Our oreja raci\u00f3n at Oreja de Oro<\/em><\/p>\n To our chagrin, instead of a colorful local, we found ourselves sitting next to a fellow Rick Steves<\/em> aficionado. \u00a0He was similarly following Rick’s trail through Madrid’s tapas offerings, but could not muster the courage to order the orjeas. \u00a0He had no shame communicating with the English-speaking bartender in Spanish that was nothing short of abysmal. \u00a0Despite the lack of local flavor and toughness of the orejas, we do not our regret our experience.<\/p>\n Anxious to find an authentic local experience, we sought out a tapas bar playing that night’s Real Madrid f\u00fatbol match. \u00a0After surveying several options, we found a spot called La Venta de Farracas just a few blocks away with plenty of buzz and an open table. \u00a0We ordered traditional tapas, all of which we had sampled in other Spanish cities–croquettes, fried calamari, and more patatas bravas. \u00a0I ordered a couple of Spanish beers to accompany the food. \u00a0The food itself was decent, but the real highlight was the f\u00fatbol game. \u00a0All eyes were fixed on a large big screen television in the back of the establishment. \u00a0Unlike the modern American sports bar, with dozens of digitial high definition televisions, this spot had one television, with a noisy analog signal. \u00a0This did not distract the crowd, however. They chanted, cheered, and groaned just as they would at the stadium. \u00a0 To their dismay, the game resulted in a loss for Real Madrid to underdog Sevilla.<\/p>\n That same night, we also visited a pintxos bar called Txakolina for \u00a0and and one additional Rick Steves<\/em> recommendation in Casa Toni to completely satiate our appetite. \u00a0We ended the night with a strong sense of accomplishment at successfully completing a 4-stop tapas crawl. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Evenings in Madrid enthralled us. \u00a0On the warm fall nights during our visit, we discovered swarms of energetic people, spirited music, and an electrifying atmosphere. \u00a0This jubilation \u00a0 apexed around Plaza de Santa Ana, the heart of Madrid’s nightlife scene. … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/PortEsp2715-500x333.jpg\" "\\"Orejas")
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