Madrid

Maria Paz Moreno is an essayist, poet, and literary critic. She is Professor of Spanish at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. A native of Spain, her research focuses on the Literature and Gastronomy of her native country. Moreno is the author of seven books of poetry and several scholarly books and critical editions , among them El culturalismo en la poesía de Juan Gil-Albert [Cultural References in the Poetry of Juan Gil-Albert] (2000), , and De la página al plato. El libro de cocina en España [From the Page to the Plate: The Spanish Cookbook] (2012). She is the Editor of the Cincinnati Romance Review monographic issue Writing about Food: Culinary Literature in the Hispanic World (2012).

• ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1Before Madrid: The Flavors of the Iberian PeninsulaChapter 2Too Many Kings Spoil the Broth Chapter 3A New Era of Creative CuisineChapter 4Madrid, A Gastronome’s Playground: Markets and Food Retailing through History Chapter 5Historic Cookbooks Chapter 6Historic Restaurants, Tabernas and CafésChapter 7Madrid’s Traditional Dishes NotesBibliography Index

Essayist and professor Moreno’s comprehensive guidebook, part of the Big City Food Biographies series, covers the historical and contemporary food scene in a city that has become known for its inventive eating and drinking establishments. While the entries about the prehistory of Madrid tend towards the encyclopedic, the author hits her stride when she gets to the last couple of centuries, during which the change in cuisine has accelerated markedly. Illustrated with photos by the author and others, the book’s lush descriptions of neighborhood markets and restaurants, with particular emphasis on those that have been serving customers since the nineteenth century and before, will give tourists plenty of places to explore and armchair visitors reasons to envy them. Excerpts from historic cookbooks, including one for stuffing partridges with sardines and another that puts turducken to shame, are entertaining if occasionally appalling....[and] the adventurous will be tempted to experiment with them.