Estado Puro

I think I just need to go back to Spain. There's just no substitute for eating tapas in Madrid until the wee-hours of the night/morning. These are photos from a hip and funky tapas bar called Estado Puro that Andrew and I chanced upon in Madrid. Below: Patatas bravas (brave potatoes!), mejillones tigres (tiger mussels), huevo frito con chipirones (fried egg with baby squid).

Chez Bahia

This was another favorite little hole-in-the-wall during our time in Marrakech, Chez Bahia on Riad Zitoune El Kdim, serving up bubbling hot tagines like no other. We ate here almost every other day and came back for one last hurrah on our last day in Marrakech. My personal favorite was the chicken and olive tagine, although Andrew really loved the rabbit, tomato and almond tagine. That's the owner standing in the doorway at the bottom photo. Something about the upside-down funnel of the tagine top keeps the moisture and flavor of the meat locked in, so everything is incredibly savory and tender when served.

Fresh OJ Stand, Jemaa el Fna

After gallivanting around Marrakech under the hot Moroccan sun, we gulped down glasses of fresh OJ from this vendor in the Jemaa el Fna, the central square of Marrakech.

Restaurant Andalus

Our first dinner in Tangier, Morocco after taking the train from Madrid to the southern port town of Algeciras and then taking the ferry to cross the Straits of Gibraltar into Tangier. This little hole in the wall Restaurant Andalus in Tangier served up a piping hot and perfectly cooked dish of fish and fries, with a little twist of lime to taste. I love deceptively simple foods that are cooked to perfection!