DO ‘THE CHICKEN WALK’
After a day or two touring the nexus of sights around Sol, you might be feeling a little cooped up. It might be time to shake your wings. It might be time to get out of the city and into the ‘countryside.’ It might be time for ‘The Chicken Walk’.
When we ran a tapas restaurant back in the United States, this was my number one recommendation to guests planning their own trips to Madrid: Begin outside the Royal Palace and walk to Casa Mingo for roasted chicken and cider. Then walk back.
“So, it’s not tapas?” the guests would ask, confused.
“Exactly!” I’d say.
‘The Chicken Walk’ involves three of my favorite activities when discovering a city: 1) ambling with purpose off the usual, well-tread tourist path 2) dining at a place that does one thing and does that one thing very well and 3) finding an important cultural sight.
Being the center of the Spanish universe, Madrid pulls its regional cuisines from all over the country into its orbit. Casa Mingo has been an outpost for the verdant, rolling countryside of Asturias since 1888. Originally set up to give Asturian railroad workers a taste of home, the menu has remained unchanged ever since. Despite its stature as a dining institution, Casa Mingo’s prices remain modest.
The interior of Casa Mingo smacks of no-nonsense. Upon entering you’re greeted by the giant rotating spits of chicken which seem to say, “that’s what you’ll eat.” The barrels of stacked cider along the wall say, “that’s what you’ll drink.” The mess hall layout of wooden tables and chairs says, “that’s where you’ll sit.”
The Royal Palace presides over the Manzanares River and the surrounding Casa de Campo to the west. Since there are large swaths of green space below, it’s not hard to imagine its former status as the royal hunting grounds. You might also recognize the land from paintings in the Prado, a grounds for 18th and 19th century gentry to trot their carriages out for fancy picnics.
Until about 20 years ago, you would have spotted the M-30 highway along the Manzanares River, turning this ‘Chicken Walk’ into a game of Frogger. Urban planning at its finest has since buried the highway and built a sprawling park that you can now traverse on your way to roast chicken.
Your walking instructions are simple. Start at the top of the hill near the Royal Palace and walk down. When you get to the river, turn right. Follow the river around the bend until you see the Francisco de Goya Monument. Goya sits in a chair holding what appears to be an empty plate of roast chicken – but historians tell me it’s actually his painting palette.
Walk past Goya and you’ll see Casa Mingo. You’ll also see the twin Chapels of San Antonio de la Florida. One chapel houses original ceiling frescos by Goya and serves as the resting place for most of his body (when he was moved there in 1919 from France, he was allegedly missing his head). The second chapel is for actual services, leaving the original as a tiny art museum for you to enjoy before or after your meal next door.
I prefer Casa Mingo for lunch. Get there right when it opens at noon. By the time you order some cider, the seats will be filling in all around you. By the time you mop up chicken juices with your bread, it will be completely full.
Staff is pleasant enough to small children and toddlers, but don’t expect any special treatment or menus. Tables and chairs are tightly packed together, so getting there early also gives you some time before your children inevitably encroach on someone else’s meal. They allowed us to stow our collapsible double stroller in the back near the restrooms.
Full disclosure, I have a memory scar from my first trip to this temple of chicken in 2010; consequently I leave nothing to chance. After a long day of festivities that included a Champions League soccer match, I dragged my new wife and in-laws by force of will, determined to partake in the pollo. It was late and raucous, but we were shown a table immediately. The waiter greeted us by letting us know they were out of chicken. Sigh. I vowed to myself, “never again.”
With a belly full of chicken and cider, it’s now time for the return back to central Madrid. The birds’ songs may sound a little brighter. It’s probably a little warmer than you remember. You might consider shedding your jacket. As you approach the bend in the Manzanares River below the Royal Palace, you may want to toss your jacket down on the grass and use it as a blanket. My ‘Chicken Walk’ often ends with a nap in the sun. Besides, the rest of the day is still ahead.