Meals and Restaurants
Once again, there's a multitude of distinctions. You can sit down and have a full meal in a comedor , a cafeteria , a restaurante or a marisqueria - all in addition to the more food-oriented bars. Comedores are the places to seek out if your main criteria are price and quantity. Sometimes you will see them attached to a bar (often in a room behind), or as the dining room of a hostal or pension , but as often as not they're virtually unmarked and discovered only if you pass an open door. Since they're essentially workers' cafes they tend to serve more substantial meals at lunchtime than in the evenings (when they may be closed altogether). When you can find them - the tradition, with its family-run business and marginal wages, is on the way out - you'll probably pay around ?4.50-8 for a menu del dia, cubierto or menu de la casa , all of which mean the same - a complete meal of three courses, usually with bread, wine and dessert included. The highway equivalent of comedores are ventas which you'll be extremely glad of if you're doing much travelling by road. These roadside inns dotted along the highways between towns and cities have been serving Spanish wayfarers for hundreds of years - many of them quite literally - and the best ventas are wonderful places to get tasty country cooking at bargain prices. Again the menu del dia is the one to go for and the best places usually have quite a gathering of lorries in their car park, shrewd long-distance truck drivers being among the best customers. Replacing comedores to some extent are cafeterias , which the local authorities grade from one to three cups (the ratings, as with restaurants, seem to be based on facilities offered rather than the quality of the food). These can be good value, too, especially the self-service places, but their emphasis is more northern European and the light snack-meals served tend to be dull. Food here often comes in the form of a plato combinado - literally a combined plate - which will be something like egg and chips or calamares and salad (or occasionally a weird combination like steak and a piece of fish), often with bread and a drink included. This will generally cost in the region of ?4.50-6. Cafeterias often serve some kind of menu del dia as well. You may prefer to get your plato combinado at a bar, which in small towns with no comedores may be the only way to eat inexpensively. Moving up the scale there are restaurantes (designated by one to five forks) and marisquerias , the latter serving exclusively fish and seafood. Restaurantes at the bottom of the scale are often not much different in price from comedores , and will also generally have platos combinados available. A fixed-price menu del dia is often better value though: generally three courses plus wine and bread for around ?4.50-9. Chinese restaurants - increasingly popular in Spain - generally have the cheapest menus del dia : ?4.50-6 is the norm. Move above two forks, however, or find yourself in one of the more fancy marisquerias (as opposed to a basic seafront fish-fry place), and prices can escalate rapidly. However, even here most of the top restaurants offer an upmarket menu called a menu de degustacion (a sampler meal, usually including wine) which is often excellent value and allows you to try out some of the country's finest cooking for ?20-30. To avoid receiving confused stares from waiters in restaurants, you should always ask for la carta when you want a menu; menu in Spanish refers only to fixed-price meal. In addition, in all but the most rock-bottom establishments it is customary to leave a small tip ( propina ): Spaniards are judicious tippers, so only do so if the service merits it: the amount is up to you, though 5 to 10 percent of the bill in a restaurant is quite sufficient. Service is normally included in a menu del dia . The other thing to take account of in medium- and top-price restaurants is the addition of IVA , a seven percent tax on your bill. It should say on the menu if you have to pay this. You'll find numerous recommendations, in all price ranges, in the guide. Spaniards generally eat very late, so most of these places serve food from around 1 until 4pm and from 8pm to midnight. Many restaurants close on Sunday or Monday evening . Outside these times, generally the only places open are the fast-food joints; Pans & Co and Bocatta serve suprisingly good bocadillos and often have special offers.
spain-EATINGamanda says "when you go to spain you have to be epected to eat a continental original BIG breakfast, a light lunch and dinner at a late time and i mean late!!!" Peace HoCharles Darwin III says "Beans Beans there good for your heart the more you eat the more you fart!" We the Knights...Knights of Columbus says "i totally disagree with Mr. Darwin. i belive it is cabbage that dust makes the human body release excess gas or as Mr. Darwin says "fart". i totally disagree and demand a throw down right now!" It is onCharles Darwin III says "I respectfully disagree with the Knights of Columbus.I accept the "throwdown" officiated by the KFC.We must meet at the town hall in Grenage, England" (.)(.)Charles Darwin III says "Oh and say hi to your babies momma for me please.and goodbye" Tis it thou my saucey fellowTribonious says "put a screw in it. you men are far too immature and thus leaves me to belive the Knights of Columbus(founded in 1882) will not only throw down but as (.)(.) said "take you babies momma". hm? such a saucey fellow. i cannot belive this ransomness. tis thou dissare to throw down with KFC i shall join as well and make allies with the wetbacks. and yes peace ho.
- your beloved tribonious" The WETBACKS!Charles Darwin III says "Thats absoulutly absurd! the Wetbacks ! My only allie is my faithful horse Homburdeous. He alone will assist me in the capture of the K F C.
Babies Momma
CDIII" WE The Knights...(again)Knights of Columbus says "how dare thou mistake my name K OF!!! C no KFC. we art thou no familar with the blacks. we do no crave cheap chicken from ally ways en thou ghetto. HOW DARE YOU. the wetbacks have always been our saucey fellows. how dare tis i waste my time with you sauceless fellows and thust do bust a load in your babbie mommas face. thust ending the war.
peace ho hombre." Important... Please ReadAdministrator says "This forum was created in order to inform potential travelers about Spain. It is obvious from previous entries that some people are using this forum for the wrong reasons. We respectfully ask that you refrain from using profanity and this site and most importantly, stay on topic and discuss only things that will be useful. Keep your personal affairs out of our website.
-The Administration-" ITS GOOD FOR YOUBEER AND WEED says "I LIKE TO DRINK BEER AND SMOKE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WEED!" IM SOO HOTHOT GUY says "IM THE KIND OF GUY THAT MAKES ALL THE FAT GIRLS HUNGRY!" Midgets with BIG nosesFTM says "My tip is to watch of for the midgets with noses bigger then their bodies, they can be quite frightening and scary, just ask darwin he should know all about them! Quite scary indeedddd...." Daves MomScuba Steve says "I once went to daves house
I saw his mom
and I conquered her!" im highdickhead dave says "i have the munchies,
bc im high" im a birdScuba steve says "i can fly
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