In transition

Ángel Sierra

I can´t bear to say adieu to Barcelona. It always is difficult to leave behind Catalunya and Spain. My returns to the EEUU are always slow and full of leaving taking. I delay the departure as much as I can.

A couple of nights ago while in Madrid, I met up with a scholar and fellow medievalist; we decided to have some copas and dinner to catch up with our research happenings and events. We started at the Taberna Ángel Sierra, a venerable establishment on the Plaza de Chueca, on the Calle de Gravina, 11. We sipped cool vermut and talked scholarly matters.

The taberna has an old Madrid feel and lacks the clean, ultra-modern decoration that seems to characterize a lots of places in Madrid and Barcelona. Dusty bottles line the walls, and there is a small dinning room behind the bar. Not el Bulli, but appetizing. One has to crawl under the bar to get there.

We did not stay for dinner at Sierra; rather we moved down the street and visited the Bodega de la Ardosa, Calle Colón, 13. Once more, we entered into a flashback to the old Madrid. Founded in 1892, this venerable spot has seen much history and many personalities. The vermut was stellar, and the feel of the place was comfy and human, scaled to a days without cell phones and frenetic media blitz. Imagine a bar where the voices of people did not need to compete with the digital music track or the loud commentary of sports journalists on a TV monitor.

Afterward, we headed toward the Plaza del 2 de Mayo to find pizza. On Calle de San Vicente Ferrer and Plaza del 2 de Mayo, we came upon an old haunt. An inviting place full of wonderful food and excellent ambiente: Mastropiero. My friend had not been there in 6 years, and we mentioned this fact to the señora, a jovial Argentina full of humor and cheer. She received us warmly and gave us a round of cañas and free dessert, consisting of chocolate cake, cheesecake, and a chocolate mousse. So heavenly. The pizza was also out of this world! We ordered a ham and anchovy half and a mushroom and cheese. Definitely I need to return with la noruega one of these days!

Café Ruiz

And the last stop was Café Ruiz (on Calle Ruiz, 12)! As traditional as you can get, in a towny part of Madrid. According to one web, "Café de los de antes, de los de tertulia, historias, y mesas camilla en los que se conspiraba, se arreglaba el mundo y se medía el grado de niebla del universo entero". We had some beers, chips, and talked about textualities and NEH projects for the future. So relaxing to sit and chat after a long day at the Nacional reading dusty books. We enjoyed it! And they had this antique cash register made by Krups! No digital age had penetrated the walls of this wonderful bar.

Enough marcha!