What to eat in Madrid
Madrid eats late and standing: cocido on Wednesdays, a fried squid sandwich, tortilla, ham cut by weight, vermouth before lunch and churros at dawn.

[ ] Eat cocido madrileño
    Chickpeas stewed with meat, vegetables and sausages, served in three stages: first the broth with noodles, then the chickpeas and vegetables, then all the meat. A whole day's lunch, traditionally on Wednesdays.
[ ] Get a bocadillo de calamares
    A roll packed with lightly battered squid rings, no sauce and nothing else. The city's signature paradox: the landlocked capital's street sandwich is made of seafood.
[ ] Try tortilla de patatas
    A thick omelette with potatoes softened in olive oil, with or without onion, which is Spain's great culinary argument. The centre should stay slightly runny.
[ ] Try jamón ibérico
    Cured ham from the black Iberian pig, hand-cut into near-transparent slices. The top grade is de bellota, from pigs fattened on acorns in oak pasture.
[ ] Try callos a la madrileña
    Beef tripe stewed with chorizo, blood sausage and chickpeas in a thick, spiced sauce. A winter dish from old taverns, traditionally served on Fridays.
[ ] Order huevos rotos
    Fried potatoes under eggs with runny yolks that you break and stir into the plate, usually topped with ham or chorizo. Simple and never bad.
[ ] Try gambas al ajillo
    Prawns in boiling olive oil with garlic and chilli, served in an earthenware dish straight from the flame. The oil matters more than the prawns and is mopped up to the last drop.
[ ] Try croquetas
    Breadcrumbed balls of thick béchamel with ham, cod or mushroom, molten inside and crisp outside. Homemade ones use yesterday's meat, and those are the best.
[ ] Have a tostada con tomate
    The Madrid breakfast: toasted bread with grated tomato, olive oil and salt, often with ham laid on top. Ordered with a café con leche around nine in the morning.
[ ] Do a tapeo bar crawl
    The Madrid way of dining: one drink and one small plate per bar, then move on. Nobody spends the whole evening in one place, and that is the point.
[ ] Have churros con chocolate
    Strips of fried dough dipped in a thick hot chocolate. Eaten at breakfast or at four in the morning after a long night, but never as an after-dinner dessert.
[ ] Try tarta de Santiago
    A flat flourless almond cake marked with the cross of Saint James in icing sugar. Galician by origin but available in any decent Madrid pastry shop.
[ ] Try torrijas in season
    Bread soaked in cinnamon milk, fried and finished with honey or syrup. An Easter dessert that appears in Madrid pastry shops a month before Holy Week.
[ ] Drink horchata de chufa
    A cold sweet drink made from tiger nuts, plant-based and nutty. In Madrid it is sold in pastry shops and dedicated kiosks from late spring.
[ ] Have vermut de grifo before lunch
    Red vermouth from the tap over ice with orange and an olive, drunk at midday on weekends. In Madrid going for a vermut means the whole outing, not just the drink.
[ ] Try tinto de verano
    Red wine over ice with lemon soda — what Spaniards actually drink in summer instead of sangria. In Madrid sangria is mostly ordered by visitors, which is a fact rather than snobbery.

Checklist from Unload: https://unloads.me/c/food-madrid