When passing by Oriol Balaguer on the corner of 44 Ortega y Gasset Street and General Pardiñas Street, your first impression might be that of a high-end jewelry store. Actually, it is a pastry shop with sweets placed on display as works of art. There is actually a showcase where the creation of the month is exhibited as if it were the crown jewel.
There is no doubt that everyone loves lazy Sunday mornings when time drifts away in bed and the promise of a relaxing day lingers, but much is to be said about Saturday mornings. The day is young and awaits to be molded as we desire. Walking or driving through a big city has an almost magical quality on a Saturday morning. While clubbers recuperate from a long night out others are already on the move. The early morning joggers or spandex cyclers move freely around the traffic-free streets, seemingly feeling that the world is at peace. Crisp morning papers in hand as one enters a local cafeteria for a steaming cup of coffee and an early morning breakfast. Shop doors are still down but the local market is already on the move, setting up their stalls with fresh produce in an array of colors and smells. Just looking at them makes your imagination wonder. One of my favorite Saturday morning activities is going to the market with a long shopping list full of the goods needed for one of our spreads. As I shop I already start to envision the dish and my mouth starts to water. Due to its proximity to our home we usually shop at Mercado de la Paz at 28 Ayala Street but I do love Mercado de Chamartin at 9 Bolivia Street.
Mercado de la Paz
My favorite stalls to shop at Mercado de la Paz are Maestro Selección de Carnes where you can get high-quality meat from the US (rib-eyed steak), Argentina and of course national from Galicia among other destinations. The rib-eyed steak on the BBQ on a hot summer’s night after an afternoon of sun and pool is heavenly. Hamburguesa Nostra, with a wide array of flavors and very good buns. I don’t particularly like their sauces though. They used to carry my much beloved Stokes which is English which I highly recommend. La Vianda de Julian where they will ever so patiently knife grind your meat for steak tartare. La Boulette is a cheese store away from France where they sell excellent quality cheeses and hams. I am a particular fan of Comté 36 months, it is any mouse’s dream.
Mercado de Chamartin
This two-storey market is much bigger than the latter where you can pick up almost any produce. Raza Nostra has a very long counter space where you can buy all sorts of meats and right next to it is Hamburguesa Nostra, by the way, they are great on the grill. For fish I always head straight to Ernesto Prieto. Their tuna fish is spectacular for tartar. A nice cheese store is Bon Fromage although I have to admit I don’t regularly get my cheese there but when I have, it is good. For capons and pullets, Hermanos Gomez is the place to go. They stock both national and French breeds. In the center of the ground floor you will find Peña Delicatessen where they handle a carefully selected variety of canned and jarred goods such as Santoña anchovies and La Catedral de Navarra’s fabulous but very pricy fabada stew. The mi cuit at Alimentación Alonso is worth a try.
Over the past years I have become a true fan of local markets where you can find high quality products in a warm town-like environment. Who would think that you are smack in the center of Madrid? I have also heard that Mercado de Marvillas on 122 Bravo Murillo is also fabulous but I have yet to go. It is definitely on my to-do list.
Mercado de la Paz, Ayala 28 – www.mercadodelapaz.blogspot.com.es
Mercado de Chamartín, Boliva 9 – www.mercadodechamartin.es
Mercado de Marvillas, Juan Bravo 122 – www.mercadomaravillas.eu
Anyone who knows David Muñoz can tell you that he is always in a constant state of creativity and that he is not one of those chefs who creates a great dish and then sits back and keeps making it over and over again for the next thirty years. David Muñoz is a synonym for movement and change and just as his landmark restaurant DiverXO is always evolving, well so is Street XO and there are new dishes that are worth mentioning.
Wagyu meatballs accompanied by frog legs, peanut sauce, and pat choi salad with bean sprouts and sour coconut milk… delicious
Grilled octopus with a Kalamata olive emulsion (these olives are from Greece), jalapeño sauce and carrots a la beurre noir.
Chicken prepared in the Roner, a device which allows vacuumed food to be prepared at a low temperature and then finished off in the Josper, a charcoal oven which provides temperature. The end result is a smoky juicy finish. I was actually thinking of installing one of these in my kitchen until I was told the price and that the temperature goes up so much that my kitchen would turn into a Swedish sauna. The chicken is finished off with a miso sauce and served with a blood orange salad seasoned with a Gordal olive emulsion, black olive powder and curry.
Smoked Mackerel with tomato powder, yuzo miso sauce, trout eggs and topped off with dried tuna shavings.
Shrimp+shrimp+shrimp+shrimp, this plate is shrimp galore. Shrimp dim sum sit in a shrimp reduction, with shrimp chips, shrimp powder… shrimp lovers of the world, enjoy.
So as you can see April showers have brought new plates to Street XO which I definitely plan to enjoy!
Although this gateway may evoke the entrance to Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “The Secret Garden” hidden away in the countryside, it is actually the entrance to a restaurant located in the center of Madrid with a courtyard that makes a perfect oasis for those hot summer nights. It is perhaps my favorite summer terrace.
But what lies behind all the greenery? Well, it is Sacha, whose owner gives name to his own bistro. Once inside with the blue-white color combination and the art work flooding the walls you are transported to a French bistro but with a lot more room between tables, thank goodness.
Eat a MAD world 