butterfly

The Cuban churros that we get when we visit family in Florida are very similar to Spanish churros, but are straight and are served in a bag that is shaken with sugar. They are served out of vans by the side of the road.. Sometimes churros here are served with a little packet of sugar on the side, but I don't see the point of it, since I always dunk. When I lived in DC, there was a place called Churrería Madrid that made Spanish-style churros--but no porras. The churros at Chocolatería San Ginés are also straight--or really arcs. They create a huge churro spiral and then cut it into bits. They aren't my favorites by a long shot. Their porras are a bit better. Personally, I like porras better with cafe con leche and churros better with chocolate. The problem seems to be that the best churros are not served at the best chocolaterías.... at the moment, our favorite churros come from a little neighborhood cafe/bar called "Múñiz" on Calle de Toledo at Calatrava. The churrero there is a sort of zen master--he has a very interesting technique. And, of course, you can't sleep too late if you want to get them fresh, unless you can get in on an afternoon merienda. While staying near A Coruña this summer, a cousin told us that there was an excellent churros place there, but sadly we never got up early enough to go... P.S. At the cafeteria in the bottom of the Facultad de Filología at Complutense, porras y porros seem go together like chocolate con churros.

I dunk them in cafe con leche or chocolate.... I don't think I've ever seen toppings on them. Though I think I did see some filled with chocolate at one of the verbenas in Madrid this summer--which I had always thought was more of a South American thing. I've never seen them used in conjunction with a savory dish. Though they are some what similar to the fried dough that sometimes comes with congee (youtiao).

There are lots of little Moroccan stores sprinkled around La Latina and Lavapies (note: metro is closed in Lavapies, right now). The one that I usually go to is on C/Calatrava. If you are going down C/Toledo frm the La Latina metro, you turn right on Calatrava and it is on the right side--a block or two down. I'll make a point of walking by it later this week to get the exact address and to better check out what they have and will update this thread. In Lavapies, check out the halal meat markets and produce stores. Most usually have Moroccan items. Also, one of the herbolarios in my neighborhood carries a lot of culinary spices--it's at Duque de Alba, 15--close to both the Tirso de Molina and La Latina metro stops.

The snails at our market weren't in estivation. They were out and about (and I'll confess my post was for non-culinary purposes--we adopted one as a pet). I think they were fresh from the farm that day, since they only seem to appear on the weekend. I believe that ours is a helix aspersa--which are served in quite a few of the bars in my neighborhood (La Latina in Madrid). I wonder what variety the tiny snails at El Bulli were. They were very, very tender and flavorful. I've never seen snails this tiny at the market.

Yes, it's actually called estivation. Snails can put themselves into this state of suspended animation when it is too hot and/or too dry.

Well, the live snails turned up as usual at the pescaderia in the market today--quest completed. My market (Mercado de la Cebada) is always better on Fridays and Saturday mornings, but during July and August the difference is much more pronounced.

Reviving this thread for a quirky reason... I'm looking for a source for live snails in Madrid. I've seen them in markets in the past, but now that I'm looking for them, there are none to be found. Perhaps they are out of season or it can be attributed to the summer shut-down. Has anyone seen any lately? On a related note, the snail and necora dish (caracolines con necoras) at El Bulli this season was a real stand-out for me. Such tender little snails.

Just visited STL (my hometown, though I've been away for almost two decades...). I'm living in Spain now, so I went mostly for the food that I can't get here and my old childhood favorites. I was dying for Vietnamese food. I had a great meal at Truc Lam (Vietnamese). Excellent grilled/barbecued pork. Some of the best pho broth I've ever tasted with a nice array of extras. Not much on ambiance, but I highly, highly recommend the place for the food. If you are coming down Grand from 44, you make a right on Gravois and go a few blocks or so and it is on the corner right. For STL pizza and comfort food, I still like Talayna's (now on Debaliviere, unfortunately not nearly as atmospheric as their old spot on Skinker). They now offer other kinds of crust, so be sure to get the STL style. You can get it with provel or mozzarella or a combination (which I prefer). Their caesar salad is an abomination to any purist--huge, cheesy, salty, and chock full of anchovies--but I love it. Also, of course, toasted ravioli. O'Connell's roast beef sandwiches are still a delicious mess. It's nice to see that they haven't given into the fear of rare beef. Sadly, as all of my family has lamented, I found that Pratzel's bagels have changed. They are lighter and have lost their chewiness. They still have a nice flavor, but they aren't what they once were. But what a transformation has taken place on this stretch of Olive (from the inner belt to U City)--an explosion of Chinese grocers and restaurants. About fried brain sandwiches... When I was a kid, you could always find them in South St. Louis in all of the taverns up and down Gravois. This leads me to think that they were a German thing, though my family loved them, as well.

Mr. Shwarma is definitely skippable. More tapas in the Cava Baja/La Latina constellation... Taberna Almendro (c/Almendro) for roscas and huevos rotos and sherry... Marisqueria La Paloma (c/Toledo) for gambas and raw oysters... Toma Jamon (c/Calatrava) for, well, jamon... The aforementioned Tempranillo (Cava Baja) for great wine by the glass... Juana la loca (Plaza de la Cebada) for pintxos.... Sanlucar for tortillitas de camarones and sherry...

Reviving an old thread in search of any new information... My otorrinolaringologa has insisted that I get out of this city (that I love, but is wreaking havoc on my sinuses) and go to the beach and who am I to argue? We'll be staying on the south part of the island--near Son Bou--but will go anywhere, of course. Any other specialties--other than the spiny lobster and the cheese--that we need to try? Also, any good bakeries?

For me, paella is such a simple dish, I never order it in a restaurant. A lot of the ingredients that you mention--chorizo, pork, seafood--aren't in a traditional paella... Which is not to say that the one at Alarbardero was good, just an observation.

The low moisture mozzarella sold in most US supermarkets melts in a stringy way... not right for quesada, in my opinion. And high moisture mozzarella or mozzarella di bufalo--not the easiest thing to get one's hands on in many parts of the US--does not seem destined for baking purposes...

Mozzarella would not work at all. I don't think queso fresco is right, either, as it is too creamy. Ricotta isn't all that close, but I think it would be the closest in an ordinary American supermarket... The only other option might be cottage cheese--put through a blender... Really, there is no close equivalent to queso de Burgos in the US...

If you can't get your hands on Queso de Burgos, then I would probably use a full-fat ricotta. But you might experiment with eliminating a bit of the liquid in the recipe, since ricotta is a softer cheese.

I caught Vamos a Cocinar last weekend. Very nice job done by José. He has a nice laid-back TV presence--very much like the Adria cooking tapes that came with El Periodico, but even more relaxed and with better camerawork. P.S. José--if you need a source for corn tortillas next time you are in Madrid--I can hook you up! We make our own...

I'd take a run to a frutos secos store for marcona almonds, almendras garrapiñadas... Also--if you like to cook--bomba rice, fabes from Asturias, Fuentesaco garbanzos, those tiny little lentils... A couple of Valor "Chocolate a la taza" bars... Canned mussels, navajas, berberechos from Galicia... White asparagus and pimientos del piquillo from Navarra....

Astute points about the hypocrisy of the WSJ. I'm not a huge fan of "branding" (how I hate this word) and some instances--like the insect exhibit at the Smithsonian brought to you by insecticide company X--are really beyond the pale. But I can think of many cases where this sort of thing could be very good for the customer. What if, for example, José gets access to the first jamón ibérico that is available for import to the US and he gets a favorable price from the producers for promoting the product. Who in their right mind would complain! Or if, like so many wine bars here in Madrid, he gets Spanish wine or sherry at a discount from certain producers--in return, he could create a market for these (excellent) wines... Edited for hispanicized spelling errors.

The fishmongers at the market will certainly be able to tell you where a fish was caught and if it was line- or net-caught. You'll always pay a premium for the line-caught fish, because of the added effort expended and the superior quality.

The phoenicians allegedly brought saffron to "Spain"--but it is grown far to the south of Asturias--in an area that wasn't historically well-connected with the other side of the Cantabrian mountain range.

I don't think there's much chance that Asturias is copying Normandy... this is one of the most isolated and steadfastly traditional regions in Spain that we are talking about. I have seen potatoes and steak (usually cut into little bits) with cabrales sprinkled over it in Asturias--mainly as bar food--but I don't think this would necessarily qualify it as a "traditional" dish. When I think of traditional Asturian dishes, I think of the dishes that survived in my husband's family after they immigrated to the US. The stews, bean dishes, chorizo/morcilla, clams, and simply prepared fish and sea creatures. None of these contain dairy products--though some, like chorizo a la sidra and merluza a la sidra make use of apple cider. One question for the experts... How and when did saffron end up in fabes con almejas? It's obviously an exotic ingredient... Incidentally, I recently had a good rendition at La Copita Asturiana in La Latina (only open for weekday lunches--good idea to reserve in advance).

Silly Disciple-- How was the hotel across the street? Do you happen to remember the name?

I think it is petty to denegrate a small business that is just starting up in an area that has seen little or no outside investment in decades. What drives all of this negativity, I wonder. The orgin of most small businesses is eclectic and collaborative. It took a lot of "cojones" to open Colorado Kitchen and DaSto in this location and I commend Gillian Clark for creating something unique in an increasingly cookie cutter American landscape (and I mean that in a bad way--though I'll bet Ms. Clark could do wonders with a cookie cutter) .

I think it is out of line to feature a Baltimore restaurant during DC's biggest tourist weekend of the year--when more out of towners will presumably reading the Post than at any other time. This is a case of very bad programming on the part of the Post. Otherwise, I don't think it's a bad thing, as long as these reviews are reserved for very strong restaurants.

When I lived in DC, one of my favorite local cheesemakers was Pipe Dreams Fromage (Greencastle, PA). They make very good cheeses in the French tradition. The P Street Fresh Fields used to sell their cheese and several restaurants (Obelisk, for sure) served it.

Thanks for the info on Poncelet--I was going to try it back when it opened and somehow it fell off my radar. They also have their own website, which has a lot of information on Spanish and European cheeses: http://www.poncelet.es/