I think
it’s about time that we talk about food markets in this blog; about food markets in
Madrid, of course.
It already
smelled like things were changing. The Mercado de San Miguel next to la Plaza
Mayor, was covered for over 3 years by a big blanket with little holes, through
which every pedestrian could follow the building works and start imagining what
the final result of the iron structure
would be.
I am sure
no one had imagined it would end up being one of the most
visited places of this capital city. Maybe a tourist can miss the Parque del
Retiro, maybe even a visit at the Museo del Prado, but to miss a quick drink and a
“banderilla” ( Olive, anchovies, feta cheese ) at one of the stalls in this
newly refurbished food market is almost unconceivable. It must be said that the
prices have rocketed due to the flourishing demand, but
I suppose this is just a consequence of the success.
For us madrileños, it is a little bit weird to see how these markets are changing. They used to be very conservative places, where grandma would chat with the stallholder for longer than necessary to buy 100 g of Serrano ham, where the fish man remembered your favorite football team and that didn’t have to be 100% clean, in order to keep its glamour. It used to be a place for local people to have a walk, a chat and do the daily food shopping.
For us madrileños, it is a little bit weird to see how these markets are changing. They used to be very conservative places, where grandma would chat with the stallholder for longer than necessary to buy 100 g of Serrano ham, where the fish man remembered your favorite football team and that didn’t have to be 100% clean, in order to keep its glamour. It used to be a place for local people to have a walk, a chat and do the daily food shopping.
Nowadays, these markets have become an open space for food tasting.The main concept is to chose different dishes from a wide selection of tapas like choices, to buy a bottle of Cava or wine and stand around a table and enjoy you own spanish tasting menu. Shring food has always belonged to mediterranean culture and this is a magnificent and amusing chance for everyone to try it out. The pitty is that there is no possible way out to combine both, tradition and vanguard.
The other example I wanted to describe is the Mercado
de San Antón, located just next to the Chueca tube
station. On the one hand it has some elements that differentiate it from
the Mercado de San Miguel, but on the other
hand it has a lot of important similarities.This market has three
floors, every one of them with different purposes: At the bottom we can
find a chain supermarket. At
the first floor fresh products, high quality fish, meat, cheese and ham
are being
sold, as a remake of the traditional markets. At the second floor
several stalls sell ready-made tapas and small portions to consume
straight away. But
the real novelty is at the roof, where they have created a combined
space of an
indoor restaurant, an outdoor restaurant ( for smokers ) and a spendid
bar with
great views on the narrow streets of one of the oldest quarters of
Madrid.
These changes in the food markets are due to general changes
in Spanish urban society. The new markets may be modern and attractive for
tourists , but they are the first sign of the extinction of a cultural base in
this Mediterranean country, which is the culture of gastronomy. It involves the culture of knowing where to buy
the best tomatoes for your gazpacho, the culture of watching, touching and
trying fresh products “ in situ”, the culture of comparing prices,…etc.
I hope both
concepts can live friendly together, improving our lifestyle, not only making
it more “easygoing”.
MERCADO DE SAN
MIGUEL
C/ Conde Miranda
MERCADO DE
SAN ANTÓN
C/
Augusto Figueroa, 24
