...more recent posts
first of all, my advice is don't even bother to _try_ getting vegetarian food in Madrid; I swear I am telling the truth when I say that at La Gallette, the cute, chic, "best vegetarian" place in town, they have _bacon_ in the so-called macrobiotic special...having said which, man, they have some good bacon in spain...in Madrid we did much better with incredible tapas at La Trutta: octopus, artichokes, squid, etc providing great vehicles for mass quantities of garlic ...Spanish roses -- both Garanacha and Cabernet -- _rule_, even better than the bandols and c.d. provences in southern france... best meal of the whole trip: a perfect, fresh charcoal-grilled whole daurade at a tourist trap opposite the casino in Cannes... in Barcelona, try the Boterofumero, which is a kind of seafood peter luger, with amazing stuffed crab, grilled langostinos, endless raw bar, etc etc...the big barcelona dish is a kind of paella with noodles (i forget the name), which I do NOT recommend, it's a little smelly and boring...i didn't have a single anchovy in spain that wasn't fantastic, and not from lack of experimentation...great white bean soup and fried artichokes at Nino's on the Via Bourguinoni near the spanish steps in Rome, next to which there is a building under construction which is a perfect place for enjoying a preprandial Smoke...oh, and some other important advice: after you've had a shitload of red wine? DO NOT drink a half-bottle or more of grappa. believe me. please. oh yeah, and that debate about where's the best food? italy. in case anyone still has doubts.