Food Shopping in Madrid

Mercado de Puente de Vallecas

“¿Quién es el último?” I ask the group of people in front of the fruit and vegetable stand.

“Yo.” replies the woman with the bed head and dark tinted sunglasses. 

Every Saturday morning, Ixma or I have to do the food shopping for the week.  We take turns because food shopping is a daunting task that really stresses me out.  A lot of people tend to either get really dressed up to go food shopping or you find that the people have just rolled out of bed and have bed heads, like I usually do.  You have to ask to figure out who is the last on line because there is never an organized line, just a bunch of people in front of the stand.  I also get irritated because there are so many old folks who are obviously beyond retired on queue – can’t they do their shopping during the week?  Some stands have modernized and you can take a number but there are very few of those.  I can generally calculate how long I will have to wait till it is my turn according to the number of people ahead of me and the pinta que tiene (how they look).

Fortunately, we have a mercado de toda la vida just blocks away from our apartment. The traditional mercados in Madrid are usually under the same roof.  It is almost like a shopping mall only with food stand after food stand.  Our market was redone about 3 or 4 years ago so it looks nice and new.  It also holds a Mercadona where I buy the majority of my gluten-free foods even though most of them have sugar.

On a lucky day, the food shopping will take 20 minutes but that is rare.  Most of the time, going to the market is like going to a really boring movie or being in a really painfully, boring meeting because for many shoppers, going food shopping is like going to the psychologist for free.  Most can tell their entire life story in a matter of 15 minutes, the other day a lady in front of me was telling the fruit man about how she broke out in an awful rash and had to go to the ER – kind of takes your appetite away.

I don’t particularly like doing the food shopping because you have to ask for everything one by one and specify the weight.  I have never known how many tomatoes or apples are in a kilo, I don’t care how much the food weighs!  I am probably the only one who asks for a specific number when ordering my food.  I order almost the exact same food every week; 12 tomatoes, 6 apples, 4 sweet onions, 2 not so large zucchinis, a not too large egg plant, broccoli, squash, carrots, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, asparagus, etc and whatever else is in season.  My coworker informed me that we are in the “epoca de mandarinas”; too bad I can’t eat mandarins anymore because they are really tasty, and they usually come from Valencia.  Alcachofas are also in harvest now and boy do I love artichokes.  Strawberries are up soon.  By the time I have placed my order, everybody on queue is staring at me.  I always feel like a complete moron that is on center stage who can’t remember their lines properly – “don’t mix up the words” is something I say to myself while I feel like saying to the open-mouthed crowd, “Sí, soy norteamericana y sí tengo un acento porque me quiere mucho!” (Yes, I am American and yes, I have a strong American accent because it loves me – get over it people!)  After I got that part done, I go to the meat stands – I order all that by the kilo or the number of pieces or slabs of beef that I want!  I usually pick what looks best, which my husband informs me, is not really the way to do it.  I like to make meatballs; I have improved immensely since my first fiasco when I used too much garlic, giving my albondigas the name ajobondigas (garlic balls).  I usually get a dirty look from the carnicero because I don’t like to get the already prepared minced meat.  I like to pick the red meat and pig I want, have them cut off all the fat and then run it through the machine that makes it look almost like spaghetti.  I only like it to go through the machine once, to top it off. 

I refuse to go to the pescadería because the man talks too much and tries to sell me the most expensive seafood they have.  Like the meat, I usually pick what I think looks best, which is really not the way to do it with fish.  You have got to look at the eyeballs and if they look healthy, the fish will be great.  The fish man’s large wife rings up the tab with her long press on nails as she is singing along to the MTV Latino that is blaring on the TV.  It is quite the experience.

We used to buy all of our vegetables from a man named Carlos but Carlos's veggies aren’t that fresh.  We started to notice that after only 2 days in the fridge, the poor veggies were wilting and according to Fruitcake, if it isn’t fresh, it isn’t for me.  It started to become a waist; we would buy the veggies and have to throw them out.  So, Ixma who has passion for food and booze took a stroll around the market and found a great stand. 

Our new veggie stand has great variety and they put all of the veggies in cute little brown bags.  The bags remind me of the brown bag lunch with the Sarah Bear stamp on it from my schooldays.  After they bag all of my goodies, I have them put everything in clothe bags, I am trying not to use plastic.  Most people go to the market with an old fart cart but I refuse.  I try not to buy more than I can handle.  I had an old fart cart in Israel and the wheels constantly fell off, making it more a hassle than comfortable shopping because the market is located up a hill so I would end up having to chase the wheel down the center.

The best market in Madrid is the Mercado de la Cebada.  It is located in La Latina. From the 15^th century up to the 20^th, it was a very important economic center.  You can find just about anything there.  Ismael and I go there on occasion to find fiori di zucca, baby corn and other yummy worldly treasures. 

Another mercado in Madrid is the San Miguel.  It is located right outside the Plaza Mayor.  It was just redone but they maintained its original structure.  It is quite lovely but it is no longer the typical market rather it is a place with fancy tapas and wines.  It is definitely worth a visit.

So, if you ever come to Madrid, make sure take a visit to a mercado de toda la vida, it is a very European experience.  If you plan to shop, make sure you bring a lot of patience and your old fart cart so you can fit in better!

Old Fart Cart