Eating Out in Toledo

Eating well is proving to be quite a challenge. On every prior trip to Spain, I ate nearly every meal in my grandmother's kitchen (she is, or was, a fantastic cook). So far, in one week I have eaten there only once, and my aunt (a brave but less skilled cook) now prepares the meals.

I have had some good meals, but none of them have been entirely healthy, satisfying, or economical. Two out of three ain't bad?

The first hurdle is, of course, the Mediterranean meal schedule. The Spanish (and Italians and French) eat their main meal in the mid-afternoon, during the heat of the day. Breakfast is a minor affair, and dinner is small and late-- after 9 PM at least.

Breakfast is very simple-- here it consist of coffee, orange juice, and some sort of bread product in smallish quantities. This meal has so far been economical and satisfying, but definitely not healthy. The sidewalk bar in the park near my hotel serves good café con leche, and churros, which are essentially fried dough, very lightly sweetened. Two churros and coffee runs about €1.80.

Lunch has been a mixed bag. There is a somewhat fancy restaurant in a sixteenth century palace (Casón López de Toledo) which serves a nice three-course (including dessert) meal for

€11. This is about $15, which is not economical. It is good, and maybe essentially healthy (I have had their Bolognese Pasta, Venison Stew, and Chicken Kabob), and so I think this is my favorite restaurant. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to go there every day.

My other lunch options have been cheaper restaurants (however it is hard to get out of anywhere for much under €10) and picnicking. Making my own sandwich was a bargain; I bought jámon, some nice cheese, and a baguette for about € 3. This is a great bargain, but most of the shops close around 2 PM and do not reopen until after 4. I am in the archive everyday from 11-2, so I have to buy my materials about 10:30. These are of course little shops-- supermarkets do indeed exist, but not in the center of the city (only in the suburbs). Anyway, in 90 degree weather, both cured ham and cheese rapidly become somewhat less than appetizing rather rapidly when stored in a satchel. So this is cheap, not entirely healthy, and not satisfying.

Dinner has been, generally speaking, somewhat easier. Tapas are the best route, and if you look around, they can be pretty cheap. I can usually eat decently and have two or three beers for about €12. However, tapas can be quite touch and go-- the Russian salad, which is a regular giveaway tapas if you order a beer or two, is essentially carrots, peas, and mayonnaise (i.e. vile and disgusting). One bar man, on the other hand, gave me about eight sardines for free with my three beers. None of this has been entirely healthy, of course. Last night I had a bocadillo, a baquette sandwich essentially the same as the homemade job for about € 4.50.

The other dinner option is to order of the "menu del dia", which is the lunch menu. I did that tonight. For €10 I got paella, a "Greek salad", wine, and some prepackaged cup of ice cream. All in all, it was terrible. The paella was full of all of the inedible parts of a shrimp (tails, antennae, legs), but no shrimp meat. The Greek Salad was iceberg lettuce, some kernels of corn, and some mozzarella that tasted like margarine. This meal was not economical, satisfying, or healthy.

On balance, my chorizo and french fries meal, for about €8 was my favorite thus far. I am now going to go have a heart attack.