LATERAL

After a hefty first dinner at L'Hardy we moved on to the quintessential tapas round on our second night in Madrid. One can either do the random sniff test and trust our nostrils or, take the easier route, to ask the hotel staff where they normally eat. The 'Lateral' came up, a popular chain around town for locals and tourists alike. This one is at Plaza Santa Ana near our hotel.  For E45 we enjoyed a spread of 8 classic tapas, plus 2 Mahou, the best selling Spanish lager which complemented the food nicely.

Worthy of mention is the 'Baby Eel', as shown. While this is a national favorite with huge following what you see is in fact not eel, but a product that looks and tastes like the real thing. It resembles the fake crab meat in Japanese food. Why? Apparently it is increasingly difficult and costly to catch these babies and to meet demands one agile business came up with this creation. 'Imitation Eel' is proudly displayed in bold print on the menu. The product is skillfully manufactured eg cut to baby eel size slivers, with silver lines to resemble the skin, and a chewy texture that can cheat the unsuspecting. I had the real thing before, in Manila of all places, and I do not think the imitation can pass the taste and texture tests. One last point ... 'if you cannot find the eyes they are not eels' ... a remark we loved.

LATERAL
Plaza Santa Anna 12
(914) 20 15 82