Eating in Cadíz / Comer en Cádiz

Over the past year, I've been to Cadíz a handful of times and so I've written about the city's great food before: the sumptuous tapas at favorite El Faro del Puerto, the thin crispy churros and the traditional tortitas de camarones; but given that there are many other fine establishments that warrant mentioning, I thought I would put the information out there in this (mostly) photographic guide to finding good food in Cadíz.

The first stop should definitely be the newly renovated municipal market. It boasts some of the best fish stands that I have ever seen in terms of freshness and price, and the selection of locally caught fish is unbeatable.

Bluefin tuna is everywhere and so CHEAP. Makes me a bit sad, but looks delicious!

These squid look like they're having a conversation

Cazón, or dogfish, is ironically a kind of catshark. It's used to make the typical, spiced Cazón en adobo.

Cigalas, carabineros, gambas and other delicious shellfish.

Moray eels are colorful and kind of spooky looking.

A little old lady outside the market was selling bags of caracoles, or snails.

Everytime I visit the market I curse myself for not renting an apartment with a kitchen here. Fortunately, it is easy to taste these amazing products all over the city.

TAPAS / APERITIVOS / DINING

I love Taberna Casa Manteca for tapas, drinks or a before lunch aperitivo. The old-fashioned decor, plastered with old photos and bullfighting posters, is authentically dusty and charming and complete with antique scales and butcher-paper plates. The menu consists mostly of embutidos (cured meats), pates, conservas (excellent canned fish and shellfish), and some traditional guisos (stews). The guys who work here are also a lot of fun.

One afternoon they were slicing open fresh sea urchins on the outside patio.

Taberna Casa Manteca
Corralón de los Carros, 66
Tel. 956 213 603
www.casamanteca.com

Near Casa Manteca is another favorite, the slightly touristy (in the best sense of the word) but very authentic El Tío de la Tiza, which is located in the plaza of the same name. Most of the tables are outside, but in the winter there are heat lamps and this tiny plaza is as cozy and local as can be. The portions are huge, so it's better to order a couple of media raciones (half-rations - like big tapas) if you're sharing, which cost around 6 euros each. The food is simple and absolutely delicious.

Chocos are fried strips of broad, flat calamari.

Similar to cazón, but a slightly larger type of shark called Marrajo (see below).

The shark (see above).

Langostinos a la plancha (grilled with rock salt).

El Tío de la Tiza
Plaza del Tío de la Tiza

One of my favorite places in Cádiz is one that I've been going to for a before-lunch aperitivo since I was a student in Sevilla, a million years ago, and my program director took me here during Carnival. Taberna la Manzanilla is a traditional, family owned sherry bar that has been open since the turn of the century. The great casks offer a range of different sherries from manzanilla and amontillado to oloroso, and many varieties in between - all with Designation of Origin Jerez-Xérès-Sherry or Manzanilla de Sanlucar de Barrameda. The best thing is to let Pepe, the friendly owner, recommend one for you. Be sure to buy a bottle or two to take back with you to wherever you're going, and also, get a bottle of the incredible and aromatic sherry vinegar that has been aged in amontillado casks. As with other traditional places, your bill is tallied on the bar in chalk.

Not a great photo, but you get the idea.

Taberna La Manzanilla de Cádiz
Feduchy, 19
Tel: 956 285 401
www.lamanzanilladecadiz.com
info@lamanzanilladecadiz.com



Right across from the stunning cathedral there is a tiny restaurant de toda la vida with a big outdoor terrace that is appropriately called, La Terraza. The menu is extensive and slightly pricier than El Tío de la Tiza, for example, but the food is well-prepared, the fish delicious and the view unbeatable.

Delicious almejas (clams) with garlic, parsley and smoky paprika?

Whole, fried boquerones (sardines).

Chopitos fritos (baby squid).

Piononos de Santa Fé, a typical dessert from Santa Fé, Granada. Very tasty.

Bar Terraza Cádiz
Plaza de la Catedral, 3
Tel: 956 265 391

This was a particularly beautiful glass of tricolor salmorejo in Divino Restaurant and wine bar in the Plaza de la Candelaria made with avocado and beet puree.

DiVino Restaurante
Plaza de la Candelaria

I never go to Cádiz without having lunch at La Marea Restaurant in Playa Victoria (although I think there are other locations). Although it's out of the historic city center (just a long walk, quick taxi or city bus ride away), its location right on this broad, sandy beach is a great place to enjoy the cold cold Cruzcampo beers, incredible rice dishes and other seafood and fish dishes. Get there early on weekends to get a prime seat on the outside terrace.

Arroz el Señorito

Almejas "La Marea" with shrimp.

Pulpo a la Gallega

And finally, although there is much more to eat and do in Cádiz, before you go, make sure to enjoy some of the city's special, thin churros on the outdoor terrace at Cafeteria La Marina in the lovely Plaza de las Flores. I like dipping them in coffee and then a bit of sugar.

So sinful, but delicious!

Plaza de las Flores

Cafeteria La Marina
Plaza Topete, 1 (Plaza de las Flores)
Tel: 956 22 23 97

Anto's Family Recipe For Tortitas de Camarones!

I confess that yesterday's post on food in Cádiz made me hungry for some of those delicious, crispy-fried tortitas de camarones. I asked my friend Anto who is from Cádiz, but lives in London, if he would ask his parents or grandparents for a family recipe for this local favorite.

Before I go into the recipe, I should note that in Spain, camarones are teeny tiny shrimp about the size of a normal paperclip (it took me a really long time to think of something that size) that are eaten whole - head, peel and all.

Anto's Parents and Grandmothers' Recipe (translated directly):

Flour, onion or chive, parsley, camarones (it sounds cruel but it's better if they're alive) and a pinch of salt. Add water (some people also use beer) a little bit at a time and stir until you get a relatively liquid batter. Heat olive oil and when it is very hot, add a spoonful of the batter in the oil, spreading it out so that it is wide enough and very thin. (One spoonful = one tortita). Cook until golden, remove and drain oil with absorbent paper.

As I am personally averse to measurements, this is my kind of recipe. However, I will try to define it a bit better for anyone who is interested once I have made it. Off to the market to buy camarones (I hope they sell them in Madrid), but I will leave you with this blurry photo of tortitas from El Faro del Puerto.

I was so excited to eat these that I didn't wait for the camera to focus!  Blurry tortitas de camarones - sorry!

Mil gracias a Anto, padres y abuelas!!

El Faro del Puerto, Cádiz

There is plenty of great food in Cádiz, with particular emphasis on wonderful things like different types of crispy fried fish and tortitas de camarones (thin pancakes made with tiny whole shrimp, garbanzos, eggs, onions, garlic and parsley). One of my absolute favorite places to eat here is Gonzálo Córdoba's, El Faro del Puerto, a classic restaurant dedicated to traditional and delicious "gaditana" (from Cádiz) cuisine, using local and seasonal ingredients. The restaurant is actually divided into two areas, a large circular bar and a more formal, sit-down dining room, which is connected to the bar through a door at the back. To be perfectly honest, in all of my visits here over the years, I´ve never even set eyes on the dining room,  I´m sure the food is wonderful, but, as locals will tell you, the secret to this restaurant is to dine at the bar. Here, you can not only can you order anything off the moderately expensive regular menu, but also chose from a huge menu of incredibly priced and delicious tapas and raciones (slightly larger plates of food) - a small price to pay for the lack of stools or any other seating. The best and most typical thing to do is to order a variety of different dishes to share.

Here are some of my favorites from a recent visit (I actually went twice in two days):

Alcachofas confitadas con boquerones en vinagre y jugo de pimiento amarillo (Artichokes with vinegared sardines and yellow pepper juice - 2.65 Euros / plate)

Brocheta de alcachofas y vieras a la plancha con jugo de pimientos asados (Grilled artichokes - I love artichokes - and scallops with roasted pepper puree - 5.25 Euros)

Albondigas de Marisco al Jerez Fino en Salsa de Almejas (Seafood balls with Fino sherry and clam sauce - 16.60 Euros)

Fried eggplant "flower" and charming waiter

In the center of the bar behind the counter there is a huge cold storage box piled with the local fresh fish of the day, ready to be prepared to order in any variety of ways. Other specialties include incredibly rich and perfectly cook rice dishes and a long list of meats.  The wine list is long and varied, but I always start with a glass of crisp, dry Manzanilla (sherry) that the bartenders line up along the bar in cold buckets of ice at the beginning of the shift.

And if this doesn't convince you. This is the photo that I took around the corner from the restaurant.

El Faro de Cadiz
C/ San Félix, 15
+34 902 211 068
www.elfarodecadiz.com

Churros in Cádiz

I just spent a long weekend in Cádiz, a charming city in the south of Spain, founded by Hercules incidentally and thought to be the oldest in Europe. It is one of my favorite places in Andalucía and in Spain in general. Nice people, wonderful ruins and charming plazas, great food, lots of fried fish, sherry and beautiful beaches. I took about a million photos of the food which will be popping up in posts little by little. I thought it best to start chronologically, however, with breakfast.

We had heard that the churros in Cadíz were thinner than in other places in Spain, and since E is a venerated Madrid-born expert on all things churros, I ventured up the street from the hotel with directions from a couple of complementary elderly gentlemen to the famous Cadíz freidura (fry-shop), Las Flores. Connected to a cafeteria-style restaurant, in the morning this fry counter is all about churros, while in the early afternoon it is where people from all over the city come to pick up an assortment of the delicious and typically fried fish and mollusks that has made this establishment famous. It is fried fish to-go in its most wonderful form.

a cuarto of churros

The churros here were indeed thin, and made in crisp, golden loops of fried dough, which are then cut into strips. They are ordered by weight and so, unsure of how much we needed for two people, the helpful churrero suggested I get a cuarto, which I took to mean a quarter kilo. The whole order cost 1.80 Euros. Needless to say I couldn't believe that there were plenty of individuals at the bar ordering medio for themselves. Despite the fact that they were probably the best I had ever tried, we could only get through about half of the cuarto of incredible crisp and toasted treats. My recommendation is that they are best eaten dunked in coffee and then dipped in a bit of sugar while looking at the Atlantic Ocean.

Freidura Las Flores
C/ Brasil, S/N
11009 Cadiz, Spain
956 289 378