Marisquería La Paloma – Fresh seafood in La Latina Dec 15, 2013

Calle Toledo is one of those streets. Gagging with fumey traffic, lined with a grungy potpourri of odd-bod shops, internet cafes, open-all-hours fruit stores and bars so crusty, so...

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Review: Is Bahía Taberna worth the hike? Dec 02, 2013

Some restaurants are a two-minute walk from home. Easy, comfortable, local. Others are a destination. A pilgrimage. If foreplay begins with the first course, then for a restaurant on the other...

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Is the tap water safe to drink in Madrid? Nov 25, 2013

GUZZLING MONKEY COURTESY OF FLICKR.COM/PHOTOS/49212661@N06

Visitors sometimes ask me, “Is the tap water safe to drink in Madrid?”, “Can I drink the water in my hotel?”,...

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Best places to eat in the Rastro flea market, Madrid Nov 12, 2013

It’s Sunday morning in Madrid. And you have a choice. You could head to mass and beg forgiveness for whatever godforsaken things got up to the night before. You could do one of these 5...

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The 6 Best Wine Bars in Madrid (…where it’s OK to be a Wine Dick) – Part 1 Oct 22, 2013

Six weeks ago I became a Wine Dick.

It all happened rather quickly. Though, looking back, I should have seen it coming. In September Lauren Aloise and I completed the Level 2 Wines and...

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Blood, sweat and Gypsy tears: Five best flamenco bars in Madrid (and the best flamenco show) Sep 16, 2013

It’s funny how the mind works. After seeing my first flamenco performance, I had an unexpected image burned on my brain. The genitals of the male dancer. Big and bulbous,  perfectly...

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Madrid’s Summer Fiestas Aug 23, 2013

A quick peek into Madrid’s summer fiestas. Lavapiés and La Latina and two of the capital’s oldest neighbourhoods, and every August they let their hair down and go a little crazy....

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Spanish seafood platters: You say mariscada, I say parillada de marisco Jul 16, 2013

YES SIR, THAT CAN ALL BE YOURS FOR ONLY €31.

Seafood does funny things to people. When the Bluff oyster season opens in Bluff, in New Zealand’s South Island, ritzy Auckland...

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The Curious Case of Spanish Coffee (aka “What’s torrefacto?”) May 22, 2013

TOMA CAFÉ IS ONE OF THE FEW TORREFACTO-FREE ZONES IN THE CITY. THIS IS CO-OWNER SANTI HIGH ON CAFFEINE.

I love the sound of Spanish coffee. The smack and clack of cups and saucers on...

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The Madrid craft beer revolution (and the best craft beer bars) Mar 06, 2013

The battle lines have been drawn. Madrid – too long awash with sub-par beer – is in the midst of a craft brew revolution. For years Madrilenians have been weaned on Mahou, the...

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Best menús del día in Madrid (2020) Aug 28, 2012

The menú del día is one of the great culinary joys of Spain. They’re the filling, often delicious, multi-course midday meals provided by bars and restaurants for...

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