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For Debra's birthday, we decided to visit the Spanish capital for a few days, since we'd never had a chance to spend time there in the past. Our journey consisted of a car drive to Seville and then a high-speed train ride (up to 160 mph) from there to Madrid. All in all, it took about four hours. We knew Madrid was not like Paris or London, with dozens of sites that could take a week or more to see. We focused our time on visiting the Prado Museum and the Spanish Royal Palace, neither of which allow almost any indoor photography. The Prado Museum is the main Spanish national art museum, and it houses one of the finest collections of European art in the world, including famous works by Spanish artists like Goya and Velázquez. The Spanish Royal Palace is the official residence of the Spanish royal family. It is Western Europe's largest royal palace, nearly double the size of Buckingham Palace in London or the Palace of Versailles in Paris. Three Kings DayAnd though we didn't know it at the time we booked, we were arriving near Three Kings Day, which is one of the most celebrated "Christmas" days in Spain. On this day, the Spanish celebrate the arrival of the Three Kings who come bearing gifts for the Baby Jesus. For this reason, Three Kings Day is the day when Spanish children open their Christmas presents. It is also a day of Christmas parades, with the biggest being in Madrid and Barcelona. DiverXOWe ate at several very nice restaurants in Madrid. Not surprisingly, the city offers a wide variety of cuisines, and we sampled dim sum, Mexican, and Asian/Latin fusion. But the highlight of the trip was our meal at DiverXO. DiverXO with its chef Dabiz Muñoz is one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world. It maintains three Michelin stars and is currently ranked as the #3 restaurant in the world, while Muñoz has been ranked as the best chef in the world for the past three years running. We will go into the meal in detail (so please excuse us!), but it was quite a unique experience. As you enter the restaurant, you immediately see a recurring theme of "pigs flying." This apparently refers to a statement attributed to the chef's father, who early in his career said his son would accomplish such lofty culinary achievements "when pigs fly." When we were seated, we found that all of the tables were separated (from each other and from the servers' areas) by sheer curtains. And each table had its own waving pig. At the sommelier's suggestion, we ordered a nice Spanish white wine from the Ribera del Duero wine region. As this river flows into Portugal, it is called the Douro River, an area where some of the finest Portuguese wines and ports are made. As the courses began, we received small written descriptions with each dish. (NOTE: click on the pictures for larger views) When we were served the fifth course, we received something new. The restaurant had decided to create an illustration that would give an idea of how Chef Muñoz had conceived of the dish and its ingredients. They did not have these illustrations for all courses yet, but they wanted to give us what they had completed. In truth, the illustrations were very helpful in understanding the dishes and their ingredients. They also gave us an inkling of the artistic and culinary creativity that is needed to be a chef at this level. (REMINDER: click on the pictures for larger views) The next dish was a little challenging. Elvers -- also known as glass eels -- are young Atlantic eels that are harvested when they are still small and transparent. Elvers are a delicacy in Spain, and due to their scarcity, their price has risen to over $2,000 per pound. For this dish, the elvers were cooked and put atop a crispy oxtail ravioli, which was then placed on top of a bull's horn which was filled with a Chinese hot-and-sour soup. We were told that after eating the elvers/ravioli to drink the soup directly from the bull's horn. At the end of the savory courses (12 of them), we took a little break and wandered around the entrance of the restaurant, before returning for the dessert courses. Our meal at DiverXO was an amazing experience. We aren't sure if it was our best meal ever, but it certainly was our most creative and interesting. There aren't many restaurants like this in the entire world, and we were pleased to celebrate Debra's birthday here! We truly enjoyed Madrid and look forward to returning one day.
1 Comment
Roger Kelley
1/26/2024 10:42:19 pm
You are truly are adventurers. I’m sure it requires some planning to get through such a meal.
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Debra & MarkUS Citizens, we have escaped to Southern Portugal to live the European lifestyle Categories |
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