Ah, yes, familiar Fridays with menú del día. This one was from last week. I went a place called Aió (pronounced kinda like Ah-ee-OH, but really fast and smushed together). Its a stone's throw, if that, from Amargo. I had walked past it a couple of times and had always wanted to try it. Peep my journey below: The menu! I love that it changes daily (makes me believe more that a place cares about the food and the ingredients they are using). Most places have at least one meat option, one seafood or fish option, or one vegetarian option (though to be honest, Spain is a country where it's somewhat difficult to be a vegetarian and not eat the same thing over and over and over again. Props to my veggie friends!!) Also, one of the great things about menú del día is that if you aren't feeling super hungry, most places will let you get just one course, a drink, bread, and dessert or coffee for a slightly reduced cost. Let's carry on my wayward son, shall we? For my primero (first) course, I got "Pasta con crema de espinacas". It was penne pasta with a cream sauce and spinach and a healthy dose of cheese. Though I found this dish erring slightly on the side of too salty (slightly too much salt in the space plus the saltiness of parmesan cheese), I was really pleasantly surprised by the toasted pine nuts in the sauce. For my segundo (second) course, I got "Pollo a la cerveza con veduras". This was beer-braised chicken with veggies. The chicken was good and for the most part tender and juicy, but I found it somewhat lacking in flavor. I think it could've used a touch more salt (maybe from the previous dish) to help bring out some more of the flavors that were developing. My café (coffee)! I forgot to take a picture as soon as I got it because I was so excited for it. After eating all of that food and being out late the night before, I was quickly falling into a food coma and needed something to perk back up. I got café con leche AAAAAAAAND I asked the waitress to give me nata (cream, in this case whipped, as in whipped cream...) on top. I'm sure this is not a normal thing that Spaniards do, but I like my whipped cream, so I shot for the stars and was rightfully rewarded. After all of that, I was super stuffed and quite sleepy. I continued reading for a bit more before leaving to go home and nap. Also, apologies that these photos are slightly below my normal subpar photo taking abilities. I took these using an iPhone3, which sadly does not have the greatest camera. But, da igual, you get the picture. Also, I'm really unsure as to why I can't resize these pictures, so you're welcome for really large pics!
Al final Total cost: €9.50. Thoughts: Would definitely return again. Loved the ambience and the service. The food was good, though I found the first dish a little too salty and the second dish lacking in salt. I loved that the waitress managed to get me cafe with whipped cream on top even though the bartender gave her such a confused look as to why anyone would order that.
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It's Friday, so y ou know what that means: MENU DEL DIA!!! Today's menu, courtesy of my fave: Cafe Amargo. Buen provecho (good eating/enjoy)!Second Course: hamburger with goat cheese and fried berenjena (eggplant) slices and fries. The goat cheese was not overpowering as it tends to be. It was balanced with the eggplant and the meat as well. The fries definitely tasted homemade. I loved the varying sizes of the potato and they had a slight hint of garlic added to them as well. I ate most of the burger, but not all of it because I was saving room for........... DESSERT!!! My favorite meal of the day! This is arroz con leche (rice pudding) and it's one of my favorites when made well. Margo makes it well. Soft and creamy with a slight hint of vanilla. It's drizzled with sweet honey-esque sauce that hardens and turns into a thin candy. The white/pale yellow jelly near the front of the plate was a lemon jelly that perfectly complimented the sweetness of the dish. It was almost like a refreshing sorbet in the fact that it was more tart than sweet. Thank goodness I got some pictures up. This blog was starting to get reeeeeealllll dry. The meal was delicious. normally I like to go home to power nap and prepare for the evening (especially tonight as it's my friend's birthday), but I have decided to stay and try to write at least one more post and maybe play around with the layout/theme of this thing. Now to order another glass of wine!
Hasta pronto! 😘😘😘😘 Alright, so it's no secret that I am insanely, incredibly bored. I mean, that will probably change once the school year starts and I have little Spanish children to pretend to not understand unless they're speaking my language on a daily basis, but as for now, I have nada que tengo que hacer. Also, I'm mad broke and while wandering around Barcelona is fantastic, I can't do that because I have no self control and I don't have near enough money to even begin to think about making it rain. Sooooo, I came up with this great idea: I review things!! Why not combine a few things I'm good at (specifically, giving my unsolicited opinion, pretending I know what I'm talking about, and drinking alcohol) and share my gift with the world?! LET US COMMENCE. What we (hah!, okay, I) have here today is lovely bottle of red wine. It's name is obvi in the title, but I will repeat that here for all of you lovelies. The company (brand? maker? vineyard? bottler?) is Marqués de Taute. The wine is a crianza, a deep red wine bottled in 2011. It's from La Rioja, known worldwide as the wine country in northern Spain. Learn more about wines from La Rioja here and check this graphic about them taken from the same website (Wine Folly). THE BOTTLE SAYS: "Wine made from selected grapes of the indigenous varieties of the area: Tempranillo, Red Grenache and Mazuelo. Once the malolactic fermentation is completed, the wine ages for 12 months in French and American oak barrels, then rests in bottles for at least 6 months to complete its maturing process and roundness. Wine with an intense, brilliant ruby red color with slight purplish hues." I SAY: First things first, the smell. You know how some wines smell super vinegary as soon as you open the bottle? Ugh, I hate that. Not this one! It was really smooth with the faintest hint of fruit. Oddly enough, it also smelled faintly like caramel. Now, guess how much I paid?? €5,85 (that's $7.83 US dolla dolla bills and change). I decided to class it up more than my €1,85 bottle from yesterday because that was beyond awful. I mean, I drank it, of course, but blegggh. Also another reason to write reviews: now I can go back and see what I like/don't/want to try again because I know for sure all of this stuff is going to blur together. Staying at a hostel, probably (yet to be determined) overpacked my luggage, and living on a super budget leads me to drink out of only the most respectable receptacles (how clever am I for coming up with that?!!?!) aka today's cup is fun-sized, party polka-dot plastic cup. Where there are polka dots, there's a party. Kudos to me for not just drinking straight out of the bottle as per usual, but the night is still plenty young. Taste: Deliciosa. Not sweet, and not too sour/vinegar tasting. I don't taste anything resembling the caramel I smelled, so I was probably on crack earlier (JK mom and everyone else, I don't do crack, promise). It's pretty mellow and feels like it would pair well with a lot things on the Thanksgiving table.
Mouth feel: It didn't make my mouth super dry after taking a sip. Also, it's not exactly light, not exactly medium. I would say on the lighter side of medium. I should probably taste something medium and heavy though to be more sure.. Drinkable: Super. Another round or five and I'm fine with that. Hangover factor: TBD. I've paced myself during the writing of this article and haven't even finished the glass, though don't praise me for my restraint just yet, it's mostly due to my inability to multitask. My grade: B. Solid and middle of the road. Not supremely memorable and OMG fantastic, but something I would drink again and buy if I'm feeling kinda classy on a date (side note: take me on a date and provide me with better wine than this and I will definitely call you again). |