Finding a dish or an ingredient that I have never had before excites me to no end. I get so happy solely by the thought of trying something new. One of these tapas bars managed to elicit some of that wondrous astonishment. Curious? Read on!

El Boqueron, calle de Valencia, 14, 28012

El Boqueron (they literally named themselves after an anchovy) is another one of our local tapas bars that specialises in seafood. This one is located in the area called Lavapiés and in most literature I saw this barrio described as “up and coming” and “hipster” while I would say it is rather on the spectrum of “shady, shady AF”. OK, OK, it is not that bad but it definitely is no Retiro, Salamanca or Chamberí. Do with this information what you will.

Again, we started the meal with a little glass of vermouth and tinto de verano with which we got some anchovies in vinegar. Boquerones en vinagre is one of my favourite tapas, really, so whenever I get this as a snack, I am a very happy person. Another popular free tapa is potato crisps and those get very old very quickly.

We started this dinner with an ensalada (€9), a tomato salad with both vinegar and salted anchovies. And I have to tell you, I am not a big tomato person but those tomatoes were THE BOMB. The skin was crisp and snappy, the flesh was firm not mushy, and the taste, a combination of sweet and acidic, made me very happy (and I am still on the quest to find these at the market – no luck yet).

Anyway, the reason we were at El Boqueron in the first place was percebes (€12) or gooseneck barnacles. I was scrolling through Google Maps, looking up some nearby places to dine at and these PREHISTORIC-LOOKING DINOSAUR TEETH just popped up on my radar and I was immediately like “I have to eat these”. I legitimately have never seen them before or ever heard about a thing called a gooseneck barnacle, so of course I convinced Matas to tag along. How did we fare? Well, read below.

Apparently, gooseneck barnacles are considered a delicacy in Spain and Portugal. I guess you learn something new every day. So how do you eat them? Simple! (I had to watch a Youtube tutorial so as not to make a fool of myself before coming but I saw a waiter showing another couple how to peel them, so we would have been fine). To peel and eat: hold the prehistoric-looking dino teeth in one hand and pinch away at the rubbery outer layer that clings to it. Once you remove the outer layer, you can either twist and pull the remaining flesh with your hand or use your teeth.

So what about the taste? I saw elsewhere that it is described as a cross between lobster and clam but I am not sure. I surely enjoyed it as a thing of its own. Every bite of the gooseneck barnacle was like a little gulp of fresh seawater. Sounds much worse than it is but combined with the meat being surprisingly sweet and tender, it created a little seafood miracle in the mouth. I am hardly surprised by the food these days but eating these was such an utter delight.

The guys at El Boqueron were shucking oysters left and right, so we had to try them. Ostras (€12) come in half a dozen but of course you can always order more. I am a big fan of plump, meaty oysters and these fell a little short of that category. A few of the oysters had a bit of a bitter aftertaste and that was not very enjoyable. The ones that were good, were good but that was just that.

El Boqueron gets total Ieva’s seal of approval. Come here and try percebes if you have never had them before. What a treat!

La Taberna Sanlúcar, calle de San Isidro Labrador, 14, 28005

We ended up at La Taberna Sanlúcar because the place I initially wanted to go was closed that day. This is a good reminder not to trust business hours posted on Google Maps or Facebook or even on their websites. The proprietors of tapas bars work in mysterious ways. You are either lucky or not! La Taberna Sanlúcar was on my never-ending to-eat list and it was not too far from the closed bar, so we ended up here instead.

OK, I really do need to write a few words about this house bread. It was fantabulous. I am not exactly a big fan of the complimentary (or not so complimentary) bread that you get at the food establishments in Madrid, so whenever I get a tasty piece of bread, Matas can attest, I beam. I also beam when you hand me a glass of wine. So there is that.

It is not yet season for cold soups, so gazpacho – a thin cold tomato soup – was not available, however they had something called salmorejito Cordobé (€5.50) that we took instead. Salmorejo is another cold tomato soup that is thick, creamy and made with a bunch tomatoes, garlic and a ton of olive oil. It comes with bits of cooked egg and ham that you mix together with the soup to your liking. I have never had salmorejo before and I already see this being my summer favourite. It is very flavourful, and the creamy, silky texture is very pleasing to eat.

We also ordered half a portion of fried orteguillas de mar or sea anemone (€11.90) as it was another thing I have never had before. My Lithuanian (and maybe other) friends will understand what I mean by saying that both the texture AND taste brought me back to my childhood of eating fried freshwater fish roe. It has such a specific aroma and taste: the crispy outside and the roe-y yet creamy inside. I know I am not making much sense right now but I have not had fried roe (the Lithuanian or, maybe, my family’s way) for such a long time, so this dish was doubly special. I cannot say it is for everyone though.

Ordering queso de oveja (€5.50) was another one of those moments where, when the dish came, I thought for sure the waiter misunderstood me and brought me a full portion. This is not a full portion, this is not even a half portion, this is a TAPAS portion. Tapas portion, Carl! 10 big pieces of cheese. And we already had ordered another thing to come. Well, let me tell you, the cheese was delicious, so we ate it all.

The other dish is called pringá del puchero (€3.50) and it should, if I understand correctly, be a slow and long braised pork dish. It was under the section called ‘montaditos‘ i.e. sandwich-style tapas, so I assumed it will look like a little pulled pork sandwich. It actually came in a bowl stewed together with chickpeas and was super yummy and flavourful, however (a recurring theme) was very heavily salted. So much so that that I had spend the rest of the night being mightily parched. This has also to do with the fact that the concept of complimentary table water does not exist in Spain and I refuse to pay for water. Ha!

If you are wandering about my seal of approval, well yes, it is there, but I would not go out of my way too much to go to Sanlúcar unless you really want to try these dishes that have already been tested and approved by my taste buds. I mean, I am pretty sure all of these foods can be found at other tapas bars.

Mundane update alert (sorry!)

If you care to read on, I thought I will give you a little update on our Spanish fitness journey so far. I cannot say we were spoilt for choice regarding gyms in and around La Latina but before moving I managed to find two suitable choices for Matas and I. We were totally spoilt by the gyms in Singapore where you payed a lot but you also received your money’s worth in the access, classes and services at a club, so Madrid was a little bit underwhelming.

Out of the two gyms, we picked the one that was a little bit more expensive but it looked like it had more equipment and more training space for Matas, and it also had two daily yoga classes to choose from for me. The signing up process was not too bad as we had looked up the prices and packages online beforehand and they actually gave us an additional discount at the counter. The member of the front staff spoke decent English and we were able to communicate quite well. The same could not have been said about the trainer who was assigned for our “induction”. But since both Matas and I know what we are doing, the fact that the guy knew all of three English words were not a problem for us.

Now, everyone reading this will get a kick out of how I joined a geriatric yoga group and learned to love it. Anyway, the gym membership did not come with the yoga classes, these cost an additional €54.90 per month. There are two daily yoga classes, one in the morning and one in the evening, alternating in style between iyengar yoga and Bikram (hot) yoga. I was not familiar with the iyengar style at all but I have done hot yoga before, so I thought I will give these two classes a go.

Now here is the kicker! The first yoga class I went to – iyengar style – started at 9:00 AM. I was already waiting by the yoga room when my first yoga “classmates” showed up. Two Jane Fonda-esque ladies (make up and jewelry included) came first, suspiciously looking like they were WELL over 65. Two men came next. Again, very well prepared for their yoga class with head bands and other accessories, yet making me question what the hell did I sign up for. Another mixed group of budding octogenarians arrived and I knew I was in trouble trouble (sing-song the “trouble trouble”).

One of the surprisingly sprightly elderlies told me this yoga class is “very good” and that she particularly likes the teacher (clearly implying that the other teacher was not liked that much). I *maybe* understood what she meant when the instructor showed up? Not my cup of tea but if she digs him, who am I to judge? What I was getting at? Umm… so, yeah, the morning iyengar yoga class consists of six septuagenarians and me. Go figure.

Oh, by the way, at this point in time I already gone to a few iyengar yoga classes and I have totally joined the elderlies in David’s fan club. He came to find me after my second yoga class to tell me how good my posture was, how I was so thoughtful and concentrated and that I should be a yoga instructor. What’s not to dig? *insert a winking emoji*