Many young chefs at the casual fine dining restaurants of Madrid’s “bistronomica” movement are working with recipes and ingredients from all over Spain.
Porto has long been Portugal’s relatively sleepy second city, but in the last few years the city has woken up and become an exciting, cosmopolitan destination.
Priorat may be the star of Cataluña’s wine lineup. Since a few brave winemakers recuperated old vines here in the 1970s, Priorat’s quality has exploded, along with its reputation.
We couldn’t be happier to announce the easing of (some) travel restrictions for Spain and Portugal and of in-country inconveniences such as vaccination certificates and negative test results to access restaurants, bars, hotels and other public places. We’re closer to normal than we’ve been in two years. That’s something to celebrate!
There is a new requirement for travel to Spain in 2022. Starting February 1, 2022, travelers to Spain will need 14 days from the last dose and no more than 270 days since the administration of the last dose. If your last dose was more than 270 days before travel to Spain your vaccination certificate must show that you received a booster dose.
Málaga's getting hot as a food destination. We were just down south (in Málaga, Marbella, Sevilla, Jerez…) and we have added some stunning 5-star hotels–including one in a private home in the country–, new tapas bars and Michelin-star restaurants, amazing markets (with eateries right inside the markets), winery visits, cooking classes (our favorite is with a professional restaurant chef), a private visit to the rooftop of the Sevilla Cathedral, private art tours, and more. And the art in Málaga…to die for. Picasso Museum, Pompidou Center, Thyssen Museum, and a branch of the Russian Museum.
Like many people, I pay for most of my store, restaurant, hotel and transportation purchases here in the US with credit and debit cards. When I'm heading to Europe, my money preparations consist of making sure I have packed the correct credit/debit cards, and I'm good to go. No traveler's checks, no buying Euros here in the US, no exchanging dollars abroad.
The Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route – The Way of Saint James– is made up of a series of routes across Spain, Portugal and France, all of which end in the city of Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. And this week four of the Christian pilgrimage routes in northern Spain were added as Unesco World Heritage sites.
Restaurante Coque in Humanes, Madrid, today was awarded the Mejor Sobremesa (Best Sobremesa) prize by Salsa de Chiles. An intriguing award, and a fascinating concept.
How to translate sobremesa… It is a concept that barely exists in the English-speaking world. The Manuel Seco Diccionario del español actual defines it as the "tiempo inmediatamente siguiente a una comida, durante el cual los comensales permanecen reunidos y conversando." The time immediately following a meal during which the guests remain at the table and talk. It is the post-meal time marked by shared conversation. It is the time when coffee and perhaps brandy or a liquor are savored. It is institutionalized in Spain especially when meals are shared in restaurants or with invited guests at home. It means that eating and running is fine for quick lunches during the work week, but not an option when friends or family gather to eat. So revered is it in Spain that they have a prize for it!
Having recently eaten at Restaurante Coque, I heartily agree with their receiving the Best Sobremesa award. The experience at Coque is marked by the guests starting in the bodega and then moving to the kitchen, then to the dining room and finally to the Lounge for the Sobremesa. In the Lounge you are presented with dessert and the Box of Minerals. Literally a box containing 13 different small truffles and sweets with flavors ranging from Passion Fruit to Cinnamon to Candied Orange. Most notable in the Lounge is that all of the diners who earlier inhabited separate spaces in the dining room all seem to be friends in the Lounge, talking openly across tables and across the room. Barriers have come down, and no one seems in a hurry to get somewhere else, despite the fact that the meal is into its third hour. But isn't a leisurely Michelin-starred lunch in Madrid, masterfully prepared and served by Mario Sandoval and team, a pleasure to seek out, and reason enough to travel to Spain?
