TIE card and La Alpargata

 27 December, 2019

Today I went to pick up my Tarjeta de Identidad Extranjero (TIE), which is my combination Spanish Identification card and residency permit. This is a photo of the line we have to wait in to collect the card.

Finally legal! It feels like turning 21 again...

To celebrate, I took myself to lunch at a little restaurant inside the Mercado San Fernando (marketplace). Marketplaces here typically have lots of eateries inside as well as vendors. The more trendy ones sometimes have an entire floor of just eateries (like the food court in a mall, only 100x more crowded).

The one I went to is called La Alpargata, which is a type of handmade shoe with a canvas top and a rope sole, worn by both men and women.. In English I think they are called espadrilles. From the picture, it looks like they have fond memories of being whupped by abuela (grandma) with a slipper!

This restaurant is one I have been wanting to try because it has vegan versions of traditional Spanish foods. It did not disappoint. The menu is small and the restaurant was even smaller, only a few barstools and tall tables.

Here is a vegan version of one of the most popular foods in Spain, the tortilla de patata (potato omelette). The name has nothing to do with Latin American style tortillas, which are known here as "tortilla mexicana". The word tortilla translates as "little cake", so I can see how it evolved in both cases.

I ordered the albondigas de mijo con salsa de pimientos (millet meatballs with red pepper sauce). It was 100% delicious, and I used the bread to scrape up every drop of the sauce. I don't know whether that is a faux pas here or not and I don't care!