El Teatriz
We had planned for dinner with Alex and Alberto the night before we left. We were looking forward to seeing them, as they are not only very good company, but they love good food, too. Not all of our friends are “foodies” but we treasure the ones who are, especially when they live in Madrid!
We met at 9:30 (PM, that is) In the Plaza behind the Opera (there are several photos of this plaza below). Alex looks great, and Alberto was waiting in the car. (A Volkswagon Tuareg, by the way. I have never been in one before. It was very nice). We hugged and kissed (twice, this is Spain) and walked to the parking lot.
Again we hugged and kissed Alberto (well, Doreen did, anyway) and we got in the car. They had chosen a place called El Teatriz, which was a converted theater (Theater Biatirz, if you need to know where the name came from) that had been redesigned by Phillipe Stark. Doreen had heard about this place, and we were eager to see what it was like. The food is ostensibly Italian (according to the guide books) but I found it much more international in style with a Spanish flair.
We sat down and were immediately impressed with the ambiance. A big, round room, tables well spaced apart, and the servers gliding noiselessly amongst them. We relaxed a bit as they handed us the menus. Doreen, Alex, and I had a Copa de Cava (Cava, if you don’t know, is the Spanish version of Champagne, and every bit as good) and Alberto had a beer. We took our time to look at the menu and talk about what we have been doing over the past several years.
The last time we had seen Alex and Alberto was right after we got married, and we were taking our honeymoon in Madrid. We had one great meal with them right on the Plaza del Opera, but then I was stricken with some mysterious ailment. If you want to read about that, go here. But it is not a pretty story.
Since that time A&A have had another baby (a little girl. I think that they were going to name her “Daniela” but they wanted to keep that “A” thing going in their family, so they took their second choice, Andrea. Their little boy is named Alex), Alberto has moved successfully through several different start-ups and established companies. He is now opening the Skype office in Spain. How cool is that? Alex has been happy at Hyperion. They have a good life, those two.
So we look over the menu, which had several categories of food. First, Local. Second, Continental, Third, Eclectic, Fourth, Specialties. Doreen decided on Fois and Fettuccini with truffle oil for her appetizer, and Seared Red Tuna for her main course. I had Ensalada Caprese (Bufala Mozzerella and Tomatoes with Olive Oil and Basil) for my started and Iberian Pork Loin for my main course. Alex had Gazpacho for her appetizer and Salmon, Alberto had the Fettucini and Fois for his starter as well, and the Pork for his main course as well. Alberto ordered a wonderful, local dry red wine called Viñas del Vero, (a Crianza), that melded great with all the food. We talked and ate, and ate and talked. We finished with dessert, Alex and I getting Ice Cream (Hers was coffee, mine dulce de leche) Alberto and Doreen each had an apple tort.
We then drove home very happy as we had a great meal and great conversation.
We met at 9:30 (PM, that is) In the Plaza behind the Opera (there are several photos of this plaza below). Alex looks great, and Alberto was waiting in the car. (A Volkswagon Tuareg, by the way. I have never been in one before. It was very nice). We hugged and kissed (twice, this is Spain) and walked to the parking lot.
Again we hugged and kissed Alberto (well, Doreen did, anyway) and we got in the car. They had chosen a place called El Teatriz, which was a converted theater (Theater Biatirz, if you need to know where the name came from) that had been redesigned by Phillipe Stark. Doreen had heard about this place, and we were eager to see what it was like. The food is ostensibly Italian (according to the guide books) but I found it much more international in style with a Spanish flair.
We sat down and were immediately impressed with the ambiance. A big, round room, tables well spaced apart, and the servers gliding noiselessly amongst them. We relaxed a bit as they handed us the menus. Doreen, Alex, and I had a Copa de Cava (Cava, if you don’t know, is the Spanish version of Champagne, and every bit as good) and Alberto had a beer. We took our time to look at the menu and talk about what we have been doing over the past several years.
The last time we had seen Alex and Alberto was right after we got married, and we were taking our honeymoon in Madrid. We had one great meal with them right on the Plaza del Opera, but then I was stricken with some mysterious ailment. If you want to read about that, go here. But it is not a pretty story.
Since that time A&A have had another baby (a little girl. I think that they were going to name her “Daniela” but they wanted to keep that “A” thing going in their family, so they took their second choice, Andrea. Their little boy is named Alex), Alberto has moved successfully through several different start-ups and established companies. He is now opening the Skype office in Spain. How cool is that? Alex has been happy at Hyperion. They have a good life, those two.
So we look over the menu, which had several categories of food. First, Local. Second, Continental, Third, Eclectic, Fourth, Specialties. Doreen decided on Fois and Fettuccini with truffle oil for her appetizer, and Seared Red Tuna for her main course. I had Ensalada Caprese (Bufala Mozzerella and Tomatoes with Olive Oil and Basil) for my started and Iberian Pork Loin for my main course. Alex had Gazpacho for her appetizer and Salmon, Alberto had the Fettucini and Fois for his starter as well, and the Pork for his main course as well. Alberto ordered a wonderful, local dry red wine called Viñas del Vero, (a Crianza), that melded great with all the food. We talked and ate, and ate and talked. We finished with dessert, Alex and I getting Ice Cream (Hers was coffee, mine dulce de leche) Alberto and Doreen each had an apple tort.
We then drove home very happy as we had a great meal and great conversation.
posted by Dan Piette at 8:34 AM
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