3.1.07

Organic lunching

Here´s a scene for you. Madrid, January 3rd, 3 pm. Five thirty-something friends sit around a table, discussing the food scene. They grumble. What´s with all the phony lemongrass, they say? Why can´t you find a decent croqueta for love or money in the old centre? Is everyone stupid, on a diet, or don´t they care?

Head wags all around the table. Meanwhile, the three cakes they´ve been sharing are reduced to a sprinkling of crumbs. One of the five, let´s call him J, is eating those, and looks like he´ll have to be forcibly restrained from licking the plate clean.

Hardly a sign of bad food, you´ll say. And you´ll be right.

This was at  Pausa . And Pausa, mercifully, isn´t one of your faux-fusion, balsamic-doodling, totally clueless houses of hunger. Neither is it one of your fake-regional, done up in plastic wood, who do you think you´re fooling with all that talk of "grandmother´s style" horrors. No sir. Pausa´s only fad is a belief in simplicity, and you can hardly call that a fad.

It´s the only place in town where every last thing is organic. Not a fad. They´ve sourced beers, coffe, wine, juices, sugars, you name it. They bake their own bread every morning. The food, while healthy, has no smack of self-righteousness, and no lurking veganisms of the soy bacon type. Here bacon is bacon, from pigs of the best families, and if you don´t want that, there´s plenty of garbanzos to choose from. Just the attitude. And it tastes really good, too.

There are so few places where you can eat a bowl of soup and a made-to-order focaccia sandwich, quickly. And sit in actual chairs, at real tables, not on barstools, facing a wall. And they have free Wi-Fi. The perfect lunch spot, in short. And if you´re rushed, they do takeaway, too.
Just my luck that it´s a tad far away from my flat. I never thought I´d say this, but those masses of office workers around Plaza de Castilla have all the luck.

Pausa. C/ Estébanez Calderón 3 . 91 425 18 87

8 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

First of all, happy new year, Ximena (and family)!! Always good to hear about a new spot in Madrid. I looked at their website and am curious to know if "focatas" are the real Spanish word for what the Italians call panini or if it is just a cute word made up by the folks at Pausa.

xps dijo...

I will go. Metro de madrid, vuela....!

lobstersquad dijo...

Hi Brett: happy new year, igualmente. Focata is their own cute word. A mix of "bocata", or sandwich, and focaccia.

Anónimo dijo...

Looks very neoyorkian, doesn't it? I'll give it a try. The inly issue is that it is very close to La garriga the ham and butifarras temple that drives me mad everytime I visit that area.

Yes, those office workers have all the luck.

Anónimo dijo...

There's a temple to ham in Madrid? Yet another reason I must get myself over to Spain. Pausa does sound strangely New Yorkie... but I bet they don't try to force you out of your chairs after you're "done" eating and just want to sit and relax. I hate that about New York restaurants.

lobstersquad dijo...

Thanks, Nopisto, I´ll check that out next time I go that far uptown.
And Ann, the whole of Spain is a temple to ham!!!

Anónimo dijo...

Mmm, sounds fab. It'll be a while before I return to Spain but your blog makes me think greatly that Madrid will be the first stop (THEN Barcelona for all the Gaudi). :)

Anónimo dijo...

Ximena, sorry it has taken me so long to look at your beautiful site! You're in Spain, my god, I'll be reading this all the time as I buy Spanish wine for a living.

Next time I'm shipped off to Madrid I'm going to have to get some dining recommendations from you. Happy New Year!

-Catherine

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