrileno standards, but we were hungry. Emilio had recommended trying La Posada de la Villa, which, for some reason we had never seen during our visits to Calle Cava Baja.

This restaurant, built on the site of an inn which dates back to 1642 is full of character. From the somewhat formal, though still relaxed service, to the chairs, which have the names of famous customers carved in them.

Want to know who this dude was? Well you can find out here...... there's even some scandal involved!

The meal started rather inauspiciously. The croquettas didn't impress. The Revuelto de Esparragos was nice, the eggs fluffy, but the dish wasn't anything special.

The mushrooms were nice, the portion size amazingly large.

But it was the Callos Madrilenos, tripe stewed in the style of Madrid that really got us. The "stew" was thick and just coated your belly, rich and slightly gelatinous.

The texture of the tripe was perfect; not too chewy, but toothsome; the morcilla was fine, nothing special, but it just fit well in the dish. This was a nice, hearty dish. and while we were a bit afraid that the place would be a tourist trap, it was not. In fact, if we're ever in Madrid during the winter season, we might just stop in for the house specialty; the roasted kid lamb for two!

Posada de la Villa
Calle de la Cava Baja 9
Nadrid, Spain

Comments

[kat]

another great day!

[Kirk]

It was Kat!

[janfrederick]

I've only ever had the Filipino version of Callos.

[Kirk]

It similar Jan, except the Spanish version is much more gooey-hearty. And the Spanish version often includes morcilla.