Chocolatería San Ginés

Hidden from the obvious eyes lingering between Calle Arenal and Calle Mayor in Spain is the famous Madrileño haunt of Chocolatería San Ginés, established in 1894. The aromas of chocolate and hot fried dough waft into the passage luring in inquisitive noses. Within the café with its marble bar, green panelling, mirrored walls, and antiquated fixtures the visitor can indulge in the popular Spanish treat of chocolate con churros.

The phrasing implies hot chocolate served in a small ceramic cup nested on a saucer with a little spoon and accompanied by a ration of churros or porras and table or confectioner’s sugar to sprinkle or drown your churros in. Perhaps also a cold glass of water as well to assist the palate. The difference between a churro and a porra is that a churro is thinner with ridges that attract more chocolate while a porra is thicker, both of which balance out the intense sweetness of the chocolate. Churros or porras are made by extruding dough directly into hot oil. Thus, the place to consume chocolate con churros has been dubbed “churrería.” Preferably, the chocolate will taste slightly bitter to reveal the depth of the cacao content and the churros will not get soggy from excess oil. The chocolate is so rich and thick that you can rest your spoon upon the surface of a cold cup of chocolate and it will barely make a dent. Both the chocolate and the churros are best consumed while both are hot.


As Chocolatería San Ginés is an authentic chucherría, the server arrives at the table promptly after the patron is seated to take the order and soon after the chocolate con churros arrive. The service is efficient and attentive. At San Ginés, the chocolate is slightly sweet and the churros are guaranteed to be warm, though the porras are not. However, the chocolate con churros served at Valor, a popular Spanish chocolate confectioner and chocolatería (also in Madrid), is preferred only because the chocolate is more bitter and also comes in different varieties, such as with a touch of hot chili oil, which gives the chocolate a barely-there heat that you can feel after it passes your throat. In any case, San Ginés is the perfect place to enter the world of chocolate con churros.


The method of consumption is simple: sugar the churro, dip the churro in your It is often consumed for breakfast, as a late afternoon snack, or an evening treat. The pairing of smooth, dark chocolate and slightly salty fried dough of the churros create perfect balance for the palate.

Pasadizo de San Ginés 11

Autostadt Currywurst

Among the museums and pavilions glorifying Volkswagen automobiles and other brands it owns such as Bugatti and Lamborghini is the coveted VW currywurst sitting in the TachoMeter within the walls of the Autostadt. A popular commodity of the German diet, the currywurst, best known for its presence in Berlin, is argued better outside the capital city in Wolfsburg, near Hannover. Often served on a roll of bread with a generous dousing of curry powder, the traditional sausage is set apart by the fact that it is made on-site with sausage machinery at the VW plant. Access to the VW wurst is only granted to company employees and visitors to the Autostadt.

At the Tachometer, currywurst is accompanied by a slathering of tangy tomato sauce, a small salad, and pommes frites. Curry powder is used to preference, though usually enough to cover a visible layer over the tomato sauce. The wurst is cooked on a flat grille slicked with vegetable oil until the skin is nicely roasted and caramelized. The size of the wurst is substantially larger and longer than wursts commonly found on Berlin street corners extending the length of the plate. The flavor of the wurst is not too strong, balancing out the curry powder and the sweet and tangy flavor of the ketchup or tomato sauce also supposedly made on-site.


While enjoying a traditional currywurst, diners can over look the KundenCenter or Customer Center and watch as buyers wait for their new Volkswagen delivered right to their feet from the glass storage towers across the way with an odometer reading of “0”. Indulgence of this German national food is only matched by famed German automotive engineering.

McFlurry International

One of the constant things expected whilst abroad is McDonald’s because chances are wherever you go the golden arches will provide a point of familiarity. The Big Mac, fries, and a coke will and should always taste the same no matter where the order is placed in the world. Dependability is the key word here.

However, there are some of the differences in the McDonald’s of the world are demonstrated in their classic dessert, the McFlurry. Each country or region has its own McFlurry flavors and specialties, including the limited edition Cadbury mini-egg McFlurry or the Wispa (also made by Cadbury) in the United Kingdom. The endeavor of understanding the facets of the McFlurry began in Northern Ireland and the journey has extended so far to western Europe.

What makes a good McFlurry? First of all, it is the base – the quality of the vanilla soft-serve used. The flavor and texture of the vanilla soft-serve is universal. Experience with off-tasting soft-serve in central London should alert the consumer that once in a while, it is important to test for the quality of the soft-serve and resist immediately indulging oneself. The second indicator is how well the soft-serve and candy pieces are mixed together. Some McDonald’s locations do not even fit the McFlurry spoon to the machine to evenly distribute the candy in the soft-serve. If chocolate, caramel, or strawberry syrup is added, it should not alter the texture of the soft-serve.

Consumption of a McFlurry is best accompanied by a cup of water and perhaps a side of fries. The salty quality of the fries balances the sweetness of the McFlurry.

The best McFlurry by far is the Taste of America, available for a limited time in the United Kingdom. It encompassed the vanilla soft-serve base with Oreo cookie mixed in with a toffee swirl. Initially, it was difficult to attain because the McDonald’s locations would run out of toffee syrup in stock.

The worst McFlurry goes to Malmö, Sweden for the Bilar McFlurry. The addition of marshmallows was a nice touch, increasing the variety of texture. The sticky sweet lime-flavored lime-green sugar syrup destroyed the flavor balance and transformed the texture of the soft-serve to something less palatable.


Extra props are given to Poland and Austria for adding chocolate, caramel, or strawberry syrup in addition to the candy pieces free of charge. Two mixers enhance the enjoyment of the McFlurry experience. To great dissatisfaction, that the addition of the syrup made the McFlurry more runny.



**UPDATE** 18 November 2008
Whilst in Iceland, the opportunity arose to sample the McFlurry if a McDonald's existed in Iceland. The variant available is Baci - meaning "kiss" in Italian - and not any of the flavors popular in Iceland including licorice or salted fish (understandably a long shot). Baci is a chocolate sauce with peanuts and will turn the McFlurry a brown color. Careful sampling resulted in the conclusion that the Baci sauce is better suited served warm for sundaes and not to go through the McFlurry mechanism.

Goettingen, Germany is applauded for its established expectation that the McFlurry will have a well-incorporated mix of soft-serve and the mix.

1 Lombard Street

Perhaps it is best that the first official gastronomical entry in this blog is jump-started by a Michelin starred restaurant in London. Might as well start at the top and branch out from there.

Although quite unfortunate that the epicurean exploration is limited by a tight budget, it was most fortunate that London was celebrating Restaurant Week, giving the lightly laden coin purse the space to bulk out. The glory of Restaurant Week allowed for the sampling of high cuisine at an affordable price. Dinner at 1 Lombard Street was served at the elegant Brasserie, which still had available tables opposed to the Restaurant. The Brasserie has a wonderful dome that allows lets in light to soak all corners of the space in a bright yet soft glow until night settles in. Accompanied by three other dining companions, we were seated near the rear of the Brasserie surrounded by enormous flowering bouquets of lilies.

The set menu offered at the Brasserie also displayed a vegetarian-friendly meal plan for the evening. The server informed us that selections from both menus were permitted for the course of the meal. An assortment of bread was served while waiting for the first course.

The first course was a crème endive and apple soup with white truffle oil. Served warm in an espresso cup, it opened up the palate for the rest of the meal.

Salmon was served as the second course. It was served atop roasted cucumbers and encircled in a parsley pesto and Asian-inspired sauce with teriyaki sweetness. The vegetarian option for this course was delicately grilled vegetables, which I was told was the most delicious vegetables the vegetarian diner had ever tasted.

The main course consisted of chicken with mushroom risotto being the vegetarian option. The chicken was set atop mashed potatoes with a creamy sauce and small roasted shallots. Large shavings of parmesan cheese rested upon the mushroom risotto encircled in another herb pesto. The risotto was rich and meaty from the mushroom flavor, yet very light on the palate.

To cleanse the palate, a granizo was served in a shot glass. The granizo had touches of watermelon, ginger, and berries. Quite refreshing!

To conclude the meal, dessert consisted of a small chocolate cake with molten center accompanied by a raspberry sorbet and cocoa powder.

Overall, the experience at the brasserie was quite positive. The meal was a generous 5 courses that were light, but filling. Perhaps one day in the far future a call for a second visit will arise, once the purse can fit the budget.

The adventure begins

This blog was created to record the embarkation of a grander adventure of eating, drinking, and wandering about. Eating fills the stomach and makes one feel whole. Drinking (always within moderation) soothes the soul and relaxes the body and mind. Wandering around satisfies the hunger of curiosity and the lust for life. Frenzied Palate aims to capture the link between the three and the wonders of life's simplicities.