Before I came to Spain I thought Spanish was just Spanish, sure you've got different dialects all over Latin America but when you got down to it, it's all just Spanish. Thing is, here Spanish is often referred to as Castellano, because aside from from regional dialects you've got parts of the country that speak something altogether different like Euskera, Catalan and Gallego. The last two seem like a combo of Spanish, French and Portuguese, which makes sense given their Latin origins, but Euskera, from Basque Country, is in another league, some say it comes from barbaric tribes that populated Spain before the Romans and that were never actually conquered by them, the Arabs or the Catholic Kings that came later. Basque Country is dense forests and hilly, a terrain that's closed off and very different climatically from the rest of Spain.
Now, I've come across a person from nearly every Spanish-speaking country and picked up the lingo from their respective countries but Spain is a microcosm of Latin America. Here's a vocabulary guide to some of the slang I've come across out here, I'm sure I'll continuously update it.
Guay - adj. it basically means cool. You're gonna use this shit a lot here. It's like chido for Mexicans, chevere for a Venezuelan and chivo for us Salvadorans.
Friki - n. comes from freaks or freaky, without a doubt. Used to describe a misfit or outlandish person or a geek. A computer geek would be a "friki". Doesn't have to have a negative connotation.
Genial - adj. used much more than its English counterpart, it's used in place of great or nice.
Tí@ - n. refers to a guy or chick in the colloquial Castellano. You hear this all over the place here in Spain.
Tronco - n. also refers to a dude in the colloquial way and is particular to Madrid.
Buen@ - adj. means a hot person.
Cachonda - n. this one is tricky, it can mean a hot girl, a horny girl or a slutty girl. I thought I had a handle on this one but I've altogether decided not to use it, not worth the potential offense. Cachondo, on the other hand, is typically used to describe a humorous guy.
Cachondeo - n. can mean laughter, silliness or having a good time, I heard this a lot when I worked at a school, it was used by the teachers when they were scolding the children for laughing a lot and making noise.
Maj@ - n. + adj. it can mean a nice person or a hot person, it all depends on how it's used, can also be used interchangeably with guap@.
Guap@ - n. + adj. it's a handsome or attractive person, in general, but in Madrid they use it plainly, it doesn't have to have a meaning or compliment behind it, it can be used to simply address you without using your name. I got hype the first time someone addressed me this way but you soon figure out it ain't like that.
Follón - n. is a big mess, comes from follar (to fuck), anytime you add -on to the end of a word it makes it big, like botellon, which means big bottle.
Botellón - n. you'll be doing a lot of this in Spain, it means a get-together in a park, typically to pre-game before heading out. You can do it in a plaza, park or any other public place and it can involve spliffs or shishas but, above else, it means drinking in public. You can't botellon without a bottle of something alcoholic.
"!!!" - this one is a sound, similar to a sucking noise but slightly different, you make it by putting your tongue on the roof of your mouth and snapping it out, the Spanish use it in place of "well", I'd say. It definitely has a meaning, this sound, though it's hard to recognize at times.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Where to eat pupusas in Madrid
I've often said I've got a fat man in my belly, I put it away like nobody's business.
I think with my belly, I love cuisine from all over the world and don't say it frivolously, though it's taken work and resolve on my part. I also love a bargain and am constantly in search of dishes I've had that are sometimes hard to find outside a cultural and culinary capital like New York. The first thing I looked for in Madrid in anticipation of my arrival back in 2013 was pupusas. I can't live without them, ask me what dish I'd have to eat for the rest of my life if forced to and the resounding answer would be pupusas, without a doubt. I'm Salvadoran, it's in my blood, but it's also a great dish, it's very healthy, filling and I've shared my favorite dish with people from all over the world and they've loved it.
What is it? It's a tortilla (not the Spanish kind with eggs and potatoes) but closer to its skinny Mexican cousin, though thicker and made from corn dough (masa). It's similar to its Venezuelan kin, the arepa,but I like to kid that the arepa is like an incomplete pupusa, though not as thick. It comes stuffed with your choice (typically) of cheese, cheese & beans or cheese, beans and chicharron (shredded pork). That last one is called a "revuelta", it's my preferred choice though perhaps not the healthiest (but let's face it, sometimes it's most flavorful for a reason). The pupusa then comes with the option of adding curtido, which is diced cabbage, carrots, onions and spices soaked in water and vinegar, I'd say it's kind of similar to coleslaw and even have my theories of how it may be linked to Germanic traditions. You can also add a tomato sauce on top of all of this and there you have it, the pupusa.
In New York City, in my neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, I had approximately 7 pupuserias (as they're called) within walking distance of my home due to the high density of Salvadorans and other Central Americans in the area. My favorites are Pupusa Market (formerly El OK Restaurante) and Marina Restaurant. In Madrid there aren't nearly as many guanacos and in reality I only know of two places, the first, Rio Grande, I found Google searching "pupuseria Madrid".
Rio Grande (Pupuseria Madrid)
I have an emotional attachment to this place, I won't lie. When I found the Facebook page I only had an address to go off and I was still a noob getting around Madrid so I depended on my friend Jean to get us there, along with her roommate John. We took the 3 from Moncloa and walked from the Villaverde Bajo-Cruce stop, which is a good 10 minute walk (it was a rookie mistake). We got the area and looked around in vain for the storefront, back and forth along the street. Finally I decided to take a look at the address again and realized that we weren't looking for a storefront but for an apt. The restaurant was in someone's apt! This was quite shocking for my American pals, they couldn't fathom that a restaurant could be in someone's place and in any case felt it was pretty sketch. In NYC I'd seen businesses grow this way, in fact, Marina's up above had that same trajectory, springing forth from their home and having so much commerce coming through their doors that they eventually decided to open up a proper restaurant. So I knew that it wouldn't be so bad and I knew that I wanted pupusas, I was dead set on having them, danger be damned. They wilted initially, but bolstered by my resolve chose to join me, they certainly didn't regret the decision. It was someone's piso (apartment) but it was run like any restaurant, they had a waiter, tables set up in the living room and a menu with the dishes available. My buddies liked it so much they'd make trips there without me.
When we went it was early Sept and around November they opened up a brand new location, the owner, I still don't know his name but Jean dubbed him "Smiley", was exuberant in informing us. That's where they are now, just a stone's throw from the Villaverde Bajo stop on Cercanias and 15 minutes away from Sol on the C3 or the C4. I love this place, I feel like I grew with them and am always met warmly each time I come, the prices are great, the service decent (and that's saying a lot for Spain) and if you order a glass of wine they give you a tub! I highly recommend it, I'll be there tonight.
Sombrero Azul
I've only been to this place twice but I have to check it out at least a third time because I hear their Sunday sancocho is to die for. For those that are afraid to venture to Villaverde (it's not that far, people) I don't know what to tell you, but this place is located in the center, in Malasaña, and provides some good pupusas. The service was good, the locale tiny yet cozy and you can also get Mexican food like a torta (because I suppose they just lump Central American cuisine with Mexican here *groan*). The caveat: it's a bit expensive, each pupusa is 2 euros and most things on the menu are pretty expensive, especially compared to the former restaurant. If money isn't an issue and you live nearby, by all means check it out (though I wasn't impressed with the Mexican food, the torta wasn't genuine). The pupusas were def par for the course, however, and you're always met with a smile.
If you have any questions or know of other spots please feel free to drop a line below. Buen provecho!
I think with my belly, I love cuisine from all over the world and don't say it frivolously, though it's taken work and resolve on my part. I also love a bargain and am constantly in search of dishes I've had that are sometimes hard to find outside a cultural and culinary capital like New York. The first thing I looked for in Madrid in anticipation of my arrival back in 2013 was pupusas. I can't live without them, ask me what dish I'd have to eat for the rest of my life if forced to and the resounding answer would be pupusas, without a doubt. I'm Salvadoran, it's in my blood, but it's also a great dish, it's very healthy, filling and I've shared my favorite dish with people from all over the world and they've loved it.
What is it? It's a tortilla (not the Spanish kind with eggs and potatoes) but closer to its skinny Mexican cousin, though thicker and made from corn dough (masa). It's similar to its Venezuelan kin, the arepa,but I like to kid that the arepa is like an incomplete pupusa, though not as thick. It comes stuffed with your choice (typically) of cheese, cheese & beans or cheese, beans and chicharron (shredded pork). That last one is called a "revuelta", it's my preferred choice though perhaps not the healthiest (but let's face it, sometimes it's most flavorful for a reason). The pupusa then comes with the option of adding curtido, which is diced cabbage, carrots, onions and spices soaked in water and vinegar, I'd say it's kind of similar to coleslaw and even have my theories of how it may be linked to Germanic traditions. You can also add a tomato sauce on top of all of this and there you have it, the pupusa.
Pic from the internet
In New York City, in my neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, I had approximately 7 pupuserias (as they're called) within walking distance of my home due to the high density of Salvadorans and other Central Americans in the area. My favorites are Pupusa Market (formerly El OK Restaurante) and Marina Restaurant. In Madrid there aren't nearly as many guanacos and in reality I only know of two places, the first, Rio Grande, I found Google searching "pupuseria Madrid".
Rio Grande (Pupuseria Madrid)
I have an emotional attachment to this place, I won't lie. When I found the Facebook page I only had an address to go off and I was still a noob getting around Madrid so I depended on my friend Jean to get us there, along with her roommate John. We took the 3 from Moncloa and walked from the Villaverde Bajo-Cruce stop, which is a good 10 minute walk (it was a rookie mistake). We got the area and looked around in vain for the storefront, back and forth along the street. Finally I decided to take a look at the address again and realized that we weren't looking for a storefront but for an apt. The restaurant was in someone's apt! This was quite shocking for my American pals, they couldn't fathom that a restaurant could be in someone's place and in any case felt it was pretty sketch. In NYC I'd seen businesses grow this way, in fact, Marina's up above had that same trajectory, springing forth from their home and having so much commerce coming through their doors that they eventually decided to open up a proper restaurant. So I knew that it wouldn't be so bad and I knew that I wanted pupusas, I was dead set on having them, danger be damned. They wilted initially, but bolstered by my resolve chose to join me, they certainly didn't regret the decision. It was someone's piso (apartment) but it was run like any restaurant, they had a waiter, tables set up in the living room and a menu with the dishes available. My buddies liked it so much they'd make trips there without me.
When we went it was early Sept and around November they opened up a brand new location, the owner, I still don't know his name but Jean dubbed him "Smiley", was exuberant in informing us. That's where they are now, just a stone's throw from the Villaverde Bajo stop on Cercanias and 15 minutes away from Sol on the C3 or the C4. I love this place, I feel like I grew with them and am always met warmly each time I come, the prices are great, the service decent (and that's saying a lot for Spain) and if you order a glass of wine they give you a tub! I highly recommend it, I'll be there tonight.
Sombrero Azul
I've only been to this place twice but I have to check it out at least a third time because I hear their Sunday sancocho is to die for. For those that are afraid to venture to Villaverde (it's not that far, people) I don't know what to tell you, but this place is located in the center, in Malasaña, and provides some good pupusas. The service was good, the locale tiny yet cozy and you can also get Mexican food like a torta (because I suppose they just lump Central American cuisine with Mexican here *groan*). The caveat: it's a bit expensive, each pupusa is 2 euros and most things on the menu are pretty expensive, especially compared to the former restaurant. If money isn't an issue and you live nearby, by all means check it out (though I wasn't impressed with the Mexican food, the torta wasn't genuine). The pupusas were def par for the course, however, and you're always met with a smile.
If you have any questions or know of other spots please feel free to drop a line below. Buen provecho!
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Places to visit and eat well in NYC
I get asked often to mention some places to visit while visiting my hometown of New York City and even though I plan to offer a much more comprehensive list this one I came up with rather quickly for a friend of mine. It's a year since I've been back home but my memory is fresh and certain staples will be forever ingrained. You'll also notice that many are places to eat, I think with my belly, it's unavoidable. Aside from that, I'd give the advice to go off the beaten path, in my experience, and this goes for any city, the best places were through wandering and happenstance; there's Fifty-Five bar in Camden that served as refuge during a downpour in north London, there's the food stall along the beach in Bali where we stopped in for a quick bite, there was a street vendor in Kuala Lumpur that sold us pisang goreng fresh fried and there was the time I walked with a friend from Carroll Gardens all the way over the Brooklyn Bridge and into Chinatown. These places and tested, though, and I can usually bet on them.
Burger Joint:
I love this place because it's in the lobby of a very swanky hotel in Midtown Manhattan and yet and once you enter the smell of grilled burger and graffiti on the walls hits you, it's a paradox. The burgers aren't that expensive, the shakes are, but all in all for less than 10 bucks, I think, you can have yourself a damn good burger and remain in Midtown.
Williamsburg:
Just go for a walk and take it in, it's one of my favorite neighborhoods even still. Sure you'll cross plenty pf hipsters and trendy, expensive bars but I think it's still worth wandering around, I still do it. Bushwick is what Williamsburg was when I was younger, 2 decades ago, but I only recommend walking around there with a native since some parts are still dangerous. Get out at Bedford Ave on the L and walk down to the river but don't be afraid to zigzag your way there. There are lots of interesting things to do, Brooklyn Bowl has cheap performances with great artists that play there (I caught Talib Kweli and also the Ska-talites there), Brooklyn Brewery has their brewery there and that's a fun time, the iconic Kellogg's Diner and so much more.
Corner Bistro:
A gem. It's an old bar, one of the oldest NYC has, in the West Village, at a strange intersection where 1st St and 11 St meet, I think, the old Cuban waiter sill works there and has that air of being from another era. It's all cash, the menu hasn't changed, and if you get there past 6pm it'll be packed so perhaps it's best to go during the early afternoon. The burger is pretty big and great for the price, only go to the West Village as in recent years they've expanded and the new places don't have that old-world vibe.
McSorley's:
Another old pub, this one is know for it's ale which is made only for that pub. It only comes in 2 types, light and dark, and they give you 2 drafts but it's the price of 1 beer, there's sawdust on the floor, the floorboards creak and the joint is always packed after 6 but it's a good mix of locals, old men and yuppies. A good place to have a beer, a decent cheap one, in the East Village if you're near St. Marks.
Paris Sandwiches:
Don't know if you've ever had a bahn mi but it's the Vietnmese version of the torta, in a sense. In another, it's just SOOOO damn good and Chinatown has several places to get an authentic like you might find in Saigon or Ho Chi Mihn City, this is one of them. Get yourself a bahn mi, an iced coffee and revel in the greatness, I'm getting hungry describing it! And they're cheap, for about 8 bucks you can have both.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Summer Vacation: Castellon & Benicassim
The word of the day is: budget. (Well, it should really be "poverty" but I like to roll with euphemisms.)
The month of July I worked at summer camps, the first one in San Lorenzo de El Escorial (I now know a fuck lot about the city and legend behind the monastery and the saint whose namesake it bears) and later another in San Mamés, on the outskirts. Both camps had their marvelous moments and their struggles though I always knew the light at the end of the tunnel was the month of August, my vacation month.
August in Spain is equivalent with vacation, the majority of folks get a month vacation (yes, that's a month of vacation that you can take in ONE SHOT, consecutively, something the folks back home I know will appreciate) and people in Madrid typically all take it in August, heading to their family's villages or to coastal areas like Valencia or Alicante. That means that even though I wouldn't have minded working this month it's near impossible to get work because everyone is gone and it's a ghost town (I went out to buy something from the corner store the day before I left and on the walk I didn't cross a single person, super rare where I live).
Once I'd come to the realization I wouldn't be able to work I had to figure out what I'd do, so much time but I had to stretch my purse strings. I knew I could visit my friend Eleisia in Castellon. I wanted to also meet Armelle somewhere soon after and when I got back I wanted to do the Camino de Santiago. Everything came together in less than a week, I finally was able to skype with Armelle (because the second camp was a black hole of communication) and we decided that logistically and economically the best choice for meeting between the south of France and Castellon was San Sebastián in Basque Country. The Camino de Santiago would have to be delayed a bit.
Castellon was what I was looking for, a respite from city life, a pool for swimming, beach chairs for sunbathing and countryside for miles. The first day we were ambitious, we hiked some local paths for three hours before heading back under the darkening skies. The next and following days consisted of sleeping in, beers or tinto de verano's and just laying about. Eleisia prepared some good meals, Juan's mom Tere did as well and time just whiled away like the falling leaves of autumn.
My last night in Castellon I went to stay with David, my friend and French teacher, in Benicassim. It's a beach town with a pretty lively nightlife due to all the giris (light-skinned anglophone foreigners) and Madrileños that flood the shore during the summer months. It started out with some basketball (I was out of my depth but still had a good time) and then we were off to the races, dinner and drinks. After pintxos, dobles and dancing, Benicassim ate my cellphone. Some asshole picked my pocket and jacked my phone, so the next day meant getting in contact with my blablacar driver and Armelle was gonna be hell.
Castellon to Valencia by Renfe is less than €6 and takes about 45 minutes, within an hour I was there near the Plaza de Toros, having McDonalds, I know it's not my brightest moment but there's nothing better when you're hungover. My blablacar ride consisted of long intervals of sleep and the routine convo, my driver was really nice and gave me some great advice for San Sebastián.
The climactic change was drastic, I left Valencia in a tee and shorts, drenched in sweat. I arrived in Basque Country in a fog, into a fog, Bilbao was a cold precursor to the torrential rain that greeted me in San Sebastián. By the time I got dropped off so I could wait for the 16 bus to Igelda I had to change into boots and my waterproof jacket, Basque Country is no joke.
She waited for me at the bus stop, how she knew the time I'd arrive or how long she'd been waiting I'm not sure but after all the travails in getting there she was the remedy for it all. I was ready and complete for the adventures that awaited us there.
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