churros

The best barbacoa in the Sierra de Guadarrama, Marcelino.

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When writing reviews for this blog, I sometimes struggle with sharing too much about a place I love. Not that I am making any place TikTok famous, blogging is not TikTok after all, and my readership, while loyal, is not exactly viral; nevertheless, one still has a bit of pride in thinking that they can influence some readers to follow one’s recommendations.

This is the case with Bar Restaurante Marcelino in the tiny village of La Navata, North of Madrid. Marcelino, which has been around for ages, is the best barbacoa in the Sierra de Guadarrama. You can find fancier places, regional, and international foods, and more famous places, or with better views, but none have the combination that makes Marcelino so special.

Marcelino is housed in the original 1949 granite building, which was the preferred construction method in this area of the Sierra de Guadarrama. It has a huge “terraza,” an outdoor area split into two areas: the regular café, and the Barbacoa for the evenings.

While I am on vacation at my mom’s house during the summer, I walk down the hill every day for my coffee —and if I am lucky, a churro. Some days in the afternoon, I walk down with Celia for an afternoon snack. But the real highlight is the Barbacoa at night.

We are talking old school —with old school service, open air, oak charcoal, with the best available meats on the market (I know because we share the same butcher, but that is for another blog post). Chorizo, morcilla (black or blood sausage), Pinchos morunos (kebabs), lamb chops, etc.…

The vibe is relaxed, although you do need to make reservations. Enjoy a sangría, a Tinto de Verano, or a cold beer, get some appetizers, and enjoy the best barbacoa in the Sierra! You are welcome.

Tacos

/ antonioyrocinante / Leave a comment

Strangely enough, I rarely write about food, which happens to be one of my favorite things! Well, we’ll try to fix it…

As an old family member used to say: “I will eat anything that does not eat me first”, so I´ll eat pretty much anything – except maybe that Corsican cheese with the maggots (it does explain Napoleon being Corsican, though). At any rate, one of life’s simple pleasures is street food.

And what better example of street food than tacos? Of course, there is street food everywhere there are streets, so I remember fish and chips growing up in London, crêpes in France during my summer internships, hot dogs and pretzels in New York, churros in Madrid, Dholl Puri (curried yellow split-pea flatbreads) in Mauritius, etc. etc.

My first visit to Mexico was for work in 1993, and I can testify that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Many tacos later, in Naples I was blessed (a word I hate to use because we are all blessed, we just don’t see it or do not want to see it) to have Taquería San Julian. While not a stand, but a “real” -if humble- sit down joint, it made exceptional tacos. In fact I took my students there to order their lunch in Spanish as the oral component of their final exams!

Florida, unfortunately, does not have a rich heritage of street food. In fact, it does not have much heritage at all. The native Seminole population is limited to a handful of casinos, and until the late 18th C. nothing much happened here. What about fried alligator? A handful of “native” Floridians will shout. Well, when was the last time you saw a fried alligator stand on a street corner? Fortunately, enterprising Mexican immigrants have filled that vacuum with delicious tacos!

In a providential twist, there is a great taco trailer that parks -literally- around the corner from my house. So, guess where I end up when I am in a rush, or feeling lazy, or just craving tacos?

Although I have had tacos at Michelin starred restaurants (Punto MX in Madrid) and they were delicious (and expensive), tacos are meant to be eaten on the street (Florida does not really have sidewalks so one must eat in the car).

In conclusion: Thank God for tacos!