Salty, Vinegary Seafood Heaven
There's few things better on a Saturday morning than wandering through the Barrio de Las Letras in Madrid, checking out some of the local art galleries, markets, and cafes, hearing a few notes of flamenco wafting out of some open window in those few cool morning hours before the tourists and locals shake off their Friday-night hangovers and hit the streets.
If, during your stroll, you get thirsty, my biggest recommendation would be to go to La Anchoita, an old-school Galician tavern that great beers, vermouths, and seafood. They have fresh oysters, shrimp, cuttlefish, cockles, crabs, clams, and octopus, great cured meats like chorizo and jamon serrano, and high-end canned mussels, clams, baby clams, and, of course, anchovies. Now, I know that most of us Americans aren't used to thinking of canned seafood as a delicacy but, in the case of Spain, it is. I'm not sure why, but there's something about the marinade and the canny process that changes the flavor and texture of the seafood into something completely different and velvety-smooth.
