mercado de san miguel.

by - Date posted: 2013-02-25 - 27 comments

The highlight of my trip to Madrid (besides seeing such a good friend) was Mercado de San Miguel. Just around the corner from Plaza Mayor, Mercado de San Miguel is one of the oldest markets in Madrid, but recently under went a new renovation that I found pretty spectacular. The market has been around since the early 1800s, but received this look in the early 2oth century. The latest renovation took place 10 years ago. The covered market offers hundreds of selections of fruits, vegetables, meats, drinks, and tapas offerings like olive dishes, empanadas, paella, and croquettes.
 
The market was packed on a Saturday afternoon with people enjoying a cold beer or glass of wine with friends. Finding a place to sit, or even stand, was a bit difficult, but most people seemed happy to share their table.
 
First, we stopped by the Jamon (ham) station. Our tour guide for the day, Borja, was a friend of my friend Dani, and a Madrid local. Dani (an American and Colombian) told me the Spanish ham was basically like prosciutto, and he gasped! How dare she say that! Prosciutto is the Italian’s canned tuna to Spain’s yellow finned tuna. The Jamón Ibérico is a cured ham that comes from specially bread pigs. They are raised with a special diet. The most expensive ham comes from pigs that are fed only acorns for the last part of their life. One leg costs at least 1500 Euros and can run up to 6000 Euro! Borja also told us that is very common to gift this ham to special people and business contacts and middle to upper class Spaniards usually keep a leg in their home at all times. Cutting the ham is also a special art and takes rigorous training to slice the ham commercially.
 
At the market, we had our own tapas lunch with some Spanish beer, croquettes filled with cheese, chorizo, jamon, and more, paella, and Jamon Iberico. It was all delicious. Plus, I really love the tapas concept. I am really indecisive when it comes ordering off a menu, so getting to sample a bit of everything and share with friends was so much fun!
 
You bet I didn’t pass Duty Free at the airport without picking up some Jamon, Manchego cheese, and Rioja wine!
 
 







What would you be sure to eat  in Madrid?



Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

27 Comments

    • Oh yay thanks for sharing! That is true about the SEEING because I just loved pointing and thinking I WANT THAT! I think every city needs a place like this with t heir own traditional foods.

    • Oh yes don’t miss it!! And Cat from Sunshines and Siestas above told me that it’s open til 2 am on weekends! I will get a bunch of other names of places from my friend who I stayed with there for y’all before you go there, too. This place literally serves cocktails, at all hours, LOVE.

  4. Spanish markets are so awesome – I only know the one Mercado de la Boceria in Barcelona, which is a similar experience. Walking through the aisles of fresh fruit and other products is so great! And it’s the best place to snatch up a cheap and tasty lunch. I don’t care for the fish and meat part of the market, though. Even though I’m not a vegetarian, this is definitely not appetizing! ;-)
    Anja recently posted…Craft Challenge: Link Up Your Own Projects!My Profile

    • Haha yeah I can see how the meat sections could be bothersome but for some reason I find it fascinating.

      Random: but do you know any good cafes in KA where you could hang out for awhile with a laptop? WiFi is preferable but not a necessity.

  5. I LOVE markets!!! The big choices, the fresh fruit and vegetables, all the colors, all the different languages I hear! Wonderful. And I always admire the women with non-western cultural background of their household planning skills. It seems they go to the market once a week and manage to cook fresh dishes for a whole (large) family for a week!! I would just FAIL.

    Lovely post, lovely photos!
    Have a wonderful week!
    Svenja xx
    Svenja Schoening recently posted…DreamerMy Profile

  7. That jambon, or as we call it, ham, looks some kind of special & acorn fed, no less. Lots of oaks, and accordingly, acorns, across parts of Tx and most of the U.S. deep south.

    Maybe we should think about raising & processing some pigs on acorns. Our only competition for feed, here in the U.S., would be the squirrels, or perhaps we could simply provided feed for the Spanish pigs?

    Anyway, always enjoys hearing about your travels and thoughts thereabout.

    Proud of, and for, you.

    Love & miss you.

    Daddio

  9. All of that looks so, so good!! I’ve never been to Madrid, but now I want to go there and eat everything in sight!

    Love tapas. Have you been to Pinxtos in Karlsruhe? Our Spanish teacher from the Volkshochchule took us there. The food is SO good!
    bevchen recently posted…Things I HAVE done before 30My Profile

    • Noooo where is this place?? This sounds great! I’ll have to check it out.

      Also, random: do you know any good cafes in KA where you could bring a laptop and stay awhile? Wifi preferred but not necessary. Me and my friend need somewhere besides Starbucks haha.

      • Erbprinzenstraße – it’s kind of between the Landesbibliothek and Ludwigsplatz, if that helps?

        Finding cafés is a real problem in Karlsruhe! We have been trying for ages because my boyfriend refueses to go to Starbucks! There is Gelbe Seiten, which doesn’t have the greatest choice of beverages (but they used to do really good white hot chocolate – it’s been ages since I was last there so I’ve no idea whether they still do!). Karlsruhe’s Bookcrossing meetups are held there, so I know they will let people sit for ages. And I’ve seen people studying there.

        Café Palaver is AMAZING! But really popular, so getting a table is sometimes difficult. Once you have on they don’t mind you staying as long as you want though.
        bevchen recently posted…Things I HAVE done before 30My Profile

  10. Oh, I love the Mercado San Miguel! My favourite place is the one right near the entrance, they only serve seafood and everything is one euro, ridiculous! Just behind the market (on the opposite side of the square) are some of the best tapas bars in Madrid, totally without tourists and seemingly populated solely by old Spanish men with their little canas. I always say a sign of a good tapas bar is seeing that everyone inside has white hair :)
    Caitlyn recently posted…KOTO, our selfish good deedMy Profile

    • Haha I love your gauge for a good Tapas place – it was just such a cool spot! If I lived in Madrid, I would go far too often! And how did I miss this seafood spot? That sounds just spectacular!!!

  11. Isn’t Iberian Ham the best thing on earth? I am IN LOVE.

    My family here in Sevilla, Spain had a leg of jamón in our house for Christmas, and whenever they weren’t looking… I would go and slice myself a piece… scratch that… more like a plateful. It is THAT good.

    Glad you had a blast in Madrid- I love that city.

  13. I would love to go to a Spanish market! Well, a little too much meat for my taste but I would surely buy all the vegetables and fruits!

  14. Confession: I’m a long-time vegetarian, and since ditching the meat have never had another craving for it…until I got to Spain. For some reason, the jamón was always calling my name. Maybe it’s the freshness, or the respect people have for both the meat and the treatment of the animal, but jamón iberico makes my mouth water. So much so that I think I may have to incorporate it into my diet when I make the move to Madrid :)
    Julia recently posted…stories from the bush: chasing leopards in botswanaMy Profile

  17. Pingback: madrid self-walking tour. «Europe Awaits. Europe Awaits.

Leave a Reply

*

*

CommentLuv badge