There are countries of the
world in which the people eat in order to live, and then there are those whose
peoples live in order to eat. The latter are by far the better vacation lands,
and Spain, happily for you, Is among them. The peninsula is a gastronomical
adventure, a land where the cry is, "Tapear", meaning something like,
"Here's a chance to eat ! Let's get to it !"
Besides the standard three
meals, which all but a few dangerous subversives have recognized as a civilized
minimum, the Spanish insist on at least a "chateo" (pre‑meal snack)
before lunch and dinner, and a "merienda" (high tea) in the late
afternoon.
This makes a total of six
formally designated eating times per day. But don't be afraid of improvisation.
In Spain you can eat and drink all day and three‑quarters of the night; your
estimation in the eyes of Spaniards grows as you loosen your belt.
The malter of eating times
has long perplexed and disgruntled visitors to Spain. I have spoken to
Americans who came back from Spain exclaiming, "I never eat with the
Spaniards. They only eat snacks". This is because the Spanish snack times
correspond roughly to American meal times. If you want to eat your full meal
along with everyone else, when the best cooking is done and the atmosphere is
convivial, the secret is to wait, and when you're so hungry you can't last
another minute, wait another hour. The earliest permissible eating hours, are:
for breakfast, between 9 and 10 a.m.; pre‑lunch chateo, between 1 and 2:30 p.m.;
lunch, between 1:30 and 3 p.m.; merienda, between 6 and 7 p.m.; pre‑dinner
chateo, between 9 and 10:30 p.m.; dinner, between 10 p.m. and midnight
(slightly earlier for theater‑goers).
It's worth while waiting for
the proper times; there's nothing so much a bummer as eating in a nearly empty
restaurant. if you think you'll have trouble waiting, prac
tice at home before you go.
A few working Spanish begin
the day with a fairly stiff drink. Try it. You're on vacation. Among ifs
virtues: it is more pleasant than toothpaste or mouthwash, it makes the Spanish
sun a bit brighter and it helps you settle into the leisurely pace you'll want
to attain. The morning drink is called a "cazalla". The bars serve a
good one called Clavel, and the anise‑based specimens are also tasty.
Breakfast is light, simply
coffee and a pastry. Churros (fried in olive oil) are national, but the best
pastries are local, and will be listed later by regions.
The pre‑lunch chateo is
accompanied by a few glasses of the local wine or, if you must, beer, and
consista in sea‑food, of which there are innumerable varieties Just let your
eyes be your guide at the local "tapa" (snack) bar. If you have
objections to shellfish, there are slices of the most delicious cured ham
(jamon serrano).
You may want to continue your
eating rhythm straight from the chateo into lunch, the largest mea! in the
Spanish program. If so, you can dispense with the appetizer and go right to the
main course, examples of which are listed below by region. If you order as
appetizer "entremeses", you will be brought 10‑20 meats, fish and
vegetables in little plates. A local wine will aid the digestion, or for those
not used to wine there is the effervescent wine punch, Sangria, sparkling fruit
juices with just the right kick. Dessert can be cheese or the fruit in season.
If you want to "do as the Romans do" you'll finish with brandy, taken
slowly with a good cigar from the Canary Islands. The Spanish generally fall
into bed exhausted after this type of dinner. If you have more touring to do,
best dispense with the brandy.
High tea is, as in other
countries, a beverage and pastry.
The round of pre‑dinner
chateo and dinner repeats the noontime pattern, with the tapas being somewhat
heavier and the meal itself a bit less drastic.
In general, try to adopt a
continental attitude toward what is and what is not food. Such much‑appreciated
Spanish delicacies as animal testicles (criadillas) and casserole of sea‑worms
or lampreys (angulas or lamprea) may remain forever unmatched to the shape of
your appetite, but at least please don't be like the ccnservative who said
"nothing should be done for the first time". Your daring will be
rewarded.
As you would expect from the
popularity of this passtime, there are many types of establishments catering to
ifs devotees. With the exception of breakfast, which you will very likely have
in your hotel due to convenience, you would be best advised to take all your
meals and snacks out. To do otherwise would be to trade some of the tastiest
food in the world for the bland safety of the great majority of hotel kitchens.
For snacks you will go to the
tapa bares, the tabernas, a cafeteria or a cerceveria. The first two types come
in all qualifies and are often found in neighborhoods full of them. The
cafeteria is a clean, neon‑lit place for light eating, where the tourist from
the United States will feel at home. The cerceveria is dedicated to beer and
seafood.
For your major meals there
are the restaurants and mesons in the cities, and for the road, the parador de
turismo, the albergue and the hosteria. The posada and the casa de comidas
should be avoided unless you are looking for a very cheap meal with no aesthtic
appeal.
The meson is an interesting
type of establishment found mainly in Madrid, and which has recently become
quite a fad among the Spanish. There is a sort of reverse snobbery coming into
play here, as these are small, inexpensive places. The idea is to find just the
right one, and then you will get good service and food at extremely reasonable
prices. You won't be paying for the atmosphere, and you won't be getting any
either, but you will be out of the way of tourists, if that is your bent.
The parador de turismo is a
government inn which many travelers in Spain have praised highly. Cooking is
regional and prices reasonable.
The Spanish Government has
done the tourist a great service in setting up the Albergues Nacionales de
Carretera (state‑run wayside inns) and the Hosterias Nacionales (state‑run
restaurants). These are places serving regional food, well prepared and
reasonably priced, to tourists. While they do not have the magnificent
atmosphere of the parador, they do maintain a high standard of cleanliness, service
and so forth.