Madrid Market Guide
Chapter 12 of another bloody gastro guide, a market guide of Madrid and spotlight of Mercado de Maravillas!
We foodies love a market, don't we? A display of multicoloured offerings for all tastes and pockets that provoke hunger, inspiration, and a sense of place. Most famous in Madrid is the Mercado San Miguel, which lies in the busy Plaza Major. It is an excellent place to poke about to drink a vermouth (Spanish aperitivo) with a bandarilla (tasty salty pickled things on a skewer like olives, anchovies, chillies and peppers). It is also especially appealing if you are partial to an Aperol spritz, as finding a bar in Madrid willing to serve you that classic Italian aperitiv is a long shot. What can I say? It's a market purpose-built for tourists, a gourmet food hall, and that's okay; it doesn't pretend to be anything else.
Now, let's talk about the real deal, El Mercado de Maravilla, which is nestled in the Cuatro Caminos barrio (neighbourhood). Every tomato, orange, cucumber, or piece of jamón you find here is a testament to the city's unique character. Go ahead and give them a squeeze, I dare you.
In English, El Mercado de Maravilla translates to "the market of wonders," and it really is just that—a market of wonders.
Es una maravilla! (It's a wonder)! It's one of those funky phrases that sounds goofy translated.
Anyway, Let me show you around!
Get lost on land and sea
If the selection of fresh fish and seafood doesn’t say, I’m in the market of wonders to you, then I don’t think we can be friends. The variety stuns me, something for the taste of the typical Madrileños (people from Madrid) but also for the vast array of gente (people) from various other Spanish-speaking countries that populate Madrid, particularly the barrio Cuatro Caminos. If you watch to the end of the first video, you will see live snails for sale. Have you ever seen live snails for sale? No? Well, snails are a traditional food of Madrid, which I tell you more about here.
Fall for the Lucumas y las ajis amarillos
The South American influence in the market peaks at the fruit and vegetable stand. The varieties of potatoes alone had me dreaming about the day I could get to South America. The stands are mainly on the right side of the market, where you will also find tasty South American street food stands to try empanadas, etc. When I think of it, perhaps one doesn’t need to fly to South America at all?
Perplex yourself over the necessity of salt-cured pigs feet?
I was so genuinely perplexed at the need for such a wide variety of salt-cured pig products, bones, and feet. That, of course, one had to ask the vendor, to which the vendor replied that they are used by ‘Personas con demasiado tiempo en sus manos’ (people with too much time on their hands), which is why you must remain perplexed too. More fun that way, any way, right?
Feast your eyes on foods that are not for the faint-hearted
Hearts, tounges, kidneys, lungs, pig heads, trotters, livers, entire baby pigs, bladders, testicles, tripe, brains, if it belongs to an animal, you’ll be able to feast your eyes on it at El Mercado de Maravillas. Maybe not such a wonder to all of you? Definitely not for the faint-hearted. I just hope it all gets sold.
Can’t be bothered to leave the centre centre of Madrid? Antón Martín Market is also local and great
Here, you find me proudly teaching you all about the kinds of legumes and dishes that are commonly made from those legumes in my best Spanish. If you don't speak Spanish, you're out of luck, but what I essentially say is that the most widely used legumes in that lineup in Madrid are the chickpeas for a dish called Cocido Madrileño, which I tell you all about here and the lentils from Salamanca in a dish called 'lentejas estofadas' or more simply, stewed lentils.
Mercado de La Cebada in La Latina is also nice
It‘s nice, only ‘nice’. It just feels a bit like an emporium of tomatoes for tourists to gawp at. (You can order a salad of them, too.) How very tourist-friendly. Just don’t bloody touch them!
A million kisses, and see you next time!
From that bloody foody, that is, Lana,
x
The things you ate on skewers are called “banderillas” rather than “bandarias.”
Great pics Lana-Emerald! The mercado de maravillas was my local market when i lived in Madrid. An amazing place! I was blown away too by the variety of animal parts they offered, and of course the incredible variety of seafood. :)