Travel By Jury

When I went online to double-check my name/location notes for this restaurant, I was bummed to see so many people getting caught up on the price. Sometimes, people, you have to let the perpetual bargain hunt for food go when you travel… Or, just travel in a group of five, like my posse and I were, so that your heaping helpings of paella cost less, but I do understand that’s not always the case. However, I’d like to go ahead and vote that the paella at La Paella de la Reina is some of the most excellent greatness I’ve ever had the pleasure of tucking in. Soft, moist, and succulent marisos del mar (things of the sea) like prawns, langoustine, and clams were tucked in a steaming skillet of saffron-infused rice, along with bright yellow lemons for helping out your palate. The vegetarian paella, paella huertana, I must admit, was almost better than the seafood paella; there were tons of fresh, vibrant green vegetables – peas, green beans – loud red pepper and tomatoes, bright orange carrots, and tons of other chopped up veggies soaked up saffron and spice so that a bite of the paella became one fusion of goodness. Washing our meal down with great swigs of impeccable sangria, I didn’t realize how lucky I was – not only to be traveling and dining with a great group of friends, but I was also lucky enough to have one of the best meals I’d ever had. The service was just fine, as I’m always okay with being treated a little oddly when eating in a group larger than, say, three, but we all had cash and paid our parts of the check with little issue, so that likely helped our waiter (most European restaurants, from my experience, loathe splitting the check). Our waiter, by the way, was an older man who was most helpful and friendly. Perhaps the company enhanced it, but there’s got to be another reason I still long for paella – the paella at La Paella de la Reina, in particular – today.

Filed under: Europe, Great Eats | Tagged: carrots, clean, friendly folk, great eat, green beans, La Paella de la Reina, langoustine, lemons, Madrid, paella, peas, peppers, prawns, red wine, rice, saffron, sangria, seafood paella, shrimp, Spain, splitting the check, tomatoes, vegetarian paella | Leave a Comment »