We’ve told you about many Tapas crawls and food opportunities in Madrid, but this one bears mentioning for the next week in particular: until May 20th, De Tapas Por Madrid is an enormous tapas crawl with no less than 4 routes, each boasting between 15 and 30 spots in bars and restaurants.

Organized by La Viña, a business organization for restaurants in Madrid, and sponsored by Cruzcampo, the route makes ordering simple: each restaurant has one featured tapa, which comes with a mini-bottle of Cruzcampo beer (some restaurants offer both with and without alcohol), for €2.40.

If you are adventurous, I recommend just picking an area of the city that you like and finding a bar with a sign for “De Tapas Por Madrid” outside, and then going from bar to bar in that area. Inside, you’ll find maps of that particular route (there are four, based in different neighborhoods of the city). The maps have good quality photos and descriptions of the tapa offered in each area as well, so if you have dietary restrictions or just want to know what you are eating before you order it, you can pick and choose from the tapas suggested.

My first route this year has been the yellow route, where I visited three spots: Lhardy (an old and classily furnished delicatessen-type spot), Majaderitos Café (a more modern bar/restaurant on bustling calle Cádiz), and Grazie Mille Kitchen Bar (a cute and cozy Italian restaurant). I ate a salmon tartar dish, which I didn’t expect to like, but which was really savory and flavorful, a fried fish-in-sauce tapa, and (believe it or not) the signature spaghetti of Grazie Mille, packaged in a ball of tinfoil, no less. Do not expect large portions; while you may luck out with some of the tapas being generous, the ones I tried were reasonably small and packed more flavor than they filled me up.

After getting a tapa, you will be given a flyer with a code on it that you can use to vote for your favorite tapa on the route and also to enter a raffle for iPads and Cruzcampo products. After you try some out, post your favorite stops on the route in the comments of this GuiriGuide entry!

De Tapas Por Madrid

www.tapaspormadrid.es

There are many ways to learn Spanish once you get to Spain.

The biggest reason I have heard for not moving to Spain has been “I don’t speak Spanish!” At first, I thought that was a good reason to avoid the country, given how difficult language barriers make communication in the most ordinary of interactions. However, I have come around to the point of view that, if you are a person with a chance to move to Madrid, it doesn’t matter all that much whether you know Spanish or not, and here are some of my reasons why.

1. You’ll start learning as soon as you get here: if you choose to work without taking any Spanish classes, you will still start learning almost instantly; read Pierre’s piece on learning Spanish quickly for pointers, but even if you are lazier and having English-speaking friends, you will get to know the language based solely on the words and constructions you need to know; I spent years in the United States learning “donde está la biblioteca?” type phrases, and honestly, I have never had to ask where the library is. The Spanish you learn here will be more applicable and instantly fire-tested because you will be really trying to buy groceries or tell the taxi driver where you are going, not just practicing with a bored classroom partner.
2. You are probably prized for your English speaking skills: whether you are here as an English teacher or as a business person in another field, knowing English will be a helpful if not essential element of your job, and there’s a good chance that (as long as you let them know ahead of time) Spanish won’t be. Every day there are more people who speak English in this country, and even those who don’t speak it really well often can understand you.
3. Living in a country where you don’t know the language does something special to you: Everyday life is a bit more of an adventure if you are constantly trying to understand and express yourself in a language that isn’t your primary one. You will learn unforgettable lessons, laugh at yourself, and be frustrated, but you will not cruise through your days without any memorable experiences. I know this is true, because even though I came to Spain with a reasonable level of Spanish for someone who had never been immersed in the language, I myself have experienced it. I feel more alive here because every conversation has to be a little more intentional, and in the middle of a conversation I get to ask what a word means and learn something totally new.

Don’t let the reason why you don’t come to Spain be lack of knowledge of Spanish; while it won’t be an easy life at first, the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks.

Our food at Ojalá

If you want amazing Spanish food, you need look no further than your neighborhood bar or restaurant; while there’s a chance of a dud here or there, you can usually count on a sparsely furnished bar with plenty of tortilla, croquetas, fish, sausage, and beer to wash it all down. You’ll probably even be treated to the ambiance of pig haunches hung up on the walls and maybe a mural depicting a famous piece of art or scene in Spanish history. However, if you are looking for something entirely different in Madrid, you might want to try Ojalá Awareness Club in Malasaña.

You’ll notice the difference immediately when you arrive; the upstairs is entirely lit with neon green lights and full of vintage, funky decor. In a neighborhood already somewhat set apart for bars and cafes, this one still stands out. People will often be getting drinks or something light to eat upstairs, but if you have the option, definitely opt to take your meal downstairs.

After you are led down the windy staircase, you will arrive in a cave-like basement full of… sand. It is the closest thing to a beach that Malasaña has to offer. What’s more, you should leave the high heels at home because you will be seated on the floor on the wide array of fluffy cushions that surround the low tables. The room is lit with undulating red and yellow neon and old cartoons are silently projected on the wall while music of many varieties plays.

The menu contained both Spanish and more American style food, with many items in the 6-10 euros range. I went with a friend and we were both not too hungry so we split two dishes: the first was a salad with aged cheese and thinly sliced apples and a hazelnut vinaigrette on top, which was delicious and, while not large, hearty. The second was their tasting tray of appetizers: it had both pita and tortilla chips along with surprisingly good hummus and guacamole, as well as a fish/shrimp wrap. Together, they were delicious, light, and a nice departure from the basic Spanish tapas and raciones; I’ve missed thick guacamole in a country where it is often served more like a sauce than in the chunky style I’m accustomed to.

We arrived early (around 8:30 in the evening) so we got a great spot, but the place was packed by the time we left, so consider getting there early if you want a spot in the downstairs beach. Later evening drinks and breakfast are also served; check it out any time of day.

Ojalá Awareness Club

San Andrés 1

Malasaña neighborhood

An unwanted layer between city and sky

When looking at the picture I have of myself on top of the mirador of the Palacio de Comunciaciones  in downtown Madrid (visit! It’s pretty!), most people say things like “wow, you are so lucky to live in such a pretty place!” My friend who studies environmental issues, however, pointed to the skyline and said, “look, photochemical smog.”

Air pollution is a part of life in Madrid, and it is made worse by the chronic lack-of-rain here. Yes, we have those beautiful blue skies, but sometimes our atmosphere (and our streets) need the cleaning that a good downpour can bring. While some reports from local government state that air quality is better than a decade ago, people with asthma and who spend lots of time outside biking or running can note that they encounter air that is less than pristine.

Whether it is because of weather or because standards for Madrid’s air pollution are not up to par, you should know that when you come to Madrid, for the first time, you may encounter a place lacking in fresh air. There are ways to escape or at least make the smog less present in your life in Madrid, and you don’t even have to wear a face mask, though some people here still wear them while biking or riding the metro.

1. Spend time in Parque del Buen Retiro, which is large enough and far enough from streets to have significantly different air quality than the surrounding streets. This has the added benefit of being a beautiful place to spend time and exercise, and you are less likely to end up wheezing at the end of your afternoon.

2. Speaking of running, if you can’t make it to Retiro, try doing your running in a gym; runners take in much more air than a person at rest, which means that during your outdoor run you are taking in many more pollutants, which isn’t good for your fitness at all.

3. Choose your outdoor paths to avoid highly-trafficked roads. The worst air pollution is, predictably, near high-traffic roads, and so you can use your commute to find a less-travelled path to wherever you need to go.

4. If you must be out and about, shoot for early morning. An early morning run is slightly less problematic for your lungs because of the ways pollutants circulate during the day.

For more information about air quality, including a map that shows up-to-date air quality around the city, visit http://www.mambiente.munimadrid.es/svca/index.php

My life in Madrid is nothing if not a quest for new experiences, specifically of the culinary variety. Thus, when a friend invited me to try an Indian menú del día in Lavapiés, I was excited despite having only eaten Indian food once in my life.

For one thing, Menú del día is a brilliant invention when you are very hungry. They exist all over Spain, so you’ve probably already seen them, but for one price, you get to choose a first course (primer plato), main course (Segundo plato – how unintuitive),  and then bread, a drink, and sometimes dessert. All this, for somewhere between 8 and 12 euros in the majority of places, and you are stuffed with food but also still have a few coins to rub together.

Lavapiés was a special treat though. The restaurants practically come to you, because many of them have a promoter out front to talk to you, and talk you into eating at their restaurant. My friend and I entered Anarkoli, a restaurant that typified the 5 or 6 restaurants on the street Calle Lavapiés right next to the metro stop Lavapiés (means ‘footwash,’ literally). The first thing we got when we sat down was an appetizer of round wafer-like crackers (think a crispy version of a flour tortilla) with a bright green, surprisingly sweet sauce.

Then we surveyed the menu options; be prepared for the menu to have stipulations, such as only being valid on weekdays for the midday meal; since my first Lavapiés Indian-food experience, I have bent these rules in some of the restaurants. When someone approaches you and tries to get you to choose a particular restaurant, ask if they have the menu del dia at that time; if it gets you in the door, they may say yes.

At Anarkoli, with the vegetarian (8E) or the regular (10E) meal, you can have a soft drink, a bottle of water, beer, or wine. Then you generally get to pick from entrantes, or first courses: many of the restaurants have delicious vegetarian or chicken samosas, fried pockets made of thin, wonton-like crispy dough. I tried an onion bhajee at Anarkoli, which is a crab-cake shaped patty of fried onion and spices.

Next comes the main course, which can be anything from Chicken Tikka Masala to Sag Paneer to curry. Many people order rice instead of the menu-del-dia staple, bread; I personally often order garlic naan, a soft and savory round of pillowy bread, and pile my main course on top. It doesn’t get any points for classiness, but it is quite delicious.

Finally, you can have coffee or dessert, which can vary but the menu often includes a sugar-syrup soaked pastry that tastes like coconut.  Another frequent choice is mango lassi, a yogurt smoothie that is my personal favorite despite being somewhat overwhelming for people who don’t like sweets as much as I do.

If you can’t get enough of the Indian cuisine, you can also go across the street after dinner to pick up Indian cooking supplies, like jars of masala or various kinds of rice, at the grocery stores that line that side of calle Lavapiés.

Anarkoli

Lavapies 46