Asador Tapería Mahou

Friday, December 16, 2011

Yesterday both Susan and I had an appointment with Jorge at 11:00 for a haircut. We decided to walk the two plus miles to the shop and got there at 11:05. To say the shop was backed up would be an understatement. We had to wait for two hours before they took Susan for a shampoo. I assumed that with Christmas approaching Jorge was doing an excellent business in the hair-coloring department. It was fascinating for me who does not frequent hair salons to watch all that goes into a dye job – the coloring, the drying, the washing, the styling, the spraying.

My turn came at 1:30 and it started with a shampoo while I sat in the massage chair. Jorge then cut my hair and trimmed back my beard. That was followed by yet another shampoo. Then they put product in my hair and dried it and styled it. I looked a bit more human at the end of the process. The bill for both haircuts was 53 Euros. When we walked out the door it was 2:15 and it was time for lunch.

We gave some thought to eating at La Lambrusquería, but on our way there we passed by an asador that looked promising and so we decided to give it a try. The name of the restaurant was Asador Tapería Mahou. Mahou is one of the brands of beer that is made and sold in Spain. It turns out that this was the site of one of the placed in Valencia where the beer was actually brewed. They still have one of the old brewing vats in place just as you walk through the door Our server offered us a choice of tables and we sat down to peruse the menu.

We decided on the house salad and a steak. The house salad, in addition to the usual complement of vegetables, had bits of smokes salmon and was topped with a sprinkling of black Norwegian caviar. The steak was delivered to the table on a sizzling grill and we let the steak cook to its desired doneness. The steak was accompanied by a ratatouille and some potatoes that had been sautéed in olive oil and garlic. We chose a bottle of Ars Romántica, which turned out to be a delightful red from the Ribera del Duero region. We were so full at meal’s end that we passed on both dessert and coffee.

Our waiter was very charming and very professional. Originally from Rumania, he has spent three years in France before coming to Valencia some eighteen years ago. At meal’s end he gave us a little present, a hand vibrator with a USB plug, and two glasses of Mistela, which is a the local version of Muscatel wine. We waddled out of the restaurant at 3:45 and began the walk back home.

Susan and I walked as far as the train station where we parted because I had a 4:30 meeting with Miquel Soriano to talk about the best way to contact magical societies to let them know about Magic Agora and to invite the participation of their members. That meeting lasted about an hour after which I made my way home. When I got home there was a message from Pepe telling me that tonight’s meeting of los veteranos was going to take place at the home of Paco d’Andrés.

That was very good news because Paco had recently undergone surgery for the removal of a growth on his neck and was now at home recuperating. We had not seen him for a couple of weeks and all of us were heartened to discover that, in spite of the fact that he was still feeling some pain, he was ready to jump back into the world of magic.

The usual crowd was there. Gurrea did a cute card trick with top hats and bunnies. Paquito did a trio of Triumph effects that were most impressive and I performed a Peter Duffie effect based on a Jim Steinmeyer idea and an effect that Dean Dill had taught me just before we left for Spain. Our meeting broke up at 9:45 and the usual discussion of where to go to grab a bite ensued. We ended up at a place called La Cueva, which is located around the corner from Pepe’s house. The food was rather ordinary, but it satisfied our hunger. I headed home after that and walked through the door around midnight.

Susan was awake and reading in bed. I decided to give Rachel a call and I got her on the first try. She is doing well and getting things in order for her trip to Seattle next week. Work is keeping her well occupied, but she still has time to pursue other activities. Susan went to bed after we hung up from Rachel and I stayed up a bit longer to let my late supper digest. I gave up the ghost at 1:00.