Those days are long, long gone. Spain suffered dramatically with the 2008 financial crisis. Over the years, when I was in Madrid (generally on business) I would visit small specialty shops in some side streets just a stone’s throw from Puerto del Sol. It was clear many had been there for decades and most still observed siesta from 2 pm to 5 pm every day, then open until 8 or 9. After 2008 they slowly dwindled and the last time I was there only a couple remained (probably gone now).
Restaurants were failing to the tune of 20-25% per year. During Covid it was even worse. They are fighting for existence, even as unemployment was rising. Hubby and I have been to Tenerife in the Canaries for 3 weeks in February/March over a number of years, and have watched the small shops shutter as the economy staggers.
It’s truly a shame — free tapas are definitely a thing of the (more distant) past.
Yes, takes some getting used to. Although, since I was usually there for work, they were re-opening when the workday was done and I appreciated the late hours!
Someone would come and sweep the bar floor about once an hour.
I remember when three Spaniards visited the bar where I worked in Philadelphia (early 90’s), the bartender complained that they were so messy and threw all their trash on the floor. I laughed and said that’s it’s done in Spain.
Yes, similarly here in Germany you often get bread and Schmaltz (pork, duck or goose drippings) in some pubs — highly fat and salt-laden, which encourages you to drink more. (Again, lots of travel both business and private in Italy, and this example from Genoa is more exception than rule…)
For smaller restaurants here there is often a Vesperkarte which are smaller cheaper meals that are available late afternoon/early evening (bread and cheese, Maultaschen, and other smaller bites) between lunch and dinner. Not free but generally very cheap. Usually only until 5 or 6 pm.
In Europe as elsewhere in the world, the profit margin on food is virtually zero, the money is made on the drinks, so anything that encourages more drinking helps keep the place going.
Should be noted that in general, the places that offer you that are more pub or beer garden than “real” restaurants as the latter want to feed you more.
BTW, here in Germany, coke is generally more expensive than beer in a pub. When you drink beer, you tend to order more…
MC Donald’s used to post an eat it and beat it sign, allowing their esteemed patrons 20 minutes to scarf their burgers and clear out. They also had specially designed seats that would cause a backache after a while.
I’m not saying bad things about Mickey Dee. I am actually grateful to them for keeping customers our of better restaurants.
Well, I’m sure that’s just to balance out the stomachache. It’s a yin/yang sort of thing that I’m trying to wrap my head around, but keep getting a headache.
I don’t know if it’s still in business, but there was a fantastic tapas bar in Chicago (on Halsted in Lincoln Park) called “Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba”.
In the late '80s, my roommate’s brother was the head waiter, and he used to get us preferred tables and special “off the menu” dishes from the kitchen. Even the regular menu and specials were unbelievable–and don’t even get me started on the endless sherry import list…
Of course, it was American (despite the mostly-Spanish wait staff) and probably couldn’t hold a candle to its Spanish counterparts–especially in the freshness of its seafood–but I sure miss it!
the idea of a chain of being is more to do with complexity of how that stuff is arranged. All beings and things can be made of the same stuff, but it’s the complexity of how the stuff is arranged that gets our attention, to notice the difference between degrees of complex beings. Thinking this way is the general basis for vegetarianism, that we want to avoid causing unecessary suffering to the more complex beings (the ones we understand are more capable of feeling suffering). we might even think of a chain of being in terms of increased responsibility to the rest. this idea of a chain of being is not all bad.
I remember free small plates of finger food in bars in Costa Rica, but that was many years ago and in remote locations, not tourist areas. No idea if that still survives.
I spent 3 years in southern Mexico. You are right. Ya hafta ask for the check. There was one restaurant I frequented in the town of Palenque. I became friends with the staff and the owners. It was not a big place. Just a small family run eatery. But excellent food. I brought what business I could to them. When I was getting ready to head back to the US I noted the place had become popular among tourists. I was happy to see how busy they were
