Tag: restaurant reviews

Postcard from Madrid, Spain: Savoring international sabores

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A Spanish postage stamp featuring green olives and the text 'D.O.P. Aceite de Madrid', highlighting the gastronomy of the region.

Above: Ceviche verde nortena with avocado ice cream at Tampu Restaurante

By now, readers know we rarely stick to the traditional foods of the country we are visiting. The main reason is that we are slow travelers; we tend to hang out in a city for a while. Bearing that in mind, here is an alphabetical listing of places we tried that you might want to experience.

Al-Mounia is probably the swellest Moroccan restaurant we’ve eaten in. An impressive amuse-bouche consisted of filo cigars of feta and lamb accompanied by a rich side of fried eggplant and roasted tomatoes. Our starter was a chicken and almond pastilla accented with powdered sugar. The lamb tajine with apricots, prunes, almonds and pine nuts that we split was absolutely luscious.

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Postcard from Leon, Spain: Regional specialties to ‘Best Burger in Spain’

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A colorful Spanish postage stamp featuring a flower design made of various food items, celebrating León as the Capital of Gastronomy in 2018.

Above: A generous serving of cecina, thinly sliced cured beef, at Casa Divi.

As do most cities in Spain, Leon prides itself on its regional specialties, many involving meat. The meats of the Castilla y Leon region are indeed delicious, but sometimes we did seek out a few workarounds. The following are the spots we visited, listed in alphabetical order.

A slice of golden-brown savory pancake on a decorative blue and white floral plate.
Above: Tortilla de patatas from Bar El Gallinero.

Never had we spent such a long period in Spain without a classic egg and potato tortilla. To remedy that, Lamar researched where to find the best one in the city. To do that he had to go to a bar, Bar el Gallinero. Open only at night and about as popular a spot on the tapa circuit as you can find.

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Postcard from Zamora, Spain: Sampling regional and international dishes

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A decorative stamp from Spain featuring the word 'Zamora' with images of a wolf, traditional dancers, and a scenic view of Zamora's historic architecture.

Above: Leeks confit topped with toasted almonds at Liberten Restaurante

Zamora is a place one can dive deeply into regional dishes. Having traveled for a few weeks, I would have thought I’d tired of that. But the traditional was so well-prepared, we enjoyed it. Alphabetical restaurant mentions are below.

If you follow this blog, you probably are aware I am a stalker of zamburinas during their season. Capitol‘s preparation of the mollusks was perfect. Our generous dried fruit salad with ripe tomatoes offered wonderful contrasting flavors.

Expect to find cod everywhere, but Capitol did it well. Bacalao al horno with sweet roasted peppers was flaky and moist, with a side of the region’s famed garbanzos from Fuentesauco. Merluza, or hake, de pincho Gallega arrived enveloped in delicate pastry with a leek sauce on the side. Later, I realized Capitol prides itself in its rice dishes, so you might want to ponder that portion of its menu.

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