Madrid for Madrilenians
Two cities, two personalities: the one that dresses for the tourist and the other, the authentic one —the city camouflaged from prying eyes. Perhaps Madrid is the most complicated city to split in two, to split between “the authentic” and “the tourist”; because in Madrid we are all from Madrid and we are all tourists. Because Madrid is a bit of everyone and a bit of nobody and because who doesn't have a love affair with this inexplicable city... It's easy to do it with Seville; it is also easy to do it with Donosti, Barcelona or Valladolid, but Madrid? Impossible . So here we go:
FOR BREAKFAST: TORTILLA AND COFFEE
Three basics: the potato omelette Sylkar or El Borbollón, the Condumios muffin —and any sandwich with ham, which Sebastián López Robledo has been named “Best Ham Cutter”, and the coffee from Super8 Cine y Café; good movies and splendid coffee, who gives more? In the case of falling asleep before a second breakfast (Madrid is very much about having breakfast twice, isn't it, Anabel?) You could well slip into this Embassy guide. And it is that Embassy, who knows why (and despite being a historical icon at the height of Gijón or Cock) remains invisible to the tourist, and I hope it stays that way.
The perfect omelette?
BOOKSTORES
Today we will not talk about second-hand bookstores or the Moyano hill or the Barrio de las Letras; nerd. It's time to put black on white around the bookstores we actually use: one of the reasons I fell in love with Madrid (there are a million) is Panta Rhei (“Everything changes”); since two thousand dedicated to design, photography, illustration, architecture and that intact capacity to marvel at each visit: there is always something that surprises you. More focused on the world of art and interior design , another classic: the Gaudí bookstore in Argensola; More classics where it is impossible you have not entered? Tickets , the international bookstore in Genoa.
ASTURIANS AND SANTCELONI
Yes, you have read correctly. Asturians and Santceloni, the ying and the yang. The most rustic and the most gracious: but Madrid is both —as chaotic and trivial as it is elegant and jondo: Madrid is like a bell. Asturians because it represents the most traditional and underground Chamberí , and for that bean stew and that egg flan and that bread and that menu for thirteen bucks and that chorizo that is well worth a potosí. Santceloni because it is the most elegant restaurant in Spain and one of the best rooms in the world. A Swiss clock to the sound of the maître Abel Valverde, the chef Óscar Velasco and the sommelier David Robledo; a temple, an ode to good taste and to a world that is falling apart: that of absolute excellence. The one of things well done.
And as a gift, an extra ball: the squid sandwich from the Postas bar.
The elegance
THE VILLAMAGNA BAR
Here's a headline: Madrid is the city with the best drinking in Spain. How is the universe of cocktails in Madrid, mother of God; how are Macera , Salmón Gurú or the Matador bar . But the fact is that the **Magnum Bar (and its terrace) ** have that je ne sais quoi impossible to codify for the fashionable interior designer: it is called soul. A no nonsense bar. A bar where fleeting guests and residents of the Salamanca district dwell, wanting a quiet drink (behind the bar, Belen Larroy ) in this club that is so New York and yet so Madrid. A hint: its wonderful Old Fashioned.
magnum bar
MARK
The house in Doctor Castelo where David Marcano and Patricia Valdez They already planted a pike in our Restaurants without a Star in Madrid; And it is that Marcano is perhaps the hidden jewel (not so much anymore, I'm afraid) of the Retiro neighborhood and it is so because of how David cooks: classics are his shank, the red baby squid, the homemade salted bocarte and the foie gras with rhubarb jam homemade. Also, of course, the sea bass ceviche, candied sweet potato and cancha corn. I talk to them, I want them to tell me his Madrid , why Madrid? “We love that the neighborhoods are so different, that you can almost choose one according to your mood. Sometimes we are very involved in our own bubble, the day-to-day work behind the bar and we forget how beautiful this city is. The best thing is when a friend comes from abroad and you have to act as a tour guide, there you rediscover Madrid . Paraphrasing a Man Ray song: How good to be a tourist in Madrid”.
Ceviche Corvina
SACHA
Liquor Store and Stove . What am I going to say at this point about Sacha, huh; I'm telling you: nothing. “Sachismo” is a current that grows and grows among Madrid gastronomes (and beyond), more than a current: a religion. The one of the believers of the good table. Sacha is here to remind us that gastronomy is not about trompe l'oeil , neither posture nor ballroom dancing; to remind us that we have come here to eat and live —to the life of a tavern, to the endless after-meals and the dishes that accompany “those other things”: the conversation and the gaze. Gastronomy is always the excuse, but what an excuse, yours : sea urchin lasagna, cocochas to the importance, spider crab cannelloni, smoked sardine with white garlic or that vague omelette that is already a classic . Sachism or barbarism!
ONLY YOU
Difficult, to speak of a hotel that “is Madrid”. We have the two great totems (Palace and Ritz, a piece of stone from Madrid from the beginning of the century), we also have the Malasaña hostels and also, of course, the Hotel de las Letras (with that infinite window where life does not pass: it is passing ; pure electricity on the Gran Vía) but my bet is different. My bet is this hotel and this bar that is already the protagonist of Barquillo street , and it is precisely now: they have just inaugurated El Padrino, the new bar inspired by the traditional taverns of the beginning of the century: social gatherings, Iberian meats, culture, cheeses and wine flats. The old Madrid and the new Madrid, face to face; and it is that despite being a newcomer, the Only You is already pure Madrid —and perhaps nothing is as Madrid as a newcomer, don't you think?
Only You Boutique Hotel, Madrid
moloko
I hesitated, to close this traditional day, between the Milky Way, the Tupperware or, what the hell, the Palentino; but why not this Moloko where Sabi (in the cabin) and Rocío meet their clientele , they serve good drinks and they don't mess around with nonsense or folkloric oversights with the music: Wilco, The Stone Roses or The Red Room in this small homeland of musicians (after each concert), guarantor of the Mod spirit and soul of Malasaña from before the hipsters. We also take this opportunity to send our most sincere condolences to the family of Sonia of the Master, recently deceased; alma mater of Tupperware and founder of the Association of Hoteliers of Malasaña (AHM) we are left with these words engraved on the Tupper's shutter: _ “Thank you for the music and for making Malasaña grow. See you always, Sonya”. _
Moloko
Follow @nothingimporta