La comida

Fooooood.

Yo it's freakin' good here.

And I guess it's not really that it tastes any better than food in the United States.  I mean, if you can really call what we eat "food".  But the concept of a meal has been completely redefined in my mind.  Starting with the meal times (which I previously talked about), the idea of holding off from eating lunch until 2:30pm was frightening at first (yes literally it was).  Then, the thought of eating dinner at 9:30pm just seemed absurd.

But, ya know, it works.

Food is very intentional here.  At least from what I've noticed, the concept of a meal is to actually prepare it.  For my señora, she began to prepare lunch just after breakfast today.  And I asked her why.  She told me that it is possible to have lunch without such preparation, but it's just not as good when it's just "whipped up" (okay, she didn't say that exactly).  Food is serious though.  You can make a half-hearted attempt or go all-in...

And Spaniards go all-in.

So, let's exemplify this idea with something very common at mealtime:

Soup.  Except here, soup isn't broth with some things added in for substance.  Nope.  Although there is broth and some form of liquid that Idk what to call it cuz I hate cooking, there is so much meat and potatoes and vegetables and legumes and stuff.  Like, real food.  It's a huge bowl.  It's like an entire meal submerged in broth.

Meat:  It's mean, lean, and there's a lot of it.  It's definitely a staple food here, especially jamon, which is ham.  Mariscos are popular too (but more on the coast).

Salad.  Salad is iceberg lettuce with spinach other vegetables: tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, peppers, onions, etc.  On top, no salad dressing.  Instead, olive oil, vinegar, and salt!  It takes some getting used to at first, but after awhile, it's all the flavor you need, especially with the various other flavors in the salad.

Bread.  Holy cow.  The US's concept of bread isn't even close to right.  Why?  Because the bread is real.  Bread is made by an actual baker in an actual bread store (or paneria, which also makes some kick-butt desserts too).  Simply go to the tienda, ask for whatever you need for the day, buy it, and boom you got freakishly fresh bread for lunch and dinner.

It's like, the food here is super healthy and there's few unhealthy additives.  And it tastes great too.  Oh and...

Tapas.  Probably the coolest idea for bars ever.  The idea is to have a small plate of really good appetizers to go with your cerveza when you're hanging out with friends.  Whether it's olives, jamon cerrano, or boquerones en vinagre, they're super fun and yummy.

Oh, and the desserts are amazing too.  Probably not as healthy as the rest of the food I've been raving about, but it's freaking amazing.  Just the perfect amount of sweetness and stuff.

Side note: beer costs as much as a Sprite here.

For further reading, look up croquetas.