Across the street from the rental bike station.
It was another scorcher today. The original plan had been to get up early and go out in the morning while it was still coolish. And well, although I was up early to feed the cats at 7, after checking blogs, email and twitter, I went back to bed around 8.45. To my surprise I actually fell asleep again until about 10.30, which felt great. So after having coffee and catching up on my Scrabble games it was well after noon before Nog and I went out for a bike ride.
Needing a destination – and since Nog wanted to take me out for my weekly tapa treat – we decided to go on a hunt for a curious little restaurant/bar we had come across on one of our Sunday walks a few months ago. The only thing we remembered about it was that it was near the Alameda and it was called Cruji Pollo (Crispy Chicken). After parking the rental bikes in the general area and walking down several little side streets we finally found it. . .
And well, it was just so charming. A family-run, family-style place specialising in crispy fried chicken. There are a few other things on the menu, but mostly it’s the chicken people come for, either to eat in or take away. Since Nog and I just wanted a snack we opted to share one chicken plate for 5 euros. It was actually a lot of food as it also came with olives and warm crusty bread. Nog ordered a beer and I was eventually served a nice glass of rioja. As Paco the owner explained, most people order either beer or soft drinks so he didn’t have much in the way of wine on offer. But he managed to find a decent tempranillo for me, all the while coming out with jokes and puns that would have made Archie proud. 😉
After assuring Paco that we couldn’t eat anymore and didn’t want dessert, he brought us a couple chupitos of a special coffee liqueur that is made in his wife’s village in Badajóz. And when we asked for the bill he filled up our little ceramic cups once again. *hic*
As a result, the bike ride home was a bit wobbly, but we were on the cycle path and made sure to ride very slowly and carefully. We also came across a little viveros that had some interesting flowering succulents which would be perfect for the living room balconies – for one euro each! So I want to go back there tomorrow morning after I get back from getting my pre-chemo blood test done at the hospital. Ever since my lovely gitanillas died two years ago I haven’t found anything to replace them. Anyhow, I’m about to go for a wee siesta now …
What a lovely Sunday it’s been so far. 🙂
crispy chicken with chips and salad
special coffee liqueur from Badajóz
Lola & Paco
You can see all the photos here… Cruji Pollo
casa azahar 
It was indeed very nice. Especially the coffee liqueur, which I suspect was also pretty potent – I was definitely a bit tipsy on the way home.
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It’s our 23rd anniversary today and Jim is cooking us some steaks, and along with that we are having fresh sliced tomatoes from the garden with fresh mozzarella and a pasta/pesto side. Right now we are sipping champagne and I imagine I will be tipsy soon! No bike riding though. Wish we had some of that liqueur for an afters, though.
I love reading about your tapas adventures, it makes me long for the week we spent in Sevilla. I hope you people who live there are aware of just how blessed you are to live in such an environment — good food and drink available EVERYWHERE, street cafes on every side.
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¡Felicidades! to you and Jim, hmh.
I’d love to be there with you both, sipping bubbly and playing with ‘the kids’.
Yeah, that coffee liqueur was somthing else. I thought I was going to hate it but it was like nothing I’d ever tasted before. I’ll get a bottle of it from Paco for your next visit, okay?
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Ooh, that looks yummy. PJ and I went to the Hotel Vancouver today for some lemon drop martinis that just may be the best cocktails I’ve ever had. They were astonishingly good. Oh yeah: And before that, we even had some food! But we forgot to take pictures. Some of the food today is lovely, isn’t it?
That chicken and salad looks amazingly good!
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I have to say that it does look yummy. And Lola and Paco look very sweet!
I wish I could tell you that my trip to the Garlic Festival was as good as I had hoped.
Firstly, it was the second day and some of the vendors had run out of garlic (IMAGINE!!??? Running OUT of garlic!) and had closed up. The majority of the other vendors were either selling raw garlic and the prices were a bit higher than I could afford or they were stalls that normally are at the Farmer’s market and only threw in a couple of garlic-oriented things like pre-made garlic mixes for dips or terrifically hot garlic condiments.
The stall that had the chocolate garlic fudge wasn’t there, although there was a stall that sold fudge and they had just a regular vanilla fudge with garlic. Certainly, it wasn’t really very garlicky and it wasn’t nearly as good as the chocolate one I had before. I think chocolate is the perfect match for something sweet with garlic (as is maple syrup) and I think that the natural effect of chocolate that gives you the warm fuzzies (caused by Phenylethylamine) just accents the garlic’s ability to do the same thing…. I certainly felt warm and fuzzy after eating it …
I took a couple of photos (as in 2) and next year, I think I will see what the Perth Garlic Festival is like.
First two photos:
http://public.fotki.com/Mudhooks/my_stuff/year_in_photos/2008/cgf/aug11001.html
On a side note, “The Girl With The Most Cake” was there, as usual and had some delightful little cakes but I was out of money by then and they are $12 of a very small cake (serving 1 person). Worth every penny but expensive. The Girl is the one who made the cake for my 50th birthday….
http://public.fotki.com/Mudhooks/my_stuff/year_in_photos/2007/cake-1/
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Crispy chicken on a Sunday afternoon…doesn’t get much better.
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sounds (and looks) idyllic.
Good for you for getting out on your bikes in that heat!
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OK, now you’ve made me hungry. It all looks good. So does the scenery.
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so that’s what you call geraniums/pelargoniums.
anneke that cake looked great
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Lemon drop martinis sound fabulous, Rain.
Did you see the link for Garlic & Shots, Anneke? It’s somewhere around here on another post. Too bad the Carp Garlic was such a disappointment. Yes, it sounds totally stupid to run out of garlic.
The food was so simple, yet very good, mister anchovy. You can also get a ‘family order’ for 18 euros, which includes three huge platters (chicken, salad, chips), olives & crusty bread, and can easily feed 5-6 people. The table next to us was having that but I didn’t think they’d want me taking photos.
Well, as I say, the plan hadn’t been to go out in THE HEAT, truce, but oh well. It’s actually a bit cooler on the bikes as you create your own little breeze.
Did you see the temperature thingy in the scenery, Silverstar?
Those aren’t the standard geraniums you usually see on balconies here, nursemyra, though they are in the same family. I don’t know what they are called in English – in Spanish they are gitanillas (little gypsies).
Oh, and in case it wasn’t clear, the chupitos of coffee liqueur were on the house. I’m thinking of going back there when Sara and Steve are here (if I’m not in hospital – eep!).
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Re: The Garlic & Shots link… I can’t find it here but I did Google it. YUMMMMM….
When my ex and I went on our honeymoon, we went to Chez Piggy http://www.chezpiggy.com/ and one of the things we had (it was late October, remember, and chilly) was Garlic Soup. That absolutely suffused you with warmth and since we both ate it…. God, it was good! I actually got the recipe book somewhere along the way, though I can’t find it. The Garlic Soup wasn’t in it, so I wrote to the restaurant and they gave it to me. I’m not sure where the recipe is, now, unfortunately….
Chez Piggy was owned by Zal Yanovsky of Cass Elliot and the Big Three, The Mugwumps, and The Lovin’ Spoonful. He was a lovely guy and I met him one evening when he came around the tables to see how everyone was doing. Sadly, he died in 2002.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_zolf/20021217.html
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I couldn’t find the recipe for Garlic Soup but here is the Chez Piggy recipe for Gambas al Ajillo
Chez Piggy Gambas al Ajillo
Source: Chez Piggy – Kingston, Canada
28 medium shrimp, peeled
8 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons chile peppers, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, coarsely chopped
Heat a heavy cast iron skillet until hot, add olive oil. When oil is hot, but not smoking, quickly add the shrimp. Test by dipping a shrimp tail in the oil, it should turn pink immediately. Briefly cook one side, turn over and add garlic and chili peppers. Cook until done, but do not allow the garlic to brown or the Gambas al Ajillo will turn bitter.
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