The authoritative online Maribel's Guide to Madrid lists dozens and dozens of restaurant recommendations for the city. One that is right up the street from us caught our eye so we decided to give it a try. It is a tapas place called Bardemcilla which opens for lunch, and then only resurfaces again at around 8:00PM for the late Madrileño dinner scene.
Tapas have proven a bit difficult as one of us eats only gluten-free. It is surprising how much of that charming culinary category is given over to breads and batters. For our lunch we shared three plates; a delicious paella, succulent fried calamari, and red peppers stuffed with cod. Of the three, two required an intensive effort to strip off the batter. And while the results were indeed delicious, especially the devine cod, the exercise detracted from the free-flowing intent of a tapas repast.
In the end, the real curiosity of this establishment was in it's "pedigree". According to Maribel, it is a "...hangout for the intellectual and acting set...Owned by the family of Oscar winning actor Javier Bardem."
Knowing that the "Bardem" of the name referred to the proprietors themselves, we became curious as to what the "cilla" part meant. According to our online translating resources (which have occasionally been know to produce dubious results) una cilla is a place where grain is stored. Probably what we'd call a silo.
None of this made much sense till we entered this "cilla". It was indeed a repository-- to all things Javier!! Actually a temple is more like it! From childhood pictures, to beautiful leading ladies, to pictures of his pets, and all the usual movie posters, it was a family shrine to the prodigal son! This aspect had been a little downplayed by Maribel we feel. And not to be unkind, but we really struggled to see any family resemblence whatsoever between The Man and any of the management or staff present.
Alas, the hero himself was not to be found (unless he was lurking in the kitchen) And even sadder, no sign of Penelope, either! Perhaps one must linger till the wee hours for even the slightest chance of a sighting.
In the end, the real curiosity of this establishment was in it's "pedigree". According to Maribel, it is a "...hangout for the intellectual and acting set...Owned by the family of Oscar winning actor Javier Bardem."
Knowing that the "Bardem" of the name referred to the proprietors themselves, we became curious as to what the "cilla" part meant. According to our online translating resources (which have occasionally been know to produce dubious results) una cilla is a place where grain is stored. Probably what we'd call a silo.
None of this made much sense till we entered this "cilla". It was indeed a repository-- to all things Javier!! Actually a temple is more like it! From childhood pictures, to beautiful leading ladies, to pictures of his pets, and all the usual movie posters, it was a family shrine to the prodigal son! This aspect had been a little downplayed by Maribel we feel. And not to be unkind, but we really struggled to see any family resemblence whatsoever between The Man and any of the management or staff present.
Alas, the hero himself was not to be found (unless he was lurking in the kitchen) And even sadder, no sign of Penelope, either! Perhaps one must linger till the wee hours for even the slightest chance of a sighting.
Ultimately we took satisfaction from the real reason for our visit: a delicious lunch.
Calle Augusto Figueroa, 47
Madrid
(metro: Chueca)
*****
...and here's your gratuitous movie star shot...
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