Barcelona, Here I Am

I am sad to report that the once notorious Ramblas (the Ramble) is no more. Anything you may have heard about it is a distant memory, a bit like the tales of Times Square in New York back in the day, which was only a few years ago. The meandering street that once was lined with dive bars and hookers plying their trade has been covered with bright tile and turned into a pedestrian walkway lined with souvenir shops and over-priced street cafes. There is even a Burger King. Damn, I got here too late.

All is not lost however. Just as in New York where if you walk a few blocks from Times Square into Hell’s Kitchen and find places like Siberia, Bellevue, and the Holland Bar, here you can walk a few blocks off Ramblas and find a warren of streets and squares and all kinds of watering halls. Didn’t see any hookers tough, but the smell of ganja did waft through the air on occasion.

I wouldn’t recommend that you start off your day of bar hopping with most of a pitcher of sangria, but that is what I did. The Mysterious Chinese Woman and her equally Mysterious Sister (must run in the family) decided they wanted lunch and I was feeling a bit peckish too. We found a square a few blocks away from Ramblas and sat at a nice sunny table where we ordered a variety of tapas and a pitcher of sangria. Mysterious Sister doesn’t drink, wine that is, and Mysterious Chinese Woman only drinks a bit (alcohol probably interferes with her ability to go poof). I, however, having no mysterious abilities to be compromised, consumed the bulk of what proved to be a surprisingly potent potion. I then set off upon my journey.

847) Taxidermista



For some reason I forgot to take a picture of this place. Probably still recovering from my lunchtime libation. Instead I included the picture of the Mysterious Chinese Woman and Bar Man having our Sangria. In fact, we may actually have had our lunch outside Taxidermista before I went in for my drink. This is one of a number of bars and restaurants that ring a square named Plaza Reial and is very reminiscent of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. Despite the name, no stuffed animals were in sight. I was hoping for at least one more bull head on the wall. I don’t think Barcelona has the same rules about serving up tapas with your drinks because the surface of the bars tend to be larger and not overly taken up with trays of food.

Although there are a number of outside tables, the interior is larger than most, or at least most that I have seen in Madrid. There is a decent sized curved bar with eight bar stools. The bar top is heavy inlaid wood, somewhat rosy in color, with a black front. There are two silver beer stations, each with four spigots with unmarked black handles. At least one of them poured Scrumpy Jack Premium English Cider. Sitting on one end of the bar were two large tin pails. One held a short stuffy cactus and the other a tall, strange looking plant of some kind.

The back of the bar sported a large espresso machine and you could look between the metal shelves into the kitchen area. Above almost everything is a narrow shelf holding a single row, but fairly extensive, collection of liquor. Above that was a panel of mirrors.

The front of the bar is made up of floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the square. There is a stairway opposite the bar that leads down to a darker area with brick walls and additional tables. This is a good place to stop into and it is only a block or so away from the Ramblas.

I had a bottle of Moritz, the local beer.

848) Acoma



Meandering down one of the side streets off to the side of the square was this small bar and internet cafe. It had a somewhat Southwestern theme to it. I say somewhat because, in addition to the Southwestern Indian artifacts hanging in the front, there was an Alaskan totem pole in the back room. A young woman holding a baby was begging just across the street. This is something I often see in Mexico, although the women there are much older, but the first time I have seen anything like this in Spain.

There is a curved wooden bar with two silver beer spigots. The wall behind the bar is partially dark brick and partially blue painted wood. To the very left of that are light paneled shelves holding liquor and glasses and there are mirrors above the shelves. A large flat-screen television is playing VH1.

Acoma is right across the narrow street from Pension Dali so, if you stay there, be sure to drop in. They have a fly zapper in here and there are a surprising large number of flies in this area. I don’t recall seeing any when I was in Madrid. Actually though the flies did provide one service. We had originally planned to have lunch at an outdoor place on the Ramblas but before we could order the flies drove us away. Good flies.

I had a small glass of red wine.

849) Travel Bar



I must have stumbled upon the back-packing youth crowd on this street. Kind of a trippy place with a very friendly bartender named Liam.

Liam, Another Friendly Bartender


Like Acoma, English seemed to be the prevailing language and everyone seemed to be just passing through. There a lot of hostels in this neighborhood so I guess that must be part of the attraction. Everyone was friendly and the bar offered up a bar hopping tour later at night. That gave me an excuse to pull out my card and tell them what bar hopping was really about. A good time was had by all and many drinks were purchased for Bar Man.

There is a nice old wooden bar in here with a brass rail and lots of wooden bar chairs. Four silver beer spigots sat on the bar. Orange walls behind the bar and a bluish gray mural depicting old passenger planes and cruise ships on the wall opposite the bar. A large globe hangs from the ceiling and flags from various countries adorn the walls. There is a large screen television in the back showing soccer and there is also free internet access. This is a comfortable, cluttered place that would be well worth stopping into if you are passing through Barcelona on the cheap or if you just want to meet people who are. That is always fun because they like to swap stories about their travels.

There is a good-sized outside court area with tables and chairs and umbrellas and it was quite crowded.



I focused on San Miquel beer with a few glasses of red wine thrown in for good measure.

850) Taller de Tapas



Right around the corner from Travel (in fact they share the courtyard) is this small bar. Quite nice with a good-sized wooden topped bar with a dark wooden front. It is L shaped with the short end against the narrow windowed front. There are about a dozen metal barstools with round black seats. They don’t seem to be compelled to give you food whenever you order a drink in Barcelona and so much less of the surface of the bar is cluttered with trays of tapas. They do have a fair selection here though, but you have to order, and pay for, them.

The walls, other than the one opposite the bar, are a combination of old stone and brick. Opposite the bar the wall is paneled with mirrors upon which are written the list of tapas available. Behind the bar is a plain set of shelves holding liquor and glasses, the requisite espresso machine, and two beer spigots. Hanging over the bare are large, truncated cone-shaped shaded lights.

Bar Man’s lack of command of Spanish led to him ordering a small bottle of wine instead of a small glass. This coupled with the Sangria for lunch and my last three stops is starting to take its toll. I have a long walk back to the hotel and dinner later tonight. It is nice sitting here though, listening to the accordion player in the courtyard. Very nice, very old world, very young crowd.

I had a small bottle of red wine.

851) El Pinar



Making my way back to the hotel I spotted another little bar in a back street and felt compelled to pop in. A nice place with a marble-topped bar with a front that looked like a bamboo curtain. There were large black barstools. Big posters for Godzilla (Civilization Crumbles) and Young Frankenstein adorn the wood paneled wall behind the bar. To the left are large pictures of B.B.King, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker on the wall that went well with the jazz playing on the sound system.

There is, of course, an espresso machine behind the bar and shelves of liquor along with racks of bags of snack food. Just to the right of the bar is a strange set of prints, mostly black and white, of what looks like a circus ring, a chair, and, perhaps, a performer in the middle and a silver, modern looking building silhouetted against the moon in the background.

Cone shaped yellow-shaded lights hang over the bar and as daylight fades and the city grows dim it would be very easy to settle in here for the long haul. I am also somewhat lost, but must find my way home.

I had but a small glass of red wine this time.

852) Cal Pep



This is where we had dinner. It is a packed place and you have to stand in line and wait for a place to open up so that you can sit at the bar and eat. It is always, to me at least, amazing how one place, above all others in the neighborhood, gets so famous that people will stand in line to get in. The Mysterious Chinese Woman’s Mysterious Sister said the place had been written up in a few magazines, including Food And Wine.. In fact, that is why we were here. What do I care, I am here for a drink, and by golly, I will get one. I did walk by an Irish bar on the way here that I would have liked to have stopped into, but I guess I will hit that on the way home.

After waiting for a fairly long time to get three seats together I upset everyone standing in line behind me by insisting that I have a beer before we ordered our tapas. I had to kind of chug it down though. We then tucked into our tapas and had a bottle of Cava, of which I, of course, drank most. The tapas were, I must admit, very good. And it was fun to watch the waiters and the guy who organized the mayhem do their thing.

The bar has a nice marble top with a tiled front with soda-fountain type stools with gray, round seats. A loud clanky place with shelves of food and a large, hooded oven behind the bar. Bottles of liquor and wine are above cooler behind the bar. There are three beer spigots but one of them serves up some kind of lemonade or something, maybe for making a shandy.

This place reminds me of a very small restaurant in Dinkytown near the University of Minnesota. That place didn’t serve alcohol though, mostly pancakes. But people would stand in line for an hour to get into the place. I never thought the food there was quite worth the wait and I really don’t think the food here was either. Not that it was bad, just not worth a wait in line of well over half an hour. I don’t think the Mysterious forces that brought me here had a place quite like this in mind either.

I had a glass of Estrela Damm and the majority of a bottle of Cava with the meal.


853) Paddy´s Lane



Just around the corner from Cal Pep, I spotted it on our way) was this truly delightful Irish bar. The two Irish bartenders Eamon and Aidan, were a riot and we chatted quite a bit.

Eamon and Aidan, The Chatty Bartenders


Then a woman from San Francisco joined the conversation and on and on we went. By this time MCW and MS had disappeared into the night and so, with no supervision, I drank what I can only say were numerous pints of Guinness.

This is a classy looking Irish bar with Beatles music playing in the background. The lamps above the bar are like oversize ship lanterns. The bar and stools are dark wood. Behind the bar are shelves of dark red wood and smoky mirrors.

The ceiling is beige with large, turquoise blue squares, like framed pictures. The walls are partially stone and the rest are sponged in a kind of a sunset orange and peach. The floors are wood. There are couple of televisions over the bar, but they were turned off. Black and white pictures on the walls were of Irish ladies and musicians. There is a cozy niche in the back with round bar tables and chairs. Looks like it would be a nice place to have a drink an chat a bit with your mates. A glass case in one corner contains pictures of good times at the bar, holiday parties, and soccer game celebrations. There are also a few photos of U2. All and all a very comfortable place and one, I am sure, I will visit again.

When I rolled out of the place it must have been close to three in the morning and I had no luck in getting a cab. The streets were still fairly crowded though and so I decided to walk back to the hotel, a couple of miles away. I had been in the area before though so I found my way okay.

I had, as I mentioned, numerous pints of Guinness.

A good day, seven bars (and much more to drink) making 853 for the year and leaving 147 to go.

Bye Bye Madrid, Hello Barcelona

Today is our day of transition, taking the train from Madrid to Barcelona. This is not one of those ultra fast trains so it is a bit over a four hour ride. We headed out at a reasonable hour and took a cab to the train station. It is quite an impressive train station too with an atrium that wouldn’t look out of place in a botanical garden.



Lots of shops and cafes and it does accommodate the bullet trains that go somewhere, but not, unfortunately, where we are going.

845) La Barrila



After you move your bags through security (yes, they do check your bags at the train stations in Spain) we went into a bit more austere seating area in the departure area. This area also had numerous shops and cafes though. I did find La Barrila though. This is a large bar/coffee shop with a counter that reflects this. The counter has a white marble top and sides of light wood with metal trim on the bottom and a narrow row of blue and white tiles at the top. There is a silver colored foot rest and brown wooden stools.

There was a beer station with four silver spigots at one end of the bar. The bar I got my beer was pulled from a spigot coming out of a gold stein being held by a hand at the end of an arm emerging from a beer barrel.



The lights over the bar had rippled fabric shades and were mounted on those complicated pulley contraptions. These worked though because I played with them a bit and managed to bonk my head as a result.

Up front was a shelf with some beer mugs on display and there were a few wine bottles on shelves. Large round white lights hang form the ceiling over the good sized dining area where you could take your food after buying from the counter. They had little tables and also green booths along the wall.

Despite the elaborate dispenser for the beer it only pumped the generic San Miguel.

846) The Fastnet



My first bar in Barcelona and it was an Irish bar with a decidedly nautical theme to it. This was only appropriate because it is right across the street from a large boat basin. The top of the bar is thick wood that looks like it has been hewed from a large tree. It is well varnished with a pronounced grain and the edges look like it has the original bark. The front is dark brown wood planking and there is a narrow ledge for your feet. The chairs are brown wooden box-like affairs.

There is a nice set of wooden shelves behind the bar that holds the liquor and an espresso machine. The beer station is encased in wood that matches the top of the bar. There are five spigots. There is an old pendulum clock on the wall above the shelves and there were pictures of old sailing vessels, schooners, I believe, on each side. Further to the left of the clock is a display of nautical knots and a picture of the Alfred Daniels, a ship, and a pen sketch of the bar. I hate to mention it but there is also a Billy Bass hanging above the bar. Bar Man has one of these, courtesy of his sister. A narrow shelf above all of this stuff holds small mugs and little figurines. There is a ship’s bell behind the bar that gets rung whenever the bartender gets a tip.

The walls have dark wood paneling going about half way up with a narrow ledge on top of that and trim on the bottom that matches the top of the bar. The rest of the walls is pale orange. There are pictures of the waterfront and an impressive series of pictures of a huge wave lashing o lighthouse. There are a few models of sailing ships, a porthole on the wall, and plenty of beer signs. There little spotlights over the bar but more interesting copper shaded lights hanging from the ceiling elsewhere.

I had a bottle of Estrella Damm, a beer, and then we headed to one of the numerous waterfront restaurants that ringed the boat basin.

Just two for the day bringing my total to 846 for the year and leaving 154 to go. I am looking forward to checking out more of the city tomorrow.

Meandering In Madrid

Well, this is my last full day in Madrid for now. Tomorrow I head to Barcelona, but I then return for one more full day here before heading home. I am looking forward to Barcelona, but I do like Madrid.

I have been mentioning the hams that hang all over and the little, torture-chamber like devices that they use to hold them while the are being carved. The just slice off little slices and serve it either on bread or with melon. It is really good, chewier and more flavorful than the prosciutto you find in must restaurants in the United States. It is a salt-cured, air-dried raw Italian ham that is pressed during processing makes to make firmer than other hams.



839) Canas y Tapas



Interestingly, this bar that had tapas in its name didn’t have much in the way of tapas. The bar was U shaped and had a white marble top and ornately patterned wooden sides. The short side closest to the double doors had four silver spigots, three of them pouring San Miguel and one pouring Zarro vermouth. The spigots were the fairly common type, tall with the faucet-like handles. These are mounted just behind the back edge of the bar above a metal drain. In front of the spigots and protruding onto the bar is a slightly elevated metal shelf with a little brass “fence” around it and a plastic shield in front that usually has the name of the bar etched onto it. This shelf is then filled with either glasses or mugs. This is seems to be the most common setup that you will find in bars.

The lights over the bar had flat black metal shades and hang from the ceiling from pulley-like contraptions. They appear to be decorative only but you might be able to lower the lights a bit. Two huge brown San Miguel beer tanks were suspended from the ceiling. Judging by the gauges and valves and the large hose coming out of them these were not for decoration.

The wall behind me had a large painted tile picture of a statue in a square. I think it is the same statue I saw all of the tourists traipsing by yesterday. The square, Plaza Mayor, is just a short distance away.



The walls were a combination of intrictely patterned tiles and mottled light yellow plaster. The floor was a combination of large orange and small blue tiles. Garlands of dried peppers decorated the wall behind the bar and there was a wooden framed blackboard listing the tapas they did offer (but no free ones). They also had several hams hanging on the wall back there.

I had a San Miquel

840) Los Galayos



The bar is kind of a zig-zag shaped thing with a black marble top, a reddish orange tiled front and a silver foot rest. I was presented with a small plate of little sausages. They only had one beer spigot so I had what it poured. A bright blue chalk board listed their tapas and wines. Wine bottles and clay jugs and pitchers on high shelves along with some woven baskets and a couple of grain sacks were behind the bar.

Signed pictures of The Beatles in full Sgt. Pepper dress plus a signed picture of Elvis framed with a reproduction of one of his gold records. There was also a signed picture of John and Yoko. The owner must be a real Beatles fan because that was what was playing on the sound system even though the small television was showing VH1 music videos.

There is one of those electronic slot machines that nobody ever seems to play by the door and that, along with the three wooden bar stools with green seats pretty much fill up the place. This is one of the number of bars surrounding the Plaza Mayor so they probably have chairs out there too. Most of the places do.

I had a Cruz Campo.

841 La Torre de Oro Bar Andalu



Great place if you like bull fighting and root for the bull. The walls were covered with pictures of bull fighters, but all in the process of being gored, being carried out of the arena, or in the hospital showing off their scars. There were also six mounted bull heads on the walls.



The bartender said even if the bull wins they kill it and cut off its head. These were all the heads of bulls that had ¨won. Each bull head had a little plaque giving his statistics, weight, date of birth, won-loss record (not really), and lineage. So, apparently, these are all the heads of victorious bulls.



There is just a narrow, standing room only narrow wooden bar in front of the tapas. The walls are elaborately decorated tiles but are largely obscured by the pictures, bull heads, hams, and shelves of wine bottles. A very friendly place. You can enter it either from the Plaza Mayor or, as I did, from one of the narrow passageways leading to it.

I had a glass or red wine and a plate of rice and peas..

842) Melon de Corregidor



Strange, you can go your whole life without being in a bar with a mounted bull’s head and then you hit two in a row. This place also had the heads of other animals, including a ferocious looking snarling boar, a large black goat, and a small elk mounted on the walls as well. The bar has kind of a hooked L shape with a dark wood top and a wooden front inlaid with ceramic tiles with fancy designs. They do have bar stools in here, something the last place had no room for.

I addition to the heads of dead animals they also had an old breastplate and a couple of swords hanging on the wall. There were also a few paintings, one of a pasture full of peaceful looking bulls. An archway separates this small place into two halves and it is plastered with foreign currencies. I am sad to say that the United States greenbacks are far and away the least colorful of them all.. A bunch of hams hang on the back wall and shelves of liquor are on the wall behind the bar. There is also a slot machine. These are getting to be so common, like the espresso machines, that I probably no longer mention them every time I see them. An old looking metal chandelier hangs from the ceiling.

I had a glass of red wine.

843) CafeeKe



CafeeKe means small cafe and this was small indeed. They also served only Belgian beers. The bartender, named Ximena, said everything in the place was shipped over from Belgium. When I heard the bartender’s name I guessed that she was from Mexico, and I was right. Bar Man scores a free beer.

Ximena, The Mexican Bartender In A Belgian Bar In Spain


There is just a narrow little bar but it was quite comfortable. I was told that the name of the place means “Small Café.” The bar has an orangey marble looking tile top. There were brass rails for both your arms and legs. The beer station here was the more traditionally shaped tee shaped affair with six spigots and the traditional, although unmarked, pull handles.

A couple of little English pug-nosed terriers seemed to pretty much have the run of the place, but they were friendly enough. The walls were mostly dark wood with a band of mustard colored plaster on one side up front and mirrors on the other side and a green chalkboard listing the beers opposite the bar. About waist-high on the wood part of the walls is a narrow ledge for glasses with bar stools win front. On top of the wooden section are narrow shelves displaying bottles of Belgian beer and some old metal signs advertising beer and cigarettes. Another place worth stopping into if you are in the neighborhood. It is right outside the Plaza Mayor.

I had a draft Te Deum, which is a Belgian beer, and a couple of meatballs.

844) Fosters Hollywood



I guess this might be a Madrid meets Hollywood kind of a place. There were lots of ketchup bottles, the first I have seen in Madrid, so I guess that means they serve what passes for American food, hamburgers and French fries. There is a rectangular shaped bar with a black textured top. The sides are made up of film and camera cases and there is a silver foot rail. Above and wrapped around the bar are what look like cameral booms. There is even a full sized mannequin of a camera-man riding a boom hanging over the stairway to the toilets marked, ever so cutely, Actor and Actress.



The lighting is metal industrial stuff like, I guess, you might find on a sound stage. Lots of movie posters cover the walls. It is a bit contrived for my taste, but the place was crowded so the gimmick must work. They really should have director’s chairs instead of bar stools though.

I had a draft Mahou and headed home, calling it a day.

Another six bar day making 844 for the year and leaving 156 to go. I will bid a fond, but temporary, adieu to Madrid tomorrow. A great place for bar hopping.

Madrid Day Two

Got off to kind of a slow start today. Woke up late and then took a tour of a palace. After that we got on a double decker bus for a city tour. Didn't get to my first bar until almost 3:00 P.M. Love this town. The weather is gorgeous and the people have been really friendly so far. It is relatively easy to get around too with a great subway system. The tour buses that you can hop on and hop off are a good way to get the lay of the land as well. Once you have used them for a day or so you can then easily use the subway to get back to places you want to revisit. It is a fun city to walk around in although I have gotten somewhat lost at least once. Ah well, that is part of the fun of it.

833) Cafeteria Cristina



One of a bunch of bars intermingled with souvenier shops that surrounds a large square with some kind of a statue in the middle. Must be famous though because several tour groups traipsed through.

This is a small place with a small metal topped bar. Only a very narrow space to put your drink because most of the surface area is taken up by glass covered dishes of tapas. A lot of those delicious dried hams are hanging in the window.



They all have the hooves still attached. The place is well decorated with black and white photos of bullfighters. A couple of shelves above the microwave ovens and espresso machine behind the bar hold the liquor and wine selection. Just two stools at the bar. The walls are elaborately patterned tile and the floor is gray patterned marble. Two large mirrors adorn the wall opposite the bar. The room is divided by a brick arch. Just four small tables with red and white checked tablecloths.

I had a glass of Mahou, a fairly common and decent tasting beer. I am told it is pronounced “moo” but I am afraid if I say it that way I will get a glass of milk.

834) Moore’s



Hey, a real Irish bar in the heart of Madrid. I don’t know why I am surprised, you can find them everywhere it seems. This one is way cooler than most you see in New York though. It is a really old place, from the heavy battered dark wood bar to the dark rose and green plaster walls. The only concession to modern times is a stack of Red Bull cans in one corner of the dark wood shelves behind the bar. There is a large display of liquor on those shelves too, the Irish like the hard stuff. Below the liquor are glasses and relegated to the very bottom are bottles of mix.

Old milk glass lights hang from gold colored chains above the bar. Lots of drawers, which I were told are empty, were in a chest against the wall. All kinds of advertisements on the walls, mostly for beer. There are three levels to this place and a pool table on the second level down. This is the first pool table that I have seen.

There are old wood planked floors except for right around the bar where it is orange tiles with an edging of orange and gray diamond shaped tiles. A couple of televisions that were turned off, but there are signs saying they show European football. There are interesting things on the shelves and hanging from them; sprinkling cans, lanterns, old suitcases, jugs, and more. Old wood booth like tables and stools. This is a great place if you can find it. No tapas, just potato chips on green paper napkins on the bar. They were good potato chips though.

I had a well poured pint of Guinness pulled by Meria.

Meria, The "Irish" Bartender


835) Cerveceria Mantaditos





Another kind of coffee shop looking place that sells beer and wine. Every place sells beer and wine in Madrid. The butcher shops sell wine and beer, the bakeries sell wine and beer. I haven’t tried it yet but I would bet the post office sells wine and beer. They probably give you a small plate of stamps too.

The bar has a white marble top that sports a brass arm rest and a silver foot rail. A dark wood paneled front to the bar and small square dark wood bar stools. Four spigots on the bar, three serve beer and one a sparkly red wine. There is also an old looking soda fountain pump for Coca Cola.

Light rose colored walls are covered with black and white photos. Most of them are pictures of the city but there are some, what I take to be, family portraits as well. Two large blackboards list a whole bunch of tapas selling for just 1 Euro each. I don’t know what any of them are though, Number one was Jamon Iberieo con Aceite Oliva Virgen Extra and number one-hundred is Clasicode Chocolate. An interesting wooden pitchfork, like the ones the villagers brandished when they were storming Frankenstein’s castle, hangs on the wall along with garlands of garlic. No wonder I am thinking of monsters, werewolves, and vampires. Luckily the sun is still out.

I had a glass of the sparkly red wine fresh from the tap.

836) La Mallorquina



A pastry shop, a huge packed pastry shop, with everyone eating pastries and drinking coffee.



This place is all white and clanky with dishes being banged down on the counters. The walls are totally lined with cases of pastries. Yet, above the displays of pastries are shelves of liquor. Bar Man is having a sensory overload. Madrid is one huge bar. As I look up from the pastry display I see a whole shelf of Scotch. I am drifting off trying to decide between a drink and a pastry. A bug zapper hanging from the ceiling fringed with fluorescent lights snaps me back to reality when an insect electrocutes itself. I, of course, decide on a drink.

I have a glass of brandy and the person behind the counter just keeps pouring until I tell him to stop.

837) McDonald's



Hah Hah, just kidding.

837) Arysol



About two steps out of the pastry shop and about five steps from the subway Bar Man realizes he has to take a whiz. Well, no problem. You can usually find a bar within five steps, at least in this neighborhood. I stopped in here and ordered a beer and got a plate of fried pork skins to go with it. Lots of wines in cooler in here along with the beer stations. I am once again beginning to wonder if there is anyplace in Madrid where you cannot buy a drink. Go into the Department of Motor Vehicles, “Here, take the eye test and have a beer.” Bar Man must go home and rest. It is 7:00 P.M. but it still looks like noon with the bright sunshine.

I had a glass of Mahou.

838) San Antonio



I went back to the hotel and took a little rest and then went out for dinner. After dinner I stopped at one more place on the way home. After awhile thee is a bit of sameness to many of these places. They have a narrow surfaced bar, often marble, with glass or plastic covered trays of tapas. There are usually a couple of beer spigots, often silver. They have handles like a sink fixture instead of a pull handle though. Mahou seems to be the Spanish Budweiser because it is everywhere. In my opinion, Mahou is much more flavorful and certainly more hoppy and malty. There is usually a large espresso machine behind the bar, red in this case, and a couple of slot machines. Nobody ever seems to play them though.

This place has round lights above the bar and a Chinese restaurant looking sign behind the bar. On the left side is a small set of wooden shelves with mirrors behind them. Their fancier liquors and wines along with glasses are displayed atop linen napkins. In front of one of these shelves is one of those carving contraptions with a leg of lame along with a large round of some kind of hard cheese.

The floor is gray marble and the few tables, all full, sit against the light wood paneled wall. Framed abstract signed paintings hanging on the walls round out the décor. The crowd is quite lively, eating and drinking. Spain, or at least Madrid, is one fun place.

I had a glass of Mahou.

Another fun day with another six bars hit bringing my total for the year to 838 for the year and leaving me with 162 more to go. If anyone is interested in breaking my record of 1000 bars in a year, Madrid might be a good city to do it in.

Hello Madrid

After a long and somewhat uncomfortable (whatever happened to leg room) flight we arrived in Madrid on Monday morning. Beautiful weather here, crisp and cool in the morning and evening and nice and warm durning the rest of the day.

827) O’Munio



My first bar in Madrid, or in Spain, for that matter. On a bit of a side street, but it caught my eye. The bar has a heavy, almost knotty-pine like top with a wood paneled front. The three beer stations are brass and shaped like beer kegs. I don’t know what kind of beer they pour, you just ask for a beer and you get a glass of it with a small plate of fried potatoes and a little ham and tomato sandwich. This is a tapas bar so there are containers of all kinds of stuff on the bar; some kind of seafood salad, octopus, potato salad, baked things, who knows what all. Most people seem to be drinking small glasses of wine.

Wooden shelves above the bar holds the liquor and oblong lights encased in patterned glass are suspended below the shelves. A large espresso machine in front of a mirror dominates the back of the bar. Opposite the bar are a couple of brightly lit slot machines and a cigarette machine. Closer to the door is a large mirror with a few round tables with high chairs. These were occupied by young ladies smoking cigarettes and drinking soft drinks.

The place was small but pretty packed at 3:00 P.M. There s a wooded stairway with a brass hand rail heading up to where I imagine a restaurant is located.

I had a glass of beer.

828) Restaurant El Pastor



I guess you get something to eat whenever you order a drink in Madrid. I got a beer here and it came with two small pieces of bread with some kind of a salad spread. I was stuffed though because we went up the stairs at O’Munio and there was, indeed, a little restaurant up there. I had a great octopus dish there and a bottle of red wine. I thought I was just ordering a glass because it was only 6 Euros but instead it was a whole bottle, and a very good wine it was. But, that was there and I am here I am on another side street in another tapas bar.

The bar is similar to the last one but smaller and with an more ornate inlaid wood top and front. Old strange shaped chrome bar stools with worn and cracked leather seats. Behind the bar is a black and white tiled wall with a few wooden shelves with liquor, two wooden parrots, and a statue of a chef. Elaborate double silver spigots pump San Miguel and the spigots are surrounded by stemmed glasses.

The ceiling is plaster and wood beams with lots of ceramic mugs and pitchers hanging from them. There is also a shelf of trophies, but I couldn’t figure out what they are for. Wagon wheels with wooden spokes hang from the ceiling with light fixtures attached and act as chandeliers. There are a number of nice paintings of landscapes in gold painted wooden frames hanging on the white walls that have ornate ceramic tiles covering the lower half. A few heavy wooden tables and chairs fill the place up. A slot machine sits next to the door.

I had a glass of San Miguel.

829) Royal Cafeteria



Three for three on the food with a drink. This time it was two little sandwiches, one with cream cheese and carrot shreds and the other with hard sausage. The hard sausages here are quite good. I would try to sneak some back to Brooklyn with me but a dog named Bingo would probably nab me. Bingo was written up in the New York Times as one of the dogs at JFK that try to prevent illegal food products from being brought into the United States and he once caught me trying to bring in a ham sandwich from Switzerland. But, I digress.

The bar here is dark wood and curved at one end at jagged at the other. It is covered with clutter, mostly empty espresso glasses, coffee cups, and large pizza trays. More of those containers of tapas on the bar as well. The containers do have plastic covers. This time there were three silver beer spigots and they were surrounded by beer mugs instead of glasses. A selection of their bottled beers sit on the mugs in the very front.

Dark wood modern looking shelves behind the bar hold the liquor and a large espresso machine. White truncated cone shaped shaded lights hang above the bar. There are nice wrap-around windows with floral patterned stained glass on the top and it gives the place a classy look. The windows are frosted below and have the name of the place frosted on the top. There are nice marble floors and telescope-like grey and white columns support the ceiling. In addition to the slot machines that seem to be everywhere there is also an upright freezer with a glass door holds frozen deserts up front by the doors.

I had a glass of beer.

830) Sidreria A’Lareira



You can not go into a bar and not get something to eat. This time it was French fries and chicken wings. I think it must be a law. The number of beer spigots are multiplying, five here and we are back to stemmed glasses. My wine came in a short, squat glass though and was served up by Andrea.

Andrea The Friendly Bartender


The bar has a light wooden top with a patterned ceramic tile and brick front. Several large dried hams and a couple of sausages hang behind the bar, but they, like tapas and espresso machines seem to be everywhere. The wall behind the bar is light tan tile and there are glass shelves mounted on it that display their liquor. So far bars here do not have the huge displays of liquor so common in the United States.

Another couple of slot machines sit against the brick and vanilla plastered walls with windows opposite the bar. Bar Man is running out of note-cards and sobriety so is heading back to the hotel to restock on both before going out to dinner later tonight.

I had a glass of wine.

831) Meson de la Cerveza



Just a little kind of a hole in the wall with a really ornate old wooden bar. I ordered a Pernod but got some kind of a 2 Euro a shot brandy instead.

Bar Man And Brandy


It was nice though and hit the spot after the sangria I had with dinner. Strange beer station with two short spigots and a tall one in the center. The bar back has a curtain like metallic looking thing hanging over tile wall with a shelf of liquor. Over the bar is a wooden beam with ceramic beer mugs hanging from it. The ceiling is peaked wood like you might find in a cabin. Brick walls opposite the bar has a little wooden ledge with stools in front of it. Some kind of Spanish emblems in heavy wooden frames hang on the walls.

I had the aforementioned shot of brandy.

832) La Fontanilla Taberna



I got a plate of olives with my drink this time but nothing at the last place. Maybe a cheap shot of brandy doesn’t qualify you for getting free food. This is just a small corner bar that could probably seat twelve people at the most. It had an old dark wooden bar with a brass rail. A real interesting beer setup. A lone silver spigot pumped Cruz Campo, Spain’s number one beer, or so I hear, and next to that was a beer station with three large beer spigots with the one pumping Guinness the larges that I have ever seen. Rosana drew my Cruz Campo.

Rosana, Another Friendly Bartender


There was a very elaborate set of cabinets was behind the bar, old wood with brass trim. Domed yellow lights are over the bar. A wooden statue of what looks like a fisherman with a lantern sits on top of the bar at one end. A very impressive display of beer bottles behind glass wraps around the top of shelves on the tartan patterned wallpapered walls. There is, of course, an espresso machine behind the bar.

I had my glass of Cruz Campo and called it a day, but a very decent day it was and if this is what Spain is like I am going to have a wonderful time. I hit six bars bringing my total for the year to 832 and leaving me with 168 to go.

Good Bye New York

I am off to Spain today but managed to hit a couple of bars at the JFK before I got on the plane.

825) Chili's Too



Pretty much a typical Chili's stuck in an airport. I went to a spot in the terminal where there was a cocktail sign, but no cocktail lounge was to be found, just a food court. I like airport cocktail lounges but I am not a real fan of drinking in a Chili's. Ah well, one must make sacrifices. This place was pretty bad though, especially if you wanted a drink. It took me about 10 minutes to get a bottle of beer from the somewhat distracted bartender.

There is just a light blonde bar with bar chairs packed uncomfortably close together. It did have a rail for your foot though, not that you could actually get your foot down to it if you sat on a chair and there was no room to stand. There are mirrors and glass shelves for the liquor behind the bar. Coolers with gray doors are down below and glass bins of ice and beer sit on top. On each side is a silver T-shaped beer station with six spigots each. The wall behind the bar is gray brick and there is a lit up sign pushing Presidente Margaritas. There are two shelves above the bottles with brightly colored plastic cocktails and a few more liquor bottles on display.

I had a hard to get bottle of Heineken

826) Samuel Adams



Yep, that is the name of the bar, not just the beer. This bar was much more to my liking even though it served primiarily, well, you can probably guess. Actually Samuel Adams is one of my preferred beers so I had no complaints. The small bar had a top covered with Samuel Adams beer labels under plastic. The front was light wood plywood metal strips fastened to it with silver headed screws. The foot rail was silver as well. Regular wooden bar chairs with black vinyl seats were reasonably spaced.

The wall behind the bar is light blue with a large Samuel Adams emblazoned in white. There is a wel lit cooler to the right side with beer, mostly Samuel Adams Light, and soft drinks. Next to that is a large black and whit cabinet with a black top and black tiered shelves that hold the liquor. Theare are two televisions showing, sadly, the Jets/Jaguars game. My prediction is the Jets win only one more game this season. They really look bad.

There is a large picture of the head of the Statue of Liberty on a column to the left of the bar. You can look out of the windows and see the airplanes and the water beyond. Lots of flashing red lights on the highway across the water. Must have been an accident or a police action of some sort.

I had a Samuel Adams OctoberFest and headed for the plane.

Not bad considering there were only two bars in this terminal. I am now at 826 for the year with 174 left to go. My next posting will be from Spain.

Prequel To Spain

The Mysterious Chinese Woman’s brother and sister stopped by last night. Her sister is going to Spain with us and she is spending the night so we can all leave for the airport from here. We decided to condition our taste buds by going to a Spanish Restaurant (and bar) in the neighborhood.

824) La Mancha



There has been a Spanish restaurant in this vicinity ever since I moved into the neighborhood over 20 years ago. Originally there was one on the corner a couple of doors down. When the owner decided to retire he sold the place and a number of the waiters and the chef opened a place of their own a few doors down. They are now gone as well and the location has been taken over by new owners.

Somewhat sadly it has been remodeled and no longer has quite the air of authenticity that it once did. The old wooden bar where you could often find a few older Spanish gentlemen drinking wine and playing dominoes has been replaced by a grey and red veined marble top with a light wooden front and brass rail. The authentic blood stained bullfighter’s cape and flags that the banderilleros stick in the bulls back have been replaced by posters of bullfighters. Not exactly the same. The old dark wood stools look like they be about the only thing left of the old place.

The bar back is also a new looking light wood affair with mirror backed wooden tiered shelves of liquor and wine. Two racks of glasses hang from the ceiling just behind the bar. Above the bar small rippled glass shaded lights hang from chains. Behind the bar a statue of a black bull sits on the silver cash register and a statue of Don Quixote stands behind it. The bar is L shaped and the small end of it is immediately in front of floor to ceiling windows open to the cool night air which was pleasant. The floor is an interesting tile, alternating light and dark tan with somewhat of a wood grained look to it.

While I was talking to the bartender while having my drink at the bar we discussed the history of the place. She told me not to just compare it to the old place. My guess is that a lot of people do this and the new place doesn’t fare too well. I will say I liked the food in the old place a lot better. I ordered octopus Galician style as an appetizer and it was nothing like I expected or ever had before. It was more like warmed up octopus out of a can with paprika sprinkled on top. But, my job is not to write restaurant reviews. The service was good and everyone was more than pleasant.

I had a Sapphire Bombay Martini, up with a twist.

Just the one for the day bringing my total to 824 for the year and leaving 176 more to go. I will probably hit one or two bars at the airport tomorrow before I head off to Spain, but won't be posting for at least a few days. I am hoping I will find internet cafes while I am there so I can keep everyone up to date with my travels. I am really looking forward to this leg of the journey.