La Paella

This post pains me a little to write.  Ryan and I should be spending our first day of our 3-week honeymoon in Madrid right now instead of quarantined at home.  We had THE most amazing trip planned with 7 different Michelin star dining reservations.  We even woke up at 1am to secure dinner reservations at the famous Osteria Francescana, all to have COVID-19 restrict us from going.  Our hearts break for Spain and Italy, who have been devastated by this disease and we wonder when things will go back to normal.

Although we can't be there now, we know that we're going to go someday.  It might not be today and it might not even be this year, but we're going to go and it's going to be amazing.  As a tribute to the honeymoon we almost had, we decided to support a local Spanish restaurant this week.  No, it probably isn't as good as eating at Tickets in Barcelona or Akelare in San Sebastian, but it's definitely good.

When looking at Spanish restaurants in our area, I was surprised to find that there weren't many.  Okay, so maybe some of them just aren't open now, but I only came up with 2 options - La Paella or Manchego.  I'll be honest, I first wanted to order from La Paella because it looked great, but Ryan swayed me to order from Manchego.  We went on one of our first dates there, so we called them to try to place a delivery order, but were unable to do so.  And then we were back at La Paella placing an order for some dang delicious Spanish food.

Our Order:

1. Chorizo Importado de Espana - not pictured.  Not going to lie, we snacked on this while unwrapping the rest of our goodies.  This chorizo was nicely smokey without as much spiciness as I'm used to for chorizo.  I would definitely recommend as a light bite before dinner.
   
2. Gambas al Ajillo - shrimp sauteed with garlic and chili pod.  These were tasty (I mean anything cooked in garlic and chili is okay in my book) but smaller than I anticipated. 
   
3. Patatas Bravas - (the top container in the picture below) a classic Spanish dish, these potatoes were a little different than I've had before.  They were less crispy (a soft texture) and super spicy.  I love spice, so I would recommend these, but just know they might be a little different from the patatas bravas you've had before.
   
4. Parrillada de Carne - literally translates to barbecue of meat. This plate had a combination of meats - steak, sausage, chicken, pork chop, and lamb chop.  The lamb and sausage were delicious, however the other meats were a little lackluster.  The chicken and steak were good, but the pork chop was a little dry.  Overall, I think you kind of get what you should expect when you order a varied meat plate.  It also came with a side of veggies and potatoes (pictured above).                                                         
   
5. Paella Marinera - Last, but definitely not least, the paella.  I've gotta be honest, I expected a lot since the restaurant is called La Paella.  This paella was the recommendation, so even though it was $60, we decided to go for it.  We honestly only opened 1 of the 2 containers because there was so much paella and a ton of seafood topping and in it.  The saffron rice was extremely creamy and tasty and the seafood topping was delicious.  I would definitely recommend this paella despite the price.  I'll be enjoying some paella topped with poached eggs for breakfast tomorrow (and maybe even the next day). 
   

Overall, I would recommend eating at or getting food from La Paella.  Was it the best food I've ever eaten?  No.  But the paella was super tasty and so was the chorizo and the patatas bravas.  So when you're exploring ways to support local businesses, don't forget your local Spanish restaurants!

Happy eating 😋