{"id":141,"date":"2013-10-19T09:54:52","date_gmt":"2013-10-19T07:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/?p=141"},"modified":"2014-03-28T10:35:21","modified_gmt":"2014-03-28T08:35:21","slug":"el-menu-del-dia-iva-y-pan-included","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/?p=141","title":{"rendered":"El Men\u00fa del D\u00eda \u2013 IVA y pan included"},"content":{"rendered":"

El men\u00fa<\/em> (men-OOH) del d\u00eda<\/em> is a great way to eat in Spain. Primero, segundo, postre, con una botella de vino<\/em> (typically, red or tinto<\/em>), all for the crisis-busting price of \u20ac9 and up. Where I\u2019m from, you can\u2019t get a bottle of wine for \u20ac9, let alone a meal. Some are better than others, but here are a few from the calles<\/em> of Gij\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

\"Menus2\"<\/a>\"Menus1\"<\/a>\"Menus3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s impossible to explain Spanish food in words. Delicious, amazing, spectacular don\u2019t do it. Transcendent<\/i> comes close. La comida<\/i> (especially of the Sunday family kind) is heaven to los espa\u00f1oles<\/i>. Sit back, eat, drink, and enjoy \u2013 it\u2019s slow food taken to its slowest. No talk of politics, economics, or sports, food is the only subject.<\/p>\n

Here is a list of some seafood (marisco<\/i>) and fish (pescado<\/i>) with English translations. The food comes fried (frito<\/i>), grilled (a la plancha<\/i>), baked (al horno<\/i>), steamed (al vapor<\/i>) and in a soup (sopa<\/i>). \u00a1Que aproveche! <\/i>(Literally, take advantage!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Spanish<\/b><\/td>\nEnglish<\/b><\/td>\nSpanish<\/b><\/td>\nEnglish<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gambas<\/em><\/td>\nshrimps<\/td>\nbacalao<\/em><\/td>\ncod<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
mejillones<\/em><\/td>\nmussels<\/td>\nat\u00fan<\/em><\/td>\ntuna<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
calamares<\/em><\/td>\nsquids<\/td>\nsalm\u00f3n<\/em><\/td>\nsalmon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
pulpo<\/em><\/td>\noctopus<\/td>\nsalpic\u00f3n<\/em><\/td>\nsalmagundi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Note that a value-added consumption tax on all goods and services, IVA or Impuesto sobre el Valor A\u00f1adido,<\/b> can be charged (although not in a listed men\u00fa del d\u00eda<\/i>). The maximum EU rate is 27% (only in Hungary). The standard rate in Spain is 21% (7% in the Canaries) with a reduced rate of 10% on food and drinks (3% or 0% in the Canaries). The Canaries are afforded special status \u201cfor the purpose of encouraging the economic and social development of the islands and the diversification of their manufacturing and service sectors.\u201d*<\/p>\n

The bread can also be excluded from the listed price, so you may be charged (one or two euros). El camerero<\/i> sets it out, but doesn\u2019t say if it\u2019s included. If you eat, you\u2019re charged, if not he takes it away gratis<\/i> (I saw one camarero<\/i> roll up the uneaten bread with the paper table cloth). And in the airport, they can slip you an aceite de olive<\/i> and a tomate extra <\/i>at 60 cents to sauce your bocadillo.<\/p>\n

But rarely will you be ripped off, although it can happen.** I ordered a paella de marisco<\/i> in the main tourist square in Madrid, La Plaza Mayor, and didn\u2019t quite get what I asked for. Antonio was the very nice (amable<\/i>) waiter, and the view of the square was unbeatable with various actors doing their usual bits for money, from the stone statues to the squealing babies to the gravity-defying fakirs sitting on ropes. (I have to say I don\u2019t get the squealing baby bit if the idea is to attract paying people.)<\/p>\n

Alas, the paella de marisco<\/i> came with carne<\/i> but no marisco<\/i>. Antonio apologized, said he would see to it, and ten minutes later he brought out the same paella with a little less carne<\/i> and some boiled gambas<\/i>. He apologized again, and half an hour later another paella de marisco<\/i> arrived. Fortunately I wasn\u2019t too hungry when I first arrived. And, fortunately, he had left the bottle of wine on the table (although I had only asked for a glass) and it was a gorgeously sunny day to sit and rest one\u2019s feet. Well, what do you expect from La Plaza Mayor?<\/p>\n

I did learn a new word \u2013 enga\u00f1o <\/i>\u2013 and Antonio learned that one doesn\u2019t have to pay what one is told to by overly nice, overly apologetic waiters on hastily scratched out cuentas<\/i>. Que vamos hacer<\/i>. Es la vida.<\/i><\/p>\n

Here is a picture of real paella, the kind one melts over (thanks to los dos Charines y Avelino y Paz).***<\/p>\n

\"Paella\"<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Con pan y vino<\/i> \/ Se anda el camino<\/i><\/td>\nWith bread and wine \/ You go your way<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\u00a0* For more about IVA in Spain, see Spain: VAT essentials<\/i><\/a>. For more about tax in the Canary Islands, see Spain: The Canary Islands Special Zone<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/h5>\n
\u00a0** In Dublin, I had a one-inch piece of monkfish for \u20ac30 in The Shelbourne, a miniscule so-called pasta meal in Terra Madre for \u20ac25, and an \u00a318 breakfast in a former Ballsbridge hotel (former because the owner went belly-up when the value of his multi-million-euro land was halved in the 2008 crisis). Easy come, easy go.<\/h5>\n
*** In Asturias, the diminutive is ine<\/em>, so\u00a0Charine for Charo (i.e., Rossario). I am Xuanine, the diminutive of Xuan (John or Juan).<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

El men\u00fa (men-OOH) del d\u00eda is a great way to eat in Spain. Primero, segundo, postre, con una botella de vino (typically, red or tinto), all for the crisis-busting price of \u20ac9 and up. Where I\u2019m from, you can\u2019t get … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[5,9],"class_list":["post-141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spain","tag-food","tag-gijon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=141"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141\/revisions\/152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}