La Mucca de Pez

After the airplane landed to Madrid, we took our previously reserved ride (Welcome pickups which did the job well coming and going) to our hotel and were quite tired from all the travelling.

Since we did not feel like adventuring too far, we went to a close by restaurant picked up from Googling the Madid’s Malasaña area, where we stayed for the trip. La Mucca (or Lamucca?) had a nonthreatening menu on offer, with pizzas and burgers etc.

So after dusting off the travel-weariness, we walked the colorful streets to this restaurant.

We actually went here also for lunch another day, when the next door La T Gastrobar was closed. For the dinner we had a Margharita pizza, seared tuna tataki, goat-cheese salad and a Thai salad.

For lunch the kids wanted pizza again, I had the gazpacho to start and then salmon.

My wife had the watermelon salad for starters and then veal.

Pizzas were good every time we had them, the cheese and tomato sauce base were tasty and the pizza was crispy and well cooked. And you can also get the pizza to go, which is nice.

The tuna was fresh and nicely charred, this was pretty much like eating tuna sashimi, but with a slightly different seasoning and a ponzu sauce, instead of the usual soy + wasabi. Good stuff.

For dinner we had the salads and both of them were very nice, although I would have liked some chili (this had no spiciness at all) in my Thai salad, but other than that it was a good and a filling dish.

The cold soup for lunch was cool and delicious as was the watermelon salad. Very fitting for the sunny and hot weather in Madrid.

We did manage to escape before the “Lucifer” heat wave, but still, the heat is rather high for us Finnish folk. So the unheated starters were a refreshing way to begin our lunch.

My salmon was rather good, although the apple in the skewers was a rather different companion to the fish. I did like this dish, but not as much as my wife, as she decided that we should switch half way.

Which was fine by me, as I personally enjoyed the veal with the potatoes more than the slightly over-cooked fish.

For desert the kids had some ice cream and I had a coffee, which came with a biscuit.

R. had a piece of cake, which was lovely.

Overall both the lunch and the dinner were pleasant enough experiences and we had a good set of food on both occasions to divide amongst the five of us.

The decor of the restaurant is interesting and multifaceted, with many different kinds of seating areas available, whether you need an intimate dinner or want a more communal experience.

I did enjoy the rough brick walls and general aesthetic of the place.

The service was very friendly and quick both of the times. Vegetarian options were always available and the kids were well received at the restaurant.

URL www.lamuccacompany.com
Puhelin +34-915210000
Osoite Plaza de Carlos Cambronero, 4, 28004 Madrid, Spain

Osteria Gran Sasso

 

Rome / Lazio / Italy - 6/27/16

Before we went to our guided tour of the Colosseum, we had a morning walk around the hotel area and then settled down for a nice little lunch. For the lunch we decided to go to the Osteria Gran Sasso, which I picked up from Google as an authentic neighbourhood restaurant in the vicinity.

Rome / Lazio / Italy - 6/27/16

To start with, we had plates from the antipasto buffet (the prices for the dishes were around 10-12e and the antipasto buffet was per person, but we got some plates instead for five persons for around 25e). There was a salad of beans and carrots, some mushrooms, dry-cured ham (crudo), grilled zucchini, olives, bread, cheese and such.

Rome / Lazio / Italy - 6/27/16

For the main dishes, I had the pasta all’arrabiata. The dish was quite good, the penne was cooked perfectly and the sauce had a bit of a kick to it, although I do like it slightly more fiery (but not too much).

Rome / Lazio / Italy - 6/27/16

My wife had a risotto with shrimps and she liked it, although I did have to shell the shrimp for here.

Rome / Lazio / Italy - 6/27/16

Our older girl had fish (of course) and it came with potatoes and cherry tomatoes. She nibbled at it, but the antipasto in the beginning had taken the edge off of our hunger.

Rome / Lazio / Italy - 6/27/16

Our eldest had the pasta ragú (‘natch) and enjoyed it. All in all, the restaurant served very authentic food in a authentic setting. This is a good place to go if you want a feel for a nice Roman neighbourhood restaurant.

Rome / Lazio / Italy - 6/27/16

The restaurant is clean, but also rather old and you can sense the time that has passed in the decor. The service was friendly, but don’t expect to get by with just English.

6/26/16

URL Osteria Gran Sasso
Phone +39-064403901
Address Via Como 10, 00161 Rome, Italy

Palazzo Delle Esposizioni: Gianni Berengo Gardin – “Vera Fotografia”

9/17/16

After a nice lunch at the Tomoko Tudini, we kept on walking around Rome. The littlest one started napping in the carriage and the sun pounded on us with such a scorching heat that we had to take shelter.

9/17/16

Luckily for us the Palazzo Delle Esposizioni came to view as we were walking along the Via Nazionale and the wall was plastered with large ads about the Gianni Berengo Gardin – “Vera Fotografia” exhibition. Seeing as my wife is a photographer, we decided that it would be a great idea to peruse the imagery of Mr. Gardin and went in through the side entrance (the steps of the main entrance can be rather daunting with a sleeping child in the carriage).

9/17/16

The exhibition was lovely. The collection of images on display were thoughtfully categorised along large themes and had a clear narrative from the early days through to the more jarring pictures of lunatic asylums and so on. The pictures gave a though provoking show of Italy and also a world gone by. The photographs of Venice gave rise to memories of our honeymoon over at the Floating City.

Rome / Lazio / Italy - 6/26/16

The Palazzo Delle Esposizioni was a spectacular building and it was quite easy to navigate even with the carriage holding our sleeping child. I heartily recommend going over here, the exhibition was well curated and the whole experience went extremely well.

URL Palazzo Delle Esposizioni: Gianni Berengo Gardin – “Vera Fotografia”
Phone +39-0639967500
Address Via Nazionale 194, 00184 Rome, Italy