I would love to start this entry with ‘having warmed our legs a little bit in Madrid…’ but there was nothing WARM in Madrid at that point. The temperatures were still as low as below zero at night time! I was told on multiple occasions that the weather was uncharacteristically cold for April, so I just elected to count it as our luck. Temperatures notwithstanding, we continued exploring and eating our way around this cold and windy city. A girl has to eat!

Taberna La Dolores, plaza Jésus, 4, 28012

Taberna La Dolores is definitely more of a local place as it is nowhere near the touristy spots and is located on a corner that is not exactly on the way for the most. Our (cheap) hotel was just down the road, so we have passed La Dolores on multiple occasions and it seemed to always be full at the appropriate hours (I can’t say ‘mealtimes’ because my mealtime is still markedly different from what is locally considered a mealtime). Since we were pressed for time having just signed our new apartment lease agreement, I did not hesitate to pop in there for a quick lunch. When we came in around noon it was still mostly deserted with a few locals hanging around the bar area (which is always a good sign in my opinion – locals congregating at the bar not the absence of the crowds in general that is).

Instead of standing at the bar with what seemed like ‘the regulars’, we sat ourselves at a table. This is significant because many places have a different price(!) for the same items depending on whether you are consuming your victuals at the bar, the table or the terrace (where appropriate). The price difference is usually in the range of 20-50 euro cents but it can be more for the inside vs on the terrace situation. However, if I have a choice between standing at the bar or sitting at a table, I will pick the latter most of the time.

I felt like eating boquerones (anchovies in vinegar) but that was not meant to be with the proprietor going ‘don’t have, mañana‘. Since there was no tomorrow for us, we ordered salted anchovies instead. On their own these anchovies are rather pungent but combined with a potato crisp and a marinated olive or a pepper they transform into a surprisingly balanced bite. We also ordered a plate of mixed tapas (€17) and all of them were very good. There was one with the blue cheese spread, another with smoked salmon and cheese, then anchovies with a marinated red bell pepper and a few others that I cannot recall now. All yummy!

The place got really full while we were having our meal and then it subsided again. We might have spend there close to two hours since we needed some time to kill before grabbing all the stuff from the hotel and going to our new apartment for a handover!

Taberna La Dolores provided a decent enough space to hangout for a while and while the food and drinks were good enough, there is nothing calling my name to go back there. However, if I ever find myself in the area, at least I know where I can get some decent grub. So there is that!

Méson del Champiñón, cava de San Miguel, 17, 28005

With the apartment finally ours, and it took us a while to go around and take pictures of all that is broken or needs fixing which we will not get replaced or fixed anyway (and this is no shade(!) I am just being realistic about the whole Spanish process), we were ready for dinner. Now, Méson del Champigñón is not exactly a tapas place and on top of that is a total tourist trap, however, I really wanted to try these button mushroom bites that they are famous for, so we went.

The mushrooms came hot and steaming but they were good to eat after a minute or so. The trick in eating the mushroom is to hold the two wooden picks at the same time lifting the whole thing up and into your mouth without spilling any of the delicious chorizo juices that get collected in the cap of the ‘shroom. This we did with a varying level of success, Matas electing to use a fork instead (smart man, smart man indeed).

The steak dish that we ordered was truly nothing special. The meat had a decent taste but it was rather chewy and I would have liked it to be more rare as it came out well done around some of the edges making it a tough chew. Padrón peppers were a nice accompaniment, but I would rather just get them as a full plate and forgo the steak altogether.

Again, there is a reoccurring theme of everything being salted very heavily. On a few occasions I have seen people order their items and specifying that they want something ‘sin sal‘ or without salt. I assume the kitchen staff skips the finishing salt if you tell them that. I will have to try and see if it works for us next time as well.

Anyway, I would skip Mesón del Champiñón altogether and find another place to try these mushrooms as I have seen them on the menus at other places too. Overall, I was not that impressed with the food and service here. There are better places to spend you money at.

Bonus round

As if this is not a long post already (bear with me), I have a few bonus pictures to share. As we were walking home talking about how we do not have any snacks to enjoy at home, Matas pointed me to a store we just walked by. At first I had no idea why he wanted me to go into what looked like a corner shop. However, at a closer inspection I saw what he noticed while passing by. The front part of the store had huge bags of dried nuts, fruits and items like beans and grains, however, at the end of the store there was an olive counter and what an olive counter that was! We took home two small boxes, I would guess around 0.3l each, one of olivas picantes and another one of revuelto agridulce which I take to mean a mix of pickles. Our mix contained tiny gherkins, olives, carrots, peppers and pearl onions.

Anyway, what I wanted to say is give such shops a chance! Mercados can only get you so far (and most of them close early anyway) and stay clear away from the grocery stores (turn to them only as the last last last resort)! So if you are ever pressed to find a little snack with your nightcap, a dried goods store might come in handy (out of all places!). I sure am glad I have this on my way home from my local vermouth store (a story for another time!). Ha.