As a full-time digital nomad, I like to follow the sun: I spend part of the year enjoying summer in South America and the other part spending summer in Europe. This year, however, European summer will look slightly different, as Paris is hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics. Knowing I’d already be in Europe, there was no way I could miss an event of this caliber.
A foodie weekend in Madrid: how to eat and drink like a local
02.04.2024 - 11:27 / theguardian.com
Freshly fried churros, golden and crisp; a cup of velvety hot chocolate alongside; circles of aubergine striped from the griddle; mushrooms silky with chorizo; a jumble of potatoes smothered in spicy sauce; handmade crisps, crunchy and salty; slivers of jamón serrano; plump Nocera olives; and crumbly, herby morcilla … By the end of our first day in Madrid, my sister Penny and I have eaten all these things. A touch indulgent, maybe, but when you’re staying in a city that runs on its stomach, it seems rude not to go with the flow.
Madrileños are famous for eating late, mostly because that mid-evening supper is the last of five meals, starting with a light breakfast – often coffee and a pastry on the fly, before an early lunchtime snack (almuerzo), a full sit-down lunch, usually between 2 and 4pm (comida), then coffee and cake (merienda) and finally supper. Once you understand this, Madrid really starts to make sense: a city of centuries-old pasticceria, hole-in-the-wall tapas bars, neighbourhood markets and dimly-lit bodegas, all crammed with diners. Someone is always eating somewhere. During our visit, it was usually us.
Things begin well with the discovery that Los Artesanos 1902 (chocolateria1902.com) – arguably the city’s best-loved churreria – is just around the corner from our hotel. History and tradition are a big part of Madrid’s foodie culture, with many eateries run by the same family for generations. The churros we devour – dipped in rich chocolate the colour of mahogany – are made by the grandsons of the original proprietor; they are fried to perfection and dusted with sugar and cinnamon. Around us, everyone from groups of teenagers to elderly couples is eating and drinking exactly the same thing.
Restaurants specialising in one dish are common in the city, from chorizo-stuffed mushrooms at Mesón del Champiñón (mesondelchampinon.com), to finger-singeing bowls of gambas al ajillo at La Casa del Abuelo (lacasadelabuelo.es) – another Madrid institution, owned by the same family since 1906. Evening get-togethers tend to be convivial rambles between bars, each selected for one particular dish. We learn all this on a four-hour Devour Madrid food tour (devourtours.com) that wraps 2,000 years of Spanish history around four tapas stops, fuelled by tinto de verano – the city’s simplified version of sangria, red wine topped up with a mild lemonade (unusual, but oddly drinkable).
I’m not always sure about foodie tours – you can end up eating a peculiar selection of things – but this was a winner. Our guide, Ana, whisked us through Moorish skirmishes, Habsburg domination and the harsh realities of Franco-era Spain, leaving us with full stomachs, a new appreciation of Spain’s volatile past and the strong
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