Living It

Home of El Greco and Toledo steel.

I want to try some fine cuisine while in Madrid, and I hit up my friend Caro for some recommendations. First stop at Sergi Arola Gastro for lunch was a complete success.

The menu is prix fixe, and so many things came out it I would have lost track if I didn’t take all these photos.

The pre-appetizers included a shaved carrot salad, excellent fried zucchini balls, kalamata olives, eggplant spread with toasts, and flat, thin slices of fried potatoes with an ali aoli sauce on the side. Really enjoyed this.

1st appetizer: A vegetable puree with the consistency of sherbert in a cone. Very tasty.
2nd appetizer: Sweet garlic foam with caviar
3rd appetrizer: The most unique looking patatas bravas I’ve ever seen. Like little tater tots with an ali aoli topping. These actually disappointed. Could have been more crispy and the sauce bolder.

The bread service was a production in itself. 3 types of bread, Spanish olive oil to be poured onto a sloping plate, butter, and a wasabi salt and strawberry salt with individual spoons.

Starter. This is the dish that blew me away. A stack of scallops and a scallop sausage on wilted spinich. The sausage was surprisingly delicate and its subtle yet distinct flavor was sublime.

Seafood entree: Black grouper with a vindaloo and coconut milk sauce.

Meat entree: Veal sweetbreads.

I have to say that the two entrees did not stand out nearly as much as the appetizers or my starter. Both were good, but they didn’t really catch my attention.

Dessert: Lime yogurt (not pictured). Nice and light, and a bit more sophisticated than it sounds.

Petit fours: Little sponge cakes along with hard candies and mint? sauce.

Wine: The sommelier chose a 2005 Rioja for me, which was very reasonably priced, and I’ve unfortunately already forgotten the name of.

The service and presentation were impeccable throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 hour meal by myself and would definitely return.

I passed through Madrid's Plaza Mayor twice today, within two hours of each other. This sculpture made of toilet paper attached to a grate appeared in between my two visits. It's beautiful in its simplicity and movement.

My friend Dan came to visit while I was spending a semester in Madrid during college, and we went out to some club until dawn. Very loaded and pretty hungry, we came here for some hot chocolate and churros. It tasted sooo good, but about an hour later we were both violently ill. I’m sure it was because of all the alcohol in our empty stomachs, but it was over 10 years before I could stand the thought of eating churros again. I didn’t remember where we had gone and I haven’t seen it since then, but I instantly recognized it when I saw it now. I passed on giving it another try :P.

To hell with the crisis! Eat and drink well.