Maracas in 2018

In February I published the following on Tripadvisor. Here is the the full script with additional images.

Inside looking out.

Once again I am sojourning in Benalmádena, Andalusia, on the Costa del Sol. As is my habit, I am again frequenting my favourite café-bar on the beach. Maracas Bil-Bil has been established here some fifteen years or so and with each year, despite the odd natural disaster bringing business to a halt for a day or two, goes from strength to strength. During the nights of high summer it is quite a hip spot; but during the rest of the year the clientèle is very mixed: locals and tourists from across the globe; from babies right through to the agèd. Together they imbibe, nosh, chatter, play and take the sun. The brave even take a dip in the sea some five to ten metres away - depending on the tide!

Cocktail menu & two sample beverages

Also the cuisine offers something for almost everyone. Vegetarians and carnivores alike. Although the menu does not specifically cater for vegans, if one asks, the staff will do their best to offer something appropriate.

Over the years, I have sampled many of the options offered on the menu. After all, I am here most days that the sun shines. A new dish for me to try this year is the Ensalada Bil-Bil (Bil-Bil Salad - image above). It contains: mixed lettuce leaves including radicchio - these were unblemished, crisp and tasty; a caramelised slice of goat cheese - this was a total surprise and a tasty and wonderfully textured delight as the cheese was firm and the caramelisation was sweet as atop a crème caramel; slices of air-dried duck (jamón de pato) - they melted on the tongue and the flavour was sublime, just heavenly; toasted pine-nuts - which added additional crunch, texture and a nutty flavour; and, finally, what is described in English as an “apple vinaigrette” - for my tastes this was a tad too sweet, but that is normal for the Spanish palette. All the flavours, textures and colours created a culinary delectation for the tongue, the palette and the eye. My one minor criticism would be that the salad was served over chilled, which initially muted some of the flavours. However, one has to understand that in the typical heat of southern Iberia such cooling is totally necessary.

My salad was washed down with a couple of glasses of chilled house rosé at €3 apiece. I needed no other food as I was quite, quite sated. At €9 for the salad, this represents good value for money for the quality and quantity. I strongly recommend the Ensalada Bil-Bil. And, after something like a decade-and-a-half of being an habitué of the establishment, I thoroughly recommend Maracas Bil-Bil to the traveller.

Other dishes I savoured during my extended stay were Teriyaki chicken on a bed of steamed rice and tapa of Ensaladilla Rusa (without beetroot as in UK!).

La Federica, Poble Sec, Barcelona: a Review

On the evening of day three in Barcelona, I had recovered sufficiently to take a short stroll into the district in which we were residing, Poble Sec. This is a trendy quarter rapidly becoming known for its culinary highlights. For an example, see my last post on Camilo Hock's Atelier Pan & Cook.

Prior to actually making the trip, I had done some research on places to see, dine at and so on, as well as determining whether there are any gay bars in the vicinity. Spain is not like the UK when it comes to bars specifically dedicated to the queer community, as most bars are welcoming or at least tolerant of one & all. However, there is a concentration of gay-friendly businesses in Eixample, which also happens to be the area for best shopping. So concentrated with LGBTI folk, the area is often nicknamed Geixample (pronounced gay-shample). However, Poble Sec has just the one gay bar - La Federica.

[Image description: (left) the outside façade & hoarding; (right) inside looking out.]

Unlike many bars in Manchester's Gay Village, this bar was frequented by all the stereotypes (bears, leather boys, trannies, lipstick lesbians, denim dykes, disco bunnies, nervous twinks, hipster gays, camp gays, etc.) and aged from twinks to polar-bears. What struck me most was that they all talked to each other - even the lesbians! I was really surprised at what a family atmosphere there is here and told Albert the barman (and co-owner) so. He said that was the vibe they were aiming for. They even permit heteros, as long as they are queer-accepting, gay-friendly.

The top image is myself standing at the trendily retro bar. Whilst the width of the building is somewhat narrow, one can gain a sense of its depth from the bottom left photo of me savouring my dry Martini, expertly shaken not stirred by the delightful, chatty & amiable barkeep. Best dry Martini ever! And to add to my joy, Albert gave me his tip for making it so! - but my lips are sealed! 

Be not fooled by the bottom right portrait of Rico: that is a Moscow Mule and no soft-drink whatever the label on that can of ginger-beer!

Whilst there, we were privy to an art exhibition by the collagist, Randomagus. This link should lead you to the artist installing, previewing and selling his works. The photograph (© La Federica) below is of the artist between the other barman & co-owner (also named Albert) and Albert, the shorter chap on the right as viewed.

Randomagus is extremely tall - his head can be seen popping over the head of the blonde lass behind me in the image below, where I am celebrating my purchase of a limited addition print, signed by the artist himself.

Depending on the night and time one turns up at La Federica will determine the type of ambience from a place for a quiet pick-me-up to a boisterous bacchanalia of imbibing, chatting, laughter and music.

We loved the place so much we popped in twice for wee drinkies. When we are next in Barcelona, nothing will keep us from saying ¡hola! to Albert and his affable clientèle. And anyway, we need to continue working through and sampling all the cocktails on the list!

Maracas 2017: a Review

Back in my second home of Benalmádena, I naturally gravitated to my favourite café-bar, Maracas, on Playa Bil-Bil. The popular venue celebrates fifteen years of business and international friendship this year. This is my fourteenth year of frequenting. Dani the waiter raised his eyebrows in greeting whilst serving elsewhere, but once free came over for our order. Sunday is always the busiest day of the week for the staff as the tourists are augmented by the locals on their day off who also want to enjoy the benefits of their blessèd municipality, now grown to seventy thousand registered residents. Maracas is not the cheapest place to eat and drink, but obviously one must expect to pay a small premium for being able to enjoy a cocktail or paella right on the beach and within a couple of metres of the gently lapping sea.

It was a warm Sunday, so we commenced with a caña apiece @ €2, that’s a small draught beer. In Spain, one will observe even respectable-looking women as well as the menfolk taking a small beer first thing of the morning. This does not signify a nation of drunkards or alcoholics: recent research has proven the benefits of this small pick-me-up.

As the afternoon progressed we moved on to tinto de verano @ €2.50, a cocktail of chilled red wine with a sparkling lemon drink, often Sprite or lemonade. It is surprisingly refreshing and not as sweet as perhaps one might anticipate. We chatted with: a group of four German, late middle-aged chaps on a friends’ break; an extended queer family and their beautiful bairn; a very middle-class family from Holland; and, a Spanish mother with her brood of peckish children. One has probably gathered that Maracas is a friendly place for all: child-friendly; gay-friendly; alien-friendly…

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The time to eat arrived. My chum ordered a hamburguesa de ternera - this strictly-speaking ought to be a veal hamburger, but is often made from beef cuts. My companion loved the burger: tasty, juicy and not over salted. He was also content with the filling. The bread roll was not the best and crumbled. Over all, at €4.50, he was very content.

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I opted for a dish Maracas introduced about three or so years ago, ensalada pasta tricolor. In a large bowl were three colours of perfectly cooked pasta twists, with sweetcorn, chicken, walnut halves, diced cheese, and hard-boiled egg slices. One has the choice of several speciality dressings or one can use the balsamic vinegar &/or olive oil brought to table whenever one places an order for food. At €8 this represents great value for such a substantial meal.

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We shared a large bowl of perfectly cooked French fries, patatas fritas (in Spanish this can mean chips [US fries] or crisps [US chips]). Accompanying our luncheon we enjoyed a medium, chilled rosé, vino rosado, @ €2.

After three hours of chilling on the beach in the sun, we were were ready to head back to our hotel for a siesta (nap). Of course, we shall return to Maracas.

Highly recommended. %D

Slug and Lettuce, Sale - Review

Recommendation

The Slug and Lettuce in Sale was busy without being rammed - surely a good sign. Indeed, whenever we drive past this central bar-restaurant there always appear to be plenty of customers. That of itself must be a recommendation in these straitened times both for the economy and for restaurateurs especially.

Our total bill with offers came to under £85 for two courses and four drinks apiece, roughly £21 per head. Food was good to very good for price and venue. Drinks fair to good. No complaints. %)

Reason for choosing venue

We were a party of four long-standing friends, three of whom celebrate our birthdays around the same time. Several years ago, in its previous incarnation as a Hogshead we began the tradition of an annual celebration. Quite simply with 2-4-1 cocktails and half-price food on Mondays it has always offered great value for money, even if the food & drinks have not been quite top-notch.

Food

mains

Between us we selected: two 8-oz rump steaks served with chips, onion-rings and tomato - @ £5.37; an open chicken pie served with chips and peas - @ £4.47; and, a farmhouse-style beef pie again served with chips and peas - @ £4.47.

The pommes frites were actually surprisingly good: certainly not the American-style fries (which we had been served in previous years) but neither were they the fashionable chunky blocks-of-potato chips; rather a tasty traditional British chip, crisp on the outside with a pliant but non-soggy potato centre. For the first time on our collective visits, not one chip remained on the plates.

I ordered my rump steak “bleu”. The flesh was surprisingly tender - it sliced effortlessly - and was of an amazingly very good quality with a rich flavour and sufficient juiciness. Only a couple of days previously I had a blue fillet steak in The House Restaurant which was the best steak since dining at Le Flora whilst mini-cruising on Brittany Ferries’ Pont Aven about three years ago. Whilst not as tasty nor quite so tender as House’s exquisite offering, it compared far more favourably than many a steak I have sampled in restaurants for quadruple the price.

The chicken open-pie contained large hunks of perfectly cooked breast-meat in a luscious white-wine cream-sauce on a puff-pastry base. As my companion's teeth sank into the pastry one could even hear the crisp snap of the top flakes.

The other mains, along with the dishes above were completely scoffed. Nothing remained on any of the plates barring the cutlery and the odd tell-tale sign that there had been food on the surface. Given this state of affairs and all the glowing comments from around the table, I can say nothing other than all heartily recommended. And a bonus at under £20 for all four dishes.

desserts

Between us we ordered: chocolate tart; cheesecake; lemon crumble tart; cookie cup - @ £2.48. We all sampled everyone else’s pudding. Whilst everyone enjoyed their second course and not a crumb was returned to the kitchen, the unanimous verdict was that the lemon crumble tart was the pièce de résistance! Neither overly tart nor sweet, it was light in texture and glided down the throat. Mmm-mmm…

Drink

For obvious reasons we were there for the 2-4-1 offer on cocktails. Between us we glugged: pornstar martinis; white Russians; Bombay breeze; strawberry daiquiri; pink ladies; and a few beers to boot.

This was the first time we were slightly disappointed with the cocktails - perhaps because we have been spoiled by Bloom Live’s superb offerings. As an example, the pornstars, whilst having a distinctive passionfruit flavour, were sweeter and verging on cloying. There was no panache and the drink seemed sluggish compared to the expert cocktail-makers’ offerings at Bloom’s. Disappointingly the shot of sparkling white was utterly flat and without a single bubble. Additionally there was no flambéed half passionfruit floating as if on an exotic pool. At @ £8.95 (as opposed to @ £7.50 at Bloom's) they do not represent good value for money. The other cocktails could be similarly critiqued.

[Image description: the writer with half-drunk espresso martini]

Only one that was sampled could be considered first rate: the espresso martinis. Smooth textured & flavoured and a visual delight, @ £7.95, they ought to come with a warning - I was wired, alert and hyperactive until four in the morning. Delicious though. %D

Service

For the first time ever the manager actually led our party to a table and informed us of the name of our waiter for the evening.

The lovely Rob, who co-incidently had served us the previous year, (shockingly perhaps) remembered us. One of our party is a tad curmudgeonly whilst we other three are ebullient. One of our party continuously leered at his shapely derrière. Unperturbed, Rob coped more than admirably with this ostensibly difficult admixture - bless him! He always kept a smile upon his visage as well as being sufficiently confident to engage in badinage.

Staff at the bar were likewise affable and, for the first time in our experience, speedily efficient. Additionally, and yet again for the first time, the kitchen staff did not keep us hanging on and hanging on for our dinner.

In short, efficient service with a smile. %)

WC Facilities

For ablies, toileting facilities were downstairs in the basement. For obvious reasons I cannot comment thereon.

However, yet again for the first time ever, I did not have the embarrassment of having to request that the disabled toilet be unlocked for my usage. So I was able to discreetly and independently sort myself out without feeling like a second-class citizen. The facilities were spotless and had a fresh aroma.

Visited October 2013.

Bloom Brasserie @ Bloom Live, Altrincham, Review

Recommendation

Bloom Live in Altrincham has an upbeat, affable ambience, with friendly staff and customers. When the tranquil live piano-playing is not, a DJ mixes tunes to tap one’s foot to. The cocktails, as per my previous review (q.v.) are just what the doctor ordered! Highly recommended for a drinks evening.

Unfortunately, whilst the new brasserie menu is a big improvement on the American-style burger-bar fiasco, it is just not good enough. I should happily dine on a starter again if I just wanted a snack, but a full meal left us hungry and disappointed. We hit the ‘fridge as soon as we got back home...

[Image description: the keyboard at © Bloom Live]

Service

Swayed by the 30% discount off food, my dining-partner and I turned up for early doors (around six-thirty). There were some half-a-dozen folk imbibing drinks in the central seating area. Snazzy jazz played jollily in the background. There were no diners, if one excludes a barman on a meal-break. We were quickly noticed and our attentive waitress came over to offer us a table. Naturally we wanted a cocktail first. Alas, the bar was out of a vital ingredient for pornstars; so I settled for a refreshing Jazzbaby and my companion for the ever-so-sweet Mississippi cherry pie. It was no bother to have the drinks tagged to our dining bill - although we later had to point out that the drinks had not been added (yep, too honest for our own good!). Drinks in hand, we were advised we could take any table we wished, the brasserie being deserted. Having first met my partner in a previous incarnation of the venue nearly twelve years ago, we situated ourselves next to the very pillar at which we stumbled upon one another.

Our waitress appeared to be on her own until about eight o’clock. She dealt admirably with the dozen-and-a-half diners or so, keeping a smile upon her mien and a cheery word for each time she passed our way. She and chef never kept us too long. Although in the case of the latter, I should not have minded if the delay would have ameliorated his offerings.

Starters

Pan fried Scottish queen scallops, lemon butter, pea purée - £7.00

To compare the food with the delectable cuisine served at The House Restaurant a couple of weeks earlier (see my review), I ordered scallops for my starter. For my personal pleasure they were a tad underdone, so did not reach the firm-but-pliant exquisite oral experience of the orgasmic scallops served in Goose Green. Nonetheless they were quite tasty. The four molluscs positioned at the points of the compass dotted around a dollop of the tastiest pea & mint purée with an unusually non-wet, unsloppy, wholesome consistency. Drenched in warm lemon-juice this was actually the gastronomic delight on the plate. Furthermore, for me this was the orgasmic moment and highlight of the repast.

Mini Angus beef pie, minted mushy peas, herb gravy - £6.50

My fellow diner tucked into a mini Aberdeen Angus beef & mushroom pie, accompanied by one garlic-coated, roasted cherry tomato and a single-serving-of-cream-sized jug of rich gravy. The meat was divine without a hint of fat. The mushrooms retained their structural integrity and were eaten in slow-motion to prolong the ecstasy. We fruitlessly attempted to identify the pastry-mix; but my companion did not really care for as far as he was concerned it was just perfect.

Mains

Pan fried Gressingham duck breast, orange, parsnip mash, juniper reduction - £17.50

I plumbed for the duck for my mains, incorrectly termed “entrées” on the menu. (This is US usage; but in Britain & France we use the term to mean “a dish served BEFORE the main course or BETWEEN two principal courses”.) The lozenges of duck were interspersed with segments of cooked orange, partly encasing a ramekin amount of the firm, almost fondant potato-like, parsnip mash. The anatidæic flesh - though properly pink - was dry, tough and fatty. The oranges in their overcooked state lost their structural integrity and juiciness. The dish was oddly and unexpectedly droughty. There had been a wispy hint of jus as decoration, but no sauce. I was glad I had ordered a large glass of Chilean Merlot. The cherry tomato accompaniment could have killed me, despite my having warned chef of my (true) food allergy and our lovely waitress having checked my selections were hazard-free. This plate was a delight to the eyes, an æsthetic achievement to be sure, but was a sorry disappointment to the palate. Overpriced and over cooked.

Rack of Welsh lamb, minted mash, rosemary gravy, caramelised parsnips - £17.00

[Image description: rack of lamb dish, © Bloom Live]

My guest chose a rack of Welsh lamb. This was no hearty portion, but mini-rack for a mini appetite. For me the meat was over cooked; but for my guest it was just what he ordered and just what he likes. At the end of his course he chewed happily on the small morsels of flesh still adhering to the wee bones. My partner delighted in his minted mash and his sprig of fresh rosemary. His three long juliennes of parsnip were not what could have been in any sense of the word “caramelised”, as their blanched flesh contrasted vehemently against the blackened lamb. My friend hardly felt satisfied and certainly did not consider the course worth the money.

Sides

Baby vegetables £3.00

Home cut chips £3.00

Our chips were the big, hunky-chunky variety rather than the pathetic American-style fries. Perfectly cooked, so long as one does not expect crunchy. For me, chef had sourced a really tasty potato variety. Spot on.

The side of veggies included: four small carrots - unusually my companion, who is not a carrot-lover, scoffed three before I could get to them; three incredibly and wonderfully sweet baby sweet-corns; a tablespoon of comparably flavourless mini green beans; and, the revelation of the meal, shredded red cabbage, dried fruit and a hint of cinnamon - what a combo!

Desserts

@ £5-6

Normally, I do not have room for three courses these days, but due to the not quite nouvelle cuisine portion sizing, I was still more than peckish. My companion similarly hungry also decided upon dessert. Mine was returned to the kitchen almost untouched: an arid chocolate sponge; a yellow ice that tasted of absolutely nothing; and a delicious strawberry ice-cream with a satisfying thick texture. I am no fan of strawberry-flavoured food, so this was a success - of sorts. My friend had a mint brûlée with what he described as the oddest shortbread he had ever had. Another thumbs-down dish.

Drinks

Not having ingredients for cocktails might be a little remiss, but having not one bottle of sparkling mineral water in a restaurant either indicates a cock-up or a problem. I did notice part-way through our experience a barman arrive with a couple of supermarket carrier-bags. Even odder that the bar is having to pop out for their bottled elixirs! At just under seven pounds for a large glass of fair-to-good wine, I cannot whinge. It went well with my duck. My designated driver was not too happy about having to sip at tap water however!

To summarise…

Some great points; some fair points; some bad points; some terrible points.

Bloom Brasserie has the potential to get it right if their weaknesses are addressed.

%)



For my glowing review of the cocktail bar, see here.