La Comida

Every restaurant in Spain is required by law to have available a menu del dia, including a first plate, a second plate, a drink, bread, and dessert. I’m not sure it had to be as serious as an actual legally binding law, but i like it. Best law ever.

So naturally my friends and I have a favorite spot to go to. Well we have a few- one in each neighborhood that were often in. But the one we go to most often is about a twenty minute walk from our house, or 5 minutes on the train. Worth every second. And the walk back is a convenient workout, necessary after how much food we get. We know the waiters and bartenders and they know us, but our lingual abilities only overlap in a very small little sliver of Spanglish. We struggle to find out what the menu is today, since it changes everyday. Recently we’ve given up, realizing all the food is amazing, and taken to a new game. 

Here’s how it works. 1. Close your eyes. 2. Point to the menu. 3. Eat what is put in front of you. That’s it. Simple. Everybody wins. In general we try to get different things, butchering the pronunciation as we order them. Every now and then one of us gets something particularly interesting; most recently, tripe. For those who are like me and have never seen that word before I believe its cow stomach? I knew Spain would be an adventure- but cow stomach? Did not see that coming.

Needless to say it was delicious. But my favorite guess ever turned out to be a big plate of grilled ribs with onions and peppers. Just could not have been happier when she walked outside and put that plate in front of me. Smiling from ear to ear. 

There are two servers in particular who we’ve befriended. A man who speaks very good english (but he’s a Yankee’s fan so we don’t talk much), and a woman who speaks no english. She laughs every time we show up- in a friendly way of course- and gets us menus with a big grin on her face. I can hear her now “Que tal chicos!? Dime!”

By the time the second plate comes out I’m full. And dessert? Forget it. I usually get coffee instead just to help digest the foodbaby I have. And that twenty minute walk home? Yeah that can wait an hour...

So you can see how a quick lunch turns into a feast fit for kings. And two hours later you’re sitting there in a euphoria, with no plans, and no need to go anywhere. 

PS. Just kidding- Yankees fans are people too...