Madrid Classics: Casa Lucio, Cava Baja Update on Lucio´s Birthday Today - Five Salvador Dalí Persistence of Memory Melting Watches

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With tip of my sombrero to Salvador Dalí, whose genius persists in memory.

Periodically I, Geraldo (one of my nicknames), rate restaurants or experiences in Spain with 1-5 Salvador Dalí Persistence of Memory Melting Watches. You will find my ratings at the top of some posts.  Casa Lucio has been upgraded to five of five on my Salvador Dalí Persistence of Memory Melting Watches

 
  
Lucio Blásquez with his Virgen del Rocio pendant. This photo was published with a calendar featuring some of Spain's top restaurants. Photo by Gerry Dawes©2009. gerrydawes@aol.com

Casa Lucio is one of my favorite restaurants in Madrid. It is one of Madrid's best known restaurants and reservations are hard to come by, but Lucio Blásquez, Mari (his daughter) and Javier (one of his sons) treat me like a long-lost family member when I show up and somehow manage to find me a table. 

This time I went with my friend Harold Heckle, an English journalist who lives in Madrid and has been my dinner companion on my occasions at Casa Lucio.   Harold and I dined on huevos estrellados (fried potatoes with fried eggs "broken" over them); alubias con faisán (beans cooked with pheasant), a terrific solomillo (filet mignon) and arroz con leche with a caramelized crust, accompanied by a good bottle of Luís Cañas Rioja Tinto. 

For some years now, I have been  photographing all the waiters at Casa Lucio and tonight was the night I would get some of the ones I had missed (some have retired, new ones have taken their place on team.  I had photographed all of them, except for my friend from Ubrique Jose Luís, who was ill, got their names, the towns the come from and years of service, along with photos of Mari, Javier and Fernando (the son who runs Los Huevos de Lucio, across the street).

 With my great friend journalist Harold Heckle at Casa Lucio.

As usual, going to Casa Lucio was like coming home and after six months away from Madrid, I was long overdue for a homecoming.

On the same trip, one day I left Madrid Fusión early, around 3 p.m. and, because of a Madrid Taxi strike, I took the Madrid Metro, through at least three train changes, to the Latina station, which is around the corner from Casa Lucio.  I arrived just before 4 p.m., when Lucio was sitting down with friends and family for lunch at the family table in the bar area.  The called for another chair and made room for me to have lunch en familia.   Did I mention that I love Lucio, his son Javier (General Manager), daughter Mari (she runs Huevos de Lucio  across the street), his Chinchón-playing (a card game similar to Mus) buddies and a slew of the waiters at Lucio, many of whom are friends.  To see the full story of the luncheon at Lucio click on the link and see 1/29/2019 Lunch with Lucio at Casa Lucio, Cava Baja, Madrid. Ensalada, lechazo asado (roast suckling lamb) and plenty of Rioja Reserva Tinto.

 Gerry Dawes and legendary Casa Lucio owner Lucio Blásquez at lunch at Casa Lucio, Cava Baja, Madrid.

 

Two months later with Lucio, Mari Blásquez, Gerry Dawes and friends at lunch at Casa Lucio, Madrid, March 29, 2019.  There were plates of jamón Ibérico and excellent aged Manchego cheese, mejillones a la gallega, gambas al ajillo, callos a la Madrileña, potaje de garbanzos, bacalao fresco con tomate, pan perdido con helado, Marqués de Caceres Rosado and Cune Rioja Reserva Tinto. And a great time!

 Mejillones a la gallega.

 Gambas al ajillo.

Callos a la Madrileña.

Potaje de garbanzos. 

 Bacalao fresco con tomate.

 

Lucio with his Chinchón-playing (a card game similar to Mus) buddies after lunch at Casa Lucio.

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  Shall deeds of Caesar or Napoleon ring
More true than Don Quixote's vapouring?
Hath winged Pegasus more nobly trod
Than Rocinante stumbling up to God?

Poem by Archer M. Huntington inscribed under the Don Quixote on his horse Rocinante bas-relief sculpture by his wife, Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington,

in the courtyard of the Hispanic Society of America’s incredible museum at 613 W. 155th Street, New York City.

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About Gerry Dawes

My good friend Gerry Dawes, the unbridled Spanish food and wine enthusiast cum expert whose writing, photography, and countless crisscrossings of the peninsula have done the most to introduce Americans—and especially American food professionals—to my country's culinary life." -- Chef-restaurateur-humanitarian José Andrés, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Oscar Presenter 2019

Gerry Dawes is the Producer and Program Host of Gerry Dawes & Friends, a weekly radio progam on Pawling Public Radio in Pawling, New York (streaming live and archived at www.pawlingpublicradio.org and at www.beatofthevalley.com.)

Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià. 

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés. 

". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009. 

 

Pilot for a reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain & Travel Consulting on Spain  

Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@aol.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@gmail.com

Lunch with Lucio at Casa Lucio, Cava Baja, Madrid. Ensalada, Lechazo Asado (Roast Suckling Lamb) and Plenty of Rioja Reserva Tinto.

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 (Note:  All text & photographs, except when otherwise indicated, are by Gerry Dawes©2019.)
 

Gerry Dawes and legendary Casa Lucio owner Lucio Blásquez at lunch at Casa Lucio, Cava Baja, Madrid.

Today, I left Madrid Fusión early to have a late lunch (at 4:30 p.m.) at Casa Lucio, and because of the taxi strike in Madrid, I had to take three Metro lines an about 45 minutes to get the La Latina stop, which is around the block from Lucio, but it was worth it. I had been here Sunday night with my friend Harold Heckle and learned that my old friend,  the 86-year old legendary owner Lucio Blásquez, has because of his health and his age has now retired from dinner service and only comes to the restaurant during lunchtime, so I went specifically to see him.  

 Lucio's son Javier, General Manager of Casa Lucio, serving us lechazo asado, at lunch at Casa Lucio, Cava Baja, Madrid.

Lucio, his daughter Mari, son and general manager Javier and three of Lucio´s Chinchón card game* playing buddies made room for me at the family table. We had a superb lunch with lechazo asado (roast suckling lamb), great potatoes on the side, a good lettuce and onion salad, dressed with just the right amount of vinegar, Spanish Extra Virgen Olive Oil and sal gorda (sea salt), plus at my request they brought out a plate of excellent cherry tomatoes to put in the salad.  

 

Lechazo asado at Casa Lucio, Cava Baja, Madrid.

And there was plenty of Montecillo Rioja Reserva red wine from magnum. After lunch, Lucio and his friends began playing Chinchón, a card game that Lucio has played nearly every day (and many nights) of his adult life after lunch and/or dinner. 

  After lunch, Lucio and his friends began playing Chinchón, a card game that Lucio has played nearly every day (and many nights) of his adult life after lunch and/or dinner.

Casa Lucio is one of my favorite restaurants in Madrid. It is one of Madrid's best known restaurants and reservations are hard to come by, but Lucio Blásquez, Mari (his daughter) and Javier (one of his sons) treat me like a long-lost family member when I show up and somehow manage to find me a table. 

As usual, going to Casa Lucio was like coming home and after a year away from Madrid, seeing Lucio was long overdue.  (Kay and I and my great friend Harold Heckle and his girlfriend Ana Belén spent New Year´s Eve 2017 and rang in 2018 at another of Lucio´s restaurants, Viejo Madrid) across the street from Casa Lucio.)

 With Lucio, Mari and Javier Blásquez with their family and friends at Viejo Madrid celebrating la Noche Vieja (New Year´s Eve) 2018-2018.

 Harold Heckle, Kay Balun, Lucio Blásquezat Viejo Madrid celebrating la Noche Vieja (New Year´s Eve) 2018-2018.

(*Chinchón is a matching card game played in Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Cape Verde and other places. It is a close variant of Gin rummy, with which it shares the same objective: making sets, groups or runs, of matching cards. The name is spelled Txintxon in Basque and in Cape Verdean Creole. -- Wikipedia)

#CasaLucio# LucioBlázquez #JavierBlázquez  January 29, 2019

* * * * *

  Shall deeds of Caesar or Napoleon ring
More true than Don Quixote's vapouring?
Hath winged Pegasus more nobly trod
Than Rocinante stumbling up to God?

 

Poem by Archer M. Huntington inscribed under the Don Quixote on his horse Rocinante bas-relief sculpture by his wife, Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington,

in the courtyard of the Hispanic Society of America’s incredible museum at 613 W. 155th Street, New York City.

 _____________________________________________________________________________

 

About Gerry Dawes

My good friend Gerry Dawes, the unbridled Spanish food and wine enthusiast cum expert whose writing, photography, and countless crisscrossings of the peninsula have done the most to introduce Americans—and especially American food professionals—to my country's culinary life." -- Chef-restaurateur-humanitarian José Andrés, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Oscar Presenter 2019

Gerry Dawes is the Producer and Program Host of Gerry Dawes & Friends, a weekly radio progam on Pawling Public Radio in Pawling, New York (streaming live and archived at www.pawlingpublicradio.org and at www.beatofthevalley.com.)

Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià. 

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés. 

". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009. 

 

Pilot for a reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain & Travel Consulting on Spain  

Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@aol.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@gmail.com

Spain Chronicles: My Estimated 115th Round Trip to Spain (from the U. S.) Day One Madrid - My 17th (of 17) Year Attending The Madrid Fusión Gastronomic Conference

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(Note:  I figure that this trip, for The Madrid Fusión Gastronomic Conference and a jaunt through Andalucía, may have been #115 (round trips from the U. S.) and I was glad to be away from DumbFlandia!)

Gerry Dawes and Harold Heckle at the corner table under the bust of King Juan Carlos I, who used to frequent Casa Lucio.

Sunday, Jan. 27 Arrive Madrid

The flight from JFK - NYC arrived a little early.  There was a major taxi strike in Madrid.  I caught the Airport Express bus for 5 Euros to La Plaza de Cibeles, then caught the #1 city bus to the bus stop just by the Argüelles Metro Station and Madrid Hotel Courtyard by Marriott, Calle Princesa 40 was right there inside the big El Corte Ingles shopping center.   

The central Madrid traffic circle, La Plaza de Cibeles, one of the Madrid Airport Express Bus Stops.

I was given a room at the Marriott around 11 a.m. with no wait, got in to Room 1005 with the large Goya Family of Carlos IV painting hanging above the head of the bed, unpacked and took a nap.  I  almost asked to have my room changed, because I was uncomfortable under the hulking Goya portrait of the despicable corrupt royal family who sold Spain down the river to Napoleon, especially since it reminded me of our current situation in America.

The Family of Carlos IV, Prado Museum (1800. Oil on canvas)

"This portrait of the family of King Carlos IV (1748-1819)was painted in Aranjuez and Madrid in the spring and summer of 1800, shortly after Goya was named First Chamber Painter. It clearly show´s the artist´s mastery at individualizing characters. The forerunners to this complex composition are Louis-Michel van Loo´s Portrait of Felipe V and his Family (P02283) and Velázquez´s Las Meninas (P01174), both of which are in the Prado Museum Collection. The scene is presided over by Queen María Luisa de Parma (1751-1818) and King Carlos IV, at the center. Beside them are their children, the infante Francisco de Paula (1794-1865) and the infanta María Isabel (1789-1848). On the left are the Prince of Asturias and future Fernando VII (1784-1833), wearing blue; the infante Carlos María de Isidro (1788-1855), who was second in succession to the throne; the infanta María Josefa (1744-1801), who was the King´s sister; and an unidentified young woman. On the right are the infante Antonio Pascual (1755-1817), the King´s brother; a rendering in profile of Carlota Joaquina (1775-1830), Queen of Portugal and eldest daughter of the Monarchs and the Prince and Princess of Parma: infanta María Luisa (1782-1824) holding her son Carlos Luis (1799-1883); and her husband, Luis de Bourbon, the future King of Etruria. 

Of special interest here is the careful rendering of the clothing, which was the latest fashion at that time, and of the jewels, which may have been created by the Court Jeweler, Chopinot; as well as the honors, such as the sashs of the Order of Carlos III and of the recently-created Order of María Luisa, the Golden Fleece, and the crosses of the Immaculate Conception and Saint Genaro. The harmonious and clear yet complex composition reveals the artist´s mastery. The subtle definition of characters bears witness to the painter´s ability to analyze human beings. This work is listed in Madrid´s Royal Palace in 1814 and in the Prado Museum collection in 1824."

My friend, British journalist Harold Heckle came to my hotel, then we went down to the Arguelles subway station.  Harold generously purchased a 12.2 Euro refill on my Metro card, which still had 2 rides left from last year.  We took the Metro to la Puerta del Sol and walked through the Plaza Mayor and down Cava Baja to Casa Lucio.  It was a good walk on a beautiful day in Madrid, probably in the 60s, around low 40s, high 30s at night.

Journalist Harold Heckle, who lives and works in Madrid, at Casa Lucio with a glass of La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi and a plate of grilled mushrooms.

At Lucio, after I had greeted all the barmen, Lucio’s son Javier told us that Lucio does not come to the restaurant at night anymore and took us to a prime corner table under the bust of King Juan Carlos.  We had an ensalada, without the cebollas, just good lettuce and good small tomatoes in vinegar and oil. La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi 2012 and Cune Reserva 2014.  Alberdi was surprisingly good.We also had setas a la plancha (plancha grilled mushrooms) with two raw egg yolks (which I request, does not ordinarily come with the dish), huevos estrellados con patatas (fried eggs “broken” over fried potatoes) and alubias con faisan (beans with shredded pheasant and a couple of white whole onions) and for dessert, arroz con leche, rice pudding with Alicante style with a crème brulee caramelized crust.  

 

Grilled mushrooms with two raw egg yolks, which I order separately, to put on the hot mushrooms as a sauce, at Casa Lucio, Madrid, Jan. 27, 2019.

Alubias con faisán (beans with shredded pheasant and a couple of white whole onions) at Casa Lucio.  Photo by Harold Heckle.

Harold and I stayed talking until about 12:30 then we walked back through the Plaza Mayor, which was nearly deserted, to sparsely populated streets with few people around, probably because of the taxi strike and the hour, then to Metro Puerta del Sol, where we split up and I caught the #3 line to Argüelles, which was four stops, Callao, Plaza de España, Ventura Rodriguez, Argüelles, arrived at 1 a.m., talked to Kay on WhatsApp, worked on some e-mails and Facebook.  

 Not many people on the Madrid Metro on a Sunday night at 1 a.m.

 
I was way tired and went to bed.  Windows do not open in this hotel to let fresh air in.  Woke up twice feeling very dry, needed the humidifier we use at home, but I was very happy to be back in Madrid after a year's absence.  

_______________________________________________________________________________________  

 

About Gerry Dawes

"My good friend Gerry Dawes, the unbridled Spanish food and wine enthusiast cum expert whose writing, photography, and countless crisscrossings of the peninsula have done the most to introduce Americans—and especially American food professionals—to my country's culinary life." -- Chef-restaurateur-humanitarian José Andrés, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Oscar Presenter 2019

Gerry Dawes is the Producer and Program Host of Gerry Dawes & Friends, a weekly radio progam on WPWL 103.7 FM Pawling Public Radio in Pawling, New York.  Gerry Dawes & Friends can be heard live on Mondays from 7-8 p.m. and Saturdays from 2-3 p.m. at www.pawlingpublicradio.org

Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. He was a finalist for the 2001 James Beard Foundation's Journalism Award for Best Magazine Writing on Wine, won The Cava Institute's First Prize for Journalism for his article on cava in 2004, was awarded the CineGourLand “Cinéfilos y Gourmets” (Cinephiles & Gourmets) prize in 2009 in Getxo (Vizcaya) and received the 2009 Association of Food Journalists Second Prize for Best Food Feature in a Magazine for his Food Arts article, a retrospective piece about Catalan star chef, Ferran Adrià. 

In December, 2009, Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés. 

". . .That we were the first to introduce American readers to Ferran Adrià in 1997 and have ever since continued to bring you a blow-by-blow narrative of Spain's riveting ferment is chiefly due to our Spanish correspondent, Gerry "Mr. Spain" Dawes, the messianic wine and food journalist raised in Southern Illinois and possessor of a self-accumulated doctorate in the Spanish table. Gerry once again brings us up to the very minute. . ." - - Michael & Ariane Batterberry, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher and Founding Editor/Publisher, Food Arts, October 2009. 
 

Pilot for a reality television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain & Travel Consulting on Spain  

Gerry Dawes can be reached at  gerrydawes@aol.com; Alternate e-mail (use only if your e-mail to AOL is rejected): gerrydawes@spanishartisanwine.com

Jim Budd on Jim's Loire "Pancho Campo MW: investigation or witch hunt?" Plus Robert Parker's "This blogger. . ." and Links to Other Stories in The Ongoing The Pancho Campo-Jay Miller-Robert M. Parker, Jr. The Wine Advocate Controversy

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Pancho Campo MW: investigation or witch hunt? by Jim Budd

Pancho Campo MW – Vinos de Madrid: a response from Robert Parker

Top 10 drinks stories of 2011 The Drinks Business (The controversy is #8) 

Links to Other Stories on The Pancho Campo-Jay Miller-Robert M. Parker, Jr. The Wine Advocate Controversy:

• The Institute of Masters of Wine Launches An Inves...
• El Silencio de los Corderos, The Silence of the La...
• UPDATE (Dec. 15 & 16) to An Explosive Article From...
• The Worst Taste* of Campo and Miller: Another Top...
• A long, hard look at the Spanish cash for access s...
• American Tom Perry, a Long-time Veteran Wineman Li...
• According to Recently "Retired" Spanish wine crit...
• "(Robert M.) Parker is God’s fool for associating ...
• David Schildknecht of The Wine Advocate's Statemen...
• Ryan Opaz of Catavino to Pancho Campo: "You just ...
• My hat is off to you Mr. Pancho Campo. Andrés Aré...
• Robert M. Parker Jr.'s Ethical Standards
• The Wine Advocate's Robert M. Parker, Jr. Did He ...
• Neal Martin, Jay Miller's replacement for reviewin...
• No Way!! Under Pressure Over the Mounting Pancho ...
• Spain's Top Writer José Peñin on the Pancho Campo-...
• From Kosolo on Wine, The Hades of Parker ". . . th...
• Who pays wine critics? The Pancho Campo, MW - Jay...

_________________________________________________________________

About Gerry Dawes

Gerry Dawes was awarded Spain's prestigious Premio Nacional de Gastronomía (National Gastronomy Award) in 2003. He writes and speaks frequently on Spanish wine and gastronomy and leads gastronomy, wine and cultural tours to Spain. 
 
Dawes was awarded the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in a profile written by José Andrés, the 2011 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef
 

Trailer for a proposed television series on wine, gastronomy, culture and travel in Spain.
 

Experience Spain With Gerry Dawes: Customized Culinary, Wine & Cultural Trips to Spain & Travel Consulting on Spain

Gerry Dawes can be reached at gerrydawes@aol.com.