Cafe Madrid

A few nights ago, we went to Cafe Madrid, 2080 East 3900 South, Salt Lake City, for something different. Each and every time we dine there, we forget how much we enjoyed it the last time. We went to graze on some tapas, as only Cafe Madrid can. For our tapas, we took Bodegas Lan 2004 Rioja Reserva, $16.99. (More later) We sat on the patio, it started to rain, but our little table was under the eaves, so we remained quite dry, however, our waiter, Andrei, had to keep serving our orders with a menu over them to keep them dry. It was quite cozy.

We always love the calamari. It IS the best calamari in the valley, it always just has a light coating, never greasy, and they serve it with a house made aoli, although this time, it was not all that garlicky. The texture is good to the tooth, but not chewy like you usually get elsewhere.

Next, was the cold garlic soup with grapes. An odd sounding combination, but with the heat, prior to the rain, cold soup sounded good, and was it ever! We were informed that it looked creamy but there was no dairy in it. When it arrived, a different server brought it out, with a soup plate with whole grapes in the bottom and a pewter pitcher. He sat the bowl down and poured the white soup over the grapes, with instructions that there had to be a grape in each spoonful, and then bite the grape while in the mouth with the soup. What a surreal combination, the tangy, garlicky creamy soup in your mouth with a burst of sweetness from the grape. WOW! The texture of the soup appeared to be thickened with bread. This is worth going for if you have nothing else!

Next, with some trepidation from Bernie, I ordered the Sardine toasts/bruschetta. Arriving on a long narrow rectangular serving dish, they looked great. Toasted baguette slices (4) with warm (and I think fresh) sardines, covered in sauteed onions and bell peppers, garlic and a bit of tomato. Bernie's trepidation soon melted into total enjoyment, as did I. The combination of flavors was inspired. The table behind us, under the eaves, staying out of the rain commented on the sardines, (the canned ones). These are nothing like canned sardines.

Finished up with the mushrooms in white wine and garlic. Some of the best mushrooms I can remember, however, they were just way to rich to finish up the meal with. They had the requisite amount of butter, with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for a little heat. But . . . just too rich to finish a meal with. Oh well, what a great meal. We passed on dessert, but for the liquid one.

Bernie had a Makers Mark, the classic whisky, and I had a 10 year old Grahams Tawny, tasty, but I don't think worthy of making a fuss about at this time.

Cafe Madrid is worth the money and the time!!