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Eating
When in Spain, it helps to get in the swing of Spanish eating
habits. Spaniards breakfast light, lunch like nobody and dine
moderately, and this is generally the most economical way
for travellers to get by as well. Spaniards tend not to nibble
much between meals, either, though it is a good idea for tourists
to have frequent shots of coffee or other source of sugar
to keep energy levels up.
Breakfast (el desayuno).
Any time before 11 am. With the exception of civil servants,
who often seem to spend the entire morning having breakfast,
Spaniards tend to place little importance on this meal, though
they often actually have two breakfasts, the true des-ayuno
(ending of the fast) and morning coffee being referred to
by the same name. There is no especially cheap way of breakfasting:
head for a cafetería or bar and order un café
con leche, milky coffee, maybe un zumo (fresco) de
naranja, freshly squeezed orange juice, and one (only
one) of the following: un bollo (sweet roll), a croissant,
una tostada (con mermelada) (toast (with jam —
confusingly, mermelada does not mean marmalade), churros
or porras (delicious batter fritters, deep-fried in
olive oil). Set breakfasts, combinations like this one, are
not much cheaper than ordering the different elements separately,
but are often advertised by reassuring pictures captioned
"Desayuno Nº 1" or similar, and will
cost you around 2-4 euros, maybe less.
Lunch (el almuerzo or
la comida). Between 2 pm and half-past three or
four, even later at weekends. It is not insignificant that
the Spanish word comida means both "lunch"
and "meal." This is the big one, the leisurely,
hour-long, no-fewer-than-three-courses, strap-your-serviette-on-and-get-stuck-in,
serious eating event of the day. Real lunchers in Spain begin
by visiting a bar or three for the aperitivos. Then,
in some parts of the country, lunch is a four-course affair,
in which case it begins with entrantes, starters. Otherwise,
it consists of a primer and a segundo plato (first
and second courses, the first often more substantial than
the second), and postre (dessert, frequently simply
fruit). Fortunately for travellers, there is a budget version
of this, the set-price menú or plato del
día, sometimes called just el menú,
generally available in restaurants of all categories, bars,
mesones and tabernas. Originally introduced
to encourage tourism back in the sixties, I believe, the menú
del día (a selection of dishes at a price slightly
below the total price of its components) quickly became popular
with Spaniards themselves, especially workers — it may
not be available at weekends, especially on Sundays —
and often offers fresher food than the a la carte menu.
Remember that the price, which starts at around 7€, will
only include what is stipulated in writing, and if pan,
vino o bebida y postre (bread, wine or another drink,
and dessert, usually included) are not specified, they will
cost extra.
Tea (la merienda). Five-
or even six-ish. Often skipped, or no more than a cup of coffee,
tea or other infusion, perhaps with a piece of cake or something
else sweet.
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