The junction of the lines to Seville, Granada, and
Algeceiras is Bobadilla, and there all trains wait for
half-an-hour that the passengers may feed. The meal
is quite a good sample of Spanish cookery, and it is
fortunate that this is the case, for English travellers
coming from Gibraltar generally have their first ex-
perience here of the Spanish cuisine. Soup or eggs,
according to the time of day, an entree, a joint, and
fish form the menu of the usual meal. I kept a note
296 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe
of a meal I ate at this railway buffet, and find that an
omelette, one of the light ones, stewed beef and chick-
beans, a ragout of veal, fish fried in butter, and cheese
were the dishes I was given. The garlic I thought
had been rubbed in with too heavy a hand, but other-
wise the meal was excellent. A very beautiful Anda-
lusian used to be the presiding Hebe at the bar, but
this pleasant sight to travellers’ eyes has now vanished.
Probably the pretty lady has married and retired.
Granada
The great delicacy of Granada are the Traveles
hams, chestnut-fed and snow-cured. They are ob-
tainable only in the mountain town of Traveles, near
Granada, and the pig-breeders are so jealous of possible
imitations that every genuine ham is branded with
the corporation stamp of the town. Grilled trout
from the adjacent river Darro are delightful eating,
and the flavour of the small wild strawberries from
the Alhambra gardens is as pleasant as those of
the Alps.
The Alhambra Palace Hotel, which is quite close
to the Alhambra, is the newest hotel in Granada, and
The Alhambra is said to be up to date in its cookery.
Palace Xt is owned by a large landed proprietor
of the province, the Duque de San Pedro, and it was
opened by King Alfonso on New Year’s Day 1910.
The Washington Irving and the Siete Suelos Hotels,
the two houses always patronised by the British and
Washington Americans en voyage , before the Al-
Irving hambra Palace Hotel was built, are
opposite to each other near the Alhambra, and are both
under the same management. The cookery at these
hotels is sometimes quite good, for Spain ; sometimes
it is not. When I last stayed at the Washington
Irving a decade ago the two hotels were in one of
Spain 297
their indifferent cooking states. Now I am told both
hotels are catering very well for their visitors, stimu-
lated, no doubt, by the rivalry of the new hotel.
Don Jose Nunoz, the proprietor of the Washington
Irving and the Siete Suelos, is a great authority on
ibex shooting, and is also a notable gourmet, and any
one who has the pleasure of carrying an introduction
to him will learn of all the sporting possibilities of the
country, and also of all the local plats worth tasting.
The cookery of the Siete Suelos is considered
to be more distinctivelv Spanish than .
that or its neighbour.
Jerez
Page 163
Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The junction of the lines to Seville, Granada, and Algeciras is Bobadilla, and there all trains wait for half-an-hour that the passengers may feed. The meal is quite a good sample of Spanish cookery, and it is fortunate that this is the case, for English travellers coming from Gibraltar generally have their first experience here of the Spanish cuisine. Soup or eggs, according to the time of day, an entree, a joint, and fish form the menu of the usual meal. I kept a note
296 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe
of a meal I ate at this railway buffet, and find that an omelette, one of the light ones, stewed beef and chickbeans, a ragout of veal, fish fried in butter, and cheese were the dishes I was given. The garlic I thought had been rubbed in with too heavy a hand, but otherwise the meal was excellent. A very beautiful Andalusian used to be the presiding Hebe at the bar, but this pleasant sight to travellers’ eyes has now vanished. Probably the pretty lady has married and retired.
Granada
The great delicacy of Granada are the Trevélez hams, chestnut-fed and snow-cured. They are obtainable only in the mountain town of Trevélez, near Granada, and the pig-breeders are so jealous of possible imitations that every genuine ham is branded with the corporation stamp of the town. Grilled trout from the adjacent river Darro are delightful eating, and the flavour of the small wild strawberries from the Alhambra gardens is as pleasant as those of the Alps.
The Alhambra Palace Hotel, which is quite close to the Alhambra, is the newest hotel in Granada, and The Alhambra is said to be up to date in its cookery. Palace Xt is owned by a large landed proprietor
of the province, the Duque de San Pedro, and it was opened by King Alfonso on New Year’s Day 1910.
The Washington Irving and the Siete Suelos Hotels, the two houses always patronised by the British and Washington Americans en voyage , before the Al- Irving hambra Palace Hotel was built, are
opposite to each other near the Alhambra, and are both under the same management. The cookery at these hotels is sometimes quite good, for Spain ; sometimes it is not. When I last stayed at the Washington Irving a decade ago the two hotels were in one of
Spain 297
their indifferent cooking states. Now I am told both hotels are catering very well for their visitors, stimulated, no doubt, by the rivalry of the new hotel. Don Jose Nunoz, the proprietor of the Washington Irving and the Siete Suelos, is a great authority on ibex shooting, and is also a notable gourmet, and any one who has the pleasure of carrying an introduction to him will learn of all the sporting possibilities of the country, and also of all the local plats worth tasting.
The cookery of the Siete Suelos is considered to be more distinctively Spanish than that of its neighbour.
that or its neighbour.
Jerez