MADRID and CUENCA 11/24

erica1 · November 17, 2024, 10:27am

We have only two nights in the Spanish capital before heading for Cuenca, tomorrow. Our first meal coincided with my birthday dinner and both of us were thrilled with our choice of LA CASTELA, in the Retiro district. From the street this looks like a br but the space is deep, comprised of a few dining areas. We booked online, requesting the low tables in the rear dining room, where the menu is slightly different than at the bar but I imagine one could order from the bar menu even while seated in the rear.

We arrived at 8:30 and by 9:30 the back room and in fact, the entire restaurant, was full with a lot of action at the packed bar.

Our main waiter, a plump balding middle aged man (thank goodness he will not read my description of him!) was a model of what a perfect waiter should be. Brisk but welcoming, willing offer explanations.

As usual, we over ordered, as I forgot that even if not mentioned on the carta, many if not most dishes could be ordered in half portions.

First we were treated to a plate of some of the sweetest shrimp I’ve ever tasted. I asked if they were quisquillas but the waiter corrected me: Gambas. Tiny whole shrimp of which I ate the entire creature. Impeccably salted… I hope someone can give me more information and the exact name so that I can order them again.

For now, here are exterior and interior photos, plus the shrimp and the top-rate yellow-hued bread, with the rest of the dishes coming as soon as they load.

Shrimp amuse; black olives and pickled peppers (name??)

Rear dining room where we ate:

Patrons entering the front bar door about 9:45pm.

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Maribel · November 17, 2024, 12:43pm

Name? piparras or also known in the Basque Country as guindillas.

Glad you enjoyed your dinner! We’re headed there tomorrow after our day at the Guía Peñín Sala de Catas.

La Castela is an extremely popular place, and for a reason!

damiano · November 17, 2024, 1:45pm

Also favourite here among us hungry onions!!

erica1 · November 17, 2024, 2:01pm

Maribel, we both loved it…your recommendation, as usual. What would. you name those shrimp?

I always seem to miss you by ONE day!!

Maribel · November 17, 2024, 2:09pm

I’ll let you know after tomorrow. I would just call them gambas, as at La Catapa, they’re called gambas and served as one of the 6 choices for an amuse bouche/complimentary treat (aperitivo).

For each round of drinks taken at the La Castela bar, a different aperitivo is served.

We’ve been hitting the Retiro dining district hard as of late: La Castela, Castelados, La Montería, La Raquetista, Salino, La Monte. Best RCP (relación calidad precio) in town.

Looking forward to the rest of the photos!

tigerjohn · November 17, 2024, 5:59pm

There are different RCP measure (hard to beat a $10 per person set of shared dishes at a mid range resto in Thailand for the vibrancy and quality of aromatics and flavors or a $1 gordita with carnitas, mushrooms and queso off the street in Mexico City) but no country does high quality fish, seafood and meat with a level of sophistication and execution like Spain for the prices they charge.

Maribel · November 17, 2024, 6:19pm

I agree about the level of quality, sophistication and execution for the price in Spain. And I was referring to those dining spots with the best RCP in town, in Madrid specifically, not worldwide.

You might be interested in today’s El País gastro section, whose critics have highlighted their favorite dining spots as well as gastro shops, bars and coctelerías in many provinces, including Arrea! in Campezo, Bar FM in Granada, Casa Fermín in Oviedo, etc…
It’s La Guía Gastro 2025.

erica1 · November 17, 2024, 6:44pm

LA CASTELA:

Remember, as I did not until after I ordered, that many dishes can be ordered in half portions, which allows sampling a good variety of great food at a very reasonable price:

There were some “specials” including fish, but we stuck to the written offerings with the exception of the perfectly fried slices of fried artichokes; they were salty but I like a lot of salt! I should have ordered a half portion because the shrimp, and these, pretty much filled me up.

I remembered the ensalada with Cecina that I loved at LA CASTILLERIA near Vejer so had a feeling that this would be a great salad my partner ordered a half portion which came with great tomatoes pencil-thin wild asparagus (trigueros). Note that even on my birthday, I was not offered even a tiny taste!
I rarely see cured meats in a salad in the US. Excellent dressing would be essential and it was excellent here. Note that because I was not offered a taste, I am hard put to find the tomatoes in the photo, above. but what a beautiful salad!

The bread has been mangled before the photo but I could tell by touching the crust that it would be excellent and it was. Served with picos.

Sorry order of text got mixed up, above.

My chultetas de Cordero. The cut was a little different than the rib chops that I like best but these were very good served with wonderful wonderful potatoes.

The honor of the best dish of the evening, tied with the gambas and only slightly ahead of the shrimp, was the outstanding secreto Iberico, a vaunted cut of pork that was served with a barbecue sauce!    I KNOW that this dish will be at the top of my list (Ojala it will still be on the menu) when I return to LA CASTELA!!

NOTE: I cannot seem to add this paragraph to the thread; only one fragment was posted, so I will write it again:

The honor of the best dish of the evening, tied with the gambas and only slightly ahead of the shrimp, was the outstanding secreto Iberico, a vaunted cut of pork that was served with a barbecue sauce! I KNOW that this dish will be at the top of my list (Ojala it will still be on the menu) when I return to LA CASTELA!!

Note about timing, since their website is not clear; the bar area opens at 8pm and the restaurant at 8:30pm.

One glass of Riesling and water brought the total to about 71euro…outstanding value for the price.

I’ll note that taxis from our hotel in Almagro cost 13 euro and 15 euro. So far I am finding prices for taxis far lower than they are in Manhattan. The distance is walkable for anyone in moderate shape.

Due to how tired I figured we would be today, and the closure of many places on Sundays, I decided we would have lunch instead of dinner today and since I knew we would not be all that hungry after a late breakfast, I decided to take my partner to SALA DE DESPIECE, where I had been two years before; both the fun atmosphere and creative food, and the good service made me think we would both enjoy this beguiling restaurant set in a container on fairly charming C/Ponzano. How wrong I was! Neither of us enjoyed our lunch and while seated at the counter, I remembered that a while back on this forum I mentioned that this place was good for a first visit only. Too bad I did not recall my comment. According to the partner, some dishes had very little taste and according to me, they tried too hard with other dishes and added too many “creative” touches which were not needed for example, in the case of the navajas, even though those were not of the best quality I’ve had. (That might be why they felt they had to gussy them up, because I remember last time they were excellent and to fussed with; cause today is Sunday??? I will post some photos and a few comments once I wake up from the lingering jet lag.

Tomorrow we are on our way to Cuenca so I can catch up there!!

Maribel · November 17, 2024, 7:13pm

Yes, we walk from our hotel on Calle Amador de los Ríos to La Castela but taxi fares are certainly cheaper here than in Manhattan.

Just so you´ll know, the owner of Sala de Despiece, Javier Bonet, has opened a new (and a bit strange—no photos allowed!) place in the Salamanca district on Calle Ayala, called SSD Sala Cero, a “futuristic” place inside a freezer (???). And he’s planning to move the original SSD to another location in the Chamberí district. That may explain the difference between your 2 visits. He’s concentrating on his new venture, Sala Cero.

2 reviews of the new Sala Cero from El Mundo and El País (I DON’T plan to visit),

erica1 · November 17, 2024, 7:25pm

Gosh, I can see why I will not be meeting you there. They ought to provide space helmets for all guests! Por favor!

Maribel · November 17, 2024, 7:28pm

Yes, I agree!

erica1 · November 18, 2024, 4:41pm

Here are the comments and photos from my late lunch at SALA DE DESPIECE in March 2023. Two of the dishes overlapped: Their famous “Rolex” and the artichoke, but I was less wowed by both of these on the second go round. My partner, as mentioned, did not like the Rolex. This is still a fun restaurant, maybe for your diners with a moderate budget and a hankering for someplace “cool.” The waiter said they now call it “international creative.” I did not hear English spoken by any diners, but there were other Europeans lined up with us along the bar, and we sat next to a couple of guys from Murcia (:our city is the one part of Spain you should never visit!!" So much for hometown pride!!"

The disappointment began early, with the presentation of the
beignet" amuse, sprinkled with powdered chipotle. Fried dough with no taste; Before tasting I thought they were onion rings and I wish they had been! Or at least a dip should have been presented.

Their famous artichoke, which I was instructed to eat in one bite, was good. A baby artichoke is crisply fried and studded with dots of guacamole spiked with a splash of lime. Good farmed caviar (RioFrio???) nestled at the top. It’s a gorgeous dish but the surprise was long gone. Tasty, however.

The “Rolex” arrived next…a pounded thin scarf of raw pancetta softened with a blowtorch (you will see this gadget used over and over during the course of your meal here). A golden orb of yolk cooked for two hours until it becomes jammy perfection, sits in a disc of foie topped with a mash of truffle and mushroom (I think they like to throw around the t-word cause I detected no taste or aroma of the black tuber. Then the pancetta is rolled up, sliced into two portions, and blowtorched again for you to pop into your mouth. I thought it was pretty good but partner did not…I’ll post the complete dish when I can.

It’s fun to watch the cooks at work in front of you at the counter, blowtorches in hand, and most of the staff is incredibly friendly although very rushed. Unfortunately we were attended to by probably the least friendly staff member in the place. No smile, no effort at chatting…so sprit of the place could be detected and despite my negative comments, the place does have spirit.

I’mm still waiting for our last two dish (the disappointing razor clams and a more disappointing connection of Cecina and sausage curled into thinly fried potto cups ) to load up, so now I’ll put up a photo of the 14 euro tomato with basil…I guess it was par boiled before peeling. It was on an adjacent plate so I did not get to sample.

erica1 · November 24, 2024, 6:16pm

II just noticed that I never commented on the two dinners we had in Cuenca, one at the Parador where we were staying (only because my mixup caused us to miss a much awaited lunch at ASADOR NAZARENO Y ORO), and the other at EL FIGON DE HUECAR. Both were good, and we had some very unusual (to me) items typical of Cuenca at the Parador. Neither was all that memorable, except for those two unusual Conquenese dishes. I’m happy to comment and post photos if anyone is interested; just let me know, otherwise I’ll concentrate on keeping up with my separate thread about our week in Valencia.

erica1 · December 5, 2024, 2:43am

Three traditional Conquenese dishes (from Cuenca):

Zarajo–lamb intestines shredded and fried and rolled up in neat packages…partner devoured the plate; there are “factories” that make this dish throughout Cuenca and La Mancha. Served here with mayonnaise.

Morteruelo, a mash of pig liver and innards from “products from the hunt,” such as hare, partridge, rabbit, etc:

Migas, Castillian dish of bread crumbs and pork bits, sometimes grapes, sometimes with fried egg. This photo was taken when I ate it for breakfast at the Parador in Cuenca. Very nice to make at home with chorizo, breadcrumbs, and a dark green vegetable like kale. (I tweak an old Mark Bittman recipe from the NYTimes that he calls something else but it is similar to migas…w eat it often for dinner; you can also add beans, or anything else you like:

Maribel · December 5, 2024, 1:38pm

The traditional migas dish (also known as migas de pastor), as you known, was a dish of humble origin (cocina de los pobres) that shepherds who slept in the sierras originally cooked to use up leftover stale bread since they didn’t have fresh bread. Tallow, days old bread, garlic, water and salt. Cocina de aprovechamiento.

For cold weather, for me nothing is more comforting than a good plate of migas. especially with a fried egg on top! Our favorite bistrot in our Madrid suburb serves daily a complimentary dish of migas as an amuse bouche (aperitivo).

This dish can also be enjoyed in Navarra at the 40+ year old Mesón Las Torres in the charming hilltop town of Ujué (200 inhabitants). It’s widely known throughout Spain for its migas. The Day of the Migas there is celebrate on the Sunday following the beginning of their patron saint festival in September, Natividad de la Virgen.

In many country restaurants in Extremadura (look for migas extremeñas), it´s a popular dish as well as in Aragón and Murcia (those traditionally poorer regions)

https://www.mesonlastorres.com/las-migas/#top

When you’re next in Sevilla, an atmospheric and extremely popular dining spot close to the Cathedral in El Arenal where a great migas dish is served is Bodeguita Casablanca.
Ingredients here: bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil, panceta, red and green pepper and chorizo.

Another regional La Mancha dish: atascaburras
Recipe here:

A typical La Mancha pastry: flores, served traditionally during Holy Week or Carnival.

Good for your partner for tackling and enjoying those zarajos—I give them a hard pass!

erica1 · December 5, 2024, 1:52pm

Maribel, Bodeguitas Casablanca! I WiLL go there. I know it´s an old line place and I´m always passing by but never ate there. I actually sent my sister and Andre, even though I´d not been, and they loved it and ate there more than once one winter when they were in the city for a few weeks. It´s the first now on my list for Sevilla, except for, you know, Azotea! And they have lomo en manteca!

You need to book for dinner, right?

Maribel · December 5, 2024, 2:16pm

Yes, It’s so small you definitely need to book for both lunch and dinner!
Very popular with the lunch time crowd at the government building next door, so all the high tables outside and inside low tables are always reserved.
It has a Repsol solete.

My friend Shawn’s review-

Penelope Casas’ Foods & Wines of Spain has a migas recipe with cured ham, p. 154

Monchique · December 5, 2024, 2:52pm

Hi Maribel, as you know you will also find migas in every restaurant or tasca in the Portuguese region of the Alentejo, for the same reasons: it’s cheap and you can mix the migas with anything at hand from tomato to chouriço, an egg on top if one is available. The bread has to be the pão alentejano, traditional, and cooked in the wood oven. It is eatable for 4 or 5 days, before it becomes to hard and is then used in soup (açorda made with just water, olive oil, garlic, coriander and bread) or the said migas.
I once had a meal in Arraiolos where we started with 6 different flavors of migas, the last one being migas presented in a round bread. Then the meal itself started :o) Eating in the Alentejo requires a solid stomach!

erica1 · December 5, 2024, 3:20pm

Maribel, yes, I immediately looked at Shawn’s review after reading your post here! I only have five days in Sevilla; I know many visitors spend 2-3 days I the city but for me five days seems very, very short. I might be able to extend a couple of days. It’s not until March, but I will begin a thread on eating in Sevilla soon. This year I have about two weeks in Vejer, so let me know of anything new (preferably not IN the town although I will try driving up there at least once!) in the area beside my usual places.

Maribel · December 5, 2024, 3:36pm

I love the hearty Alentejo cuisine and its pão alentejano ! Your meal in Arraiolos (where we’ve stayed at the Pousada) sounds divine! 6 different flavors of migas!