Tonight we went with the "Link Crew" to Claremont to socialize and bid some more fond farewells to summer. I like Aaron's coworkers and he likes it when I can actually make it to hang out. And I like it when I'm not too tired or insecure or any combination of the two. ;) Meaning, I like to seize those opportunities. Even when I am feeling tired and/or insecure, I still find myself having fun with the English department from EHS. And I assume that since this was a Link thing that not everyone there was English, but you get the point. We went to the best restaurant. I talk about it often, but I've never blogged about it, so here you go.
If you have not done yourself a favor in a while, go to Viva Madrid in downtown Claremont. Okay, so maybe it's only a favor if you truly enjoy garlic and flavorful food. This place is my favorite restaurant, hands down. It has awesome ambiance, the food is delectable and the Sangria is amazing. In moderation, of course. ;)
It takes a little bit of preparation, so you either want to read up here or go with someone who is experienced. Unless you're feeling adventurous. First and foremost, unless you get there early (as in, 5pm when they open), expect a wait. And expect for the whole experience to take some time. The food is very fresh and everything comes out at different times.
Once you decide you're okay with that, you're going to go to Claremont and park near Rhino Records. Between Rhino and Starbucks, you will see an hallway that looks like this:
When you go down that hallway, to the right, you will see the entrance to Viva Madrid. The wall is red. There are white Christmas lights hanging in the windows. There is faux front entrance shrubbery. There are old chairs mismatched with old tables, and even a church pew, out in the waiting area. If you look inside, you will see a mishmash of tables and chairs, paintings, ceramics, garlic hanging from the walls... it sounds so chintzy now that I'm writing about it, but it really is a cool place.
From there, you'll be seated, hopefully in a reasonable amount of time. Be warned that in most cases if they tell you 30 minutes, it's really 60. Sad, but true. You will want to focus your energy on deciding what "tapas" you want. I highly recommend the Jamon y Queso (two different types of ham, two different types of cheese, black olives, green olives, bread, oil & vinegar), as well as the asparagus with ham, the bread with tomatoes and garlic, and the artichoke. For those sweet toothed friends I also recommend the steamed strawberries with cheese, which is on the special menu. I've had some people say it's too sweet to eat with dinner, but I love it. If you order just those tapas, I don't see why two people should not leave feeling full. You might want to order a main dish to share, depending on your need for actually having a full plate in front of you. But you could really stuff yourselves on tapas and enjoy the ambiance and if you're really lucky, you may even get to experience the guitarist who perches up in the balcony that appears to be faux. ;)
I don't get many opportunities to go, but I love it. And if I love it, there's a good chance you'll at least like it.
1 comment:
Viva la Viva Madrid! Me encanta este lugar tambien. Teneimos que ir juntos pronto. Lo extrano mucho. El ultimo vez era alli habia contigo. lol ("jiji" thats how you spell "hehe" in spanish. It cracks me up so freaking much). Hace, como, dos anos. Que barbaridad eh? te quiero tanto!
~e
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