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Published: June 27th 2012
Madrid
City Walls of MadridWell we are nearing our journeys end and there is still one thing I had set out to do that we have not yet done, eat a suckling pig. Let me explain. Five years ago we did a similar trip to Spain with Chris, Cathy and I. We did an afternoon stop over is Segovia, about 2 hours from Madrid. Segovia is famous for two things, Roman Aqueducts and roasted suckling pig.
The aqueducts were a marvel of ancient engineering. Standing over 100 feet high and built nearly 2000 years ago they looked as if they were built last year. In fact they were still in use bringing water from the mountains to the city.
The second marvel was a meal consisting of roasted suckling pig. The meal is based on cooking a newly born pig in a wood burning oven for hours until the skin is crisp and the meat is soft and richly flavored. The entire pig is brought to the table, head, feet tail and all. It is so soft that you do not cut it with a knife; instead you use two plates as knives!
It looked delicious but try as I might, neither
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That's me Chris or Cathy were not brave enough to try it and since it cost 40 Euro per pig, I could not see me eating pone alone. So depressed, we left Segovia and I never got my meal. I have been pining over this loss of the last 5 years.
Well, when I reviewed the itinerary for this trip I noticed that there was an optional trip to Segovia. Perfect! I decided I was going to get my suckling pig meal no matter what. Unfortunately, the optional trip to Segovia was not an option and it looked like my 5 year wait would continue.
Not one to give up easily I looked at the menu of every restaurant we stopped in and no pig on the menu. I spoke to Bozo, our tour guide of my plight and he assured me he would help find a place before the trip ended. Well we were two nights away and still no pig.
Last night in Madrid I only had one night left, so I asked Bozo “is there any place to dine on suckling pig in Madrid?”
His reply was “yes, I know a place in downtown Madrid
Madrid
Rick walking past the Madrid Market you can go”
GREAT, my pig awaited, but my family was not as cooperative. You see Madrid was HOT. I mean 108 degrees and we were there for several hours already and were not too interested in going back as it was still over 95 at 7PM.
Undaunted, I headed to the front office in hopes of finding a suckling pig to eat closer to the hotel. Our desk jockey, a lovely young blond, searched high and low on the internet looking for a place to dine that served pig. She found a place that she “Thought” served suckling pig, so she called them to make sure. Unfortunately, they did not pick up the phone. I saw my options slipping away by the moment.
Our desk clerk suggested we try anyway, as she assured us that even if this place was indeed closed there were other restaurants in the area, they did not serve pig but we could at least eat. Well this seemed agreeable to all. So we hailed a cab out front of our hotel and an 11 euro cab ride later we were at the address of the restaurant, but it was not the
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A local Square right restaurant. Damn, it was starting to see that fate was not going to let me eat this pig!
I stopped into the restaurant at the address where we were directed and asked the bar tender where was the restaurant we were looking for. Well of course, he did not speak any English but with pointing and pouting, he told us that the address we sought was one block up on the left. So close.
We walked to the new address and boom; it was still the wrong restaurant! Now this was getting more depressing by the minute. Once again I went into the restaurant and asked the bartender for directions. This bartender, from Romania, spoke English and promptly assured us we were in the right place. I was a little taken aback since the sign on the door and the name we were given by the hotel were not even close, but he once again assured me we were in the right place and to prove it he took us to the kitchen and showed us the suckling pig in the roaster. Fabulous we had arrived, but not yet since the restaurant was not open!
You
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Rick helps a local see they opened at 9 PM and it was only 8:15! I was not leaving period. So we agreed to stay and have a drink at the bar and chat until the dining room opened. So that is exactly what we did. Soon we learned all about our Bartender and his trials and travails with women and works as he traveled Europe from Romania, through Italy, London, Portugal and now Madrid. With laughs a plenty it was soon time to dine.
Since this was a full service restaurant we felt that Alla and Cathy could eat what they wanted and Rick and I would share ¼ of a pig. Unfortunately the restaurant only served suckling pig or roasted baby lamb! So the women were committed to dine on a pig.
Our bartender became our server, since I asked the manager if this was OK. The bartender laughed as we were his first customer as a server and he had no idea what to do! We helped him and he made suggestions. We both laughed!
Our meal was unbelievable. First we had olives and beverages. The olives were fresh and filled with a hint of garlic. This was
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Madrid Central Square joined by fresh baked and hot from the oven bread. We then ordered a plate of roasted red peppers and a plate of Iberian ham and cheese. All was delicious.
Finally came my pig. It was a sight to behold. We were served about ½ a suckling pig. We had half a head, front legs, body and back legs and even a tail! Fortunately the plate was served cut up and so it was not frightening to the ladies but with some imagination you could easily put the pig back together.
It was all I had hoped it would be. The skin was dry and crisp and delicious. The meat was moist, soft and very flavorful. I was surprised that Cathy and Alla ate as much as they did. Rick and I however had our fill and between the four of us we reduced our suckling pig to bones and marrow! All I could say was it was worth the trouble to find this place.
Soon the manager came over and asked us about our meal. He did not speak English but our bartender/waiter translated. Soon we were treated to a digestive, on the house from the
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Alla's new pet manager. Then we were treated to a digestive from the waiter, the table cleaner, the waiter, the table cleaner and once again the manager!
The digestive was a mixture of honey, amaretto, and licorice flavored alcohol. It was smooth and very tasty and went down easily, over and over and over again! By the time we left Rick and I could have walked home with no problem!
We soon arrived at the departure time and we hailed another cab for our ride home. We got back to the hotel and shared our story with some of the group and headed to bed finally fulfilled in my dream of eating a suckling pig!
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