Menu

 

View a pdf of the Cafe Madriz Restaurant Menu

View a pdf of the Cafe Madriz Catering Menu

History

“My passion for food started at a very early age, watching my grandma, Vicenta, prepare outrageous “banquets” for the Sunday lunch family tradition. Even though the gathering did not have more that 7-8 people, grandma Vicenta would make enough food to feed a soccer stadium.”

- Owner & Chef, Elena DeDiego Also influenced by Vicenta’s cooking were her daughter and my aunt, Pili, who along with her husband, started a restaurant in downtown Madrid back in the 1990s. Within months that restaurant became a success and a few years later, they opened a second restaurant. I worked for them for a few years while in College. I have been working in the hospitality industry for over 10 years. I even started a small Spanish food booth called ‘El Chiringuito” in 2004 and served traditional Spanish dishes at the Bozeman Farmer’s Market. Since then, it has been my dream to open an authentic Spanish restaurant and Cafe Madriz is it!”

What's in a Name

Why Madriz and not Madrid? Very common is to hear that Spaniards (and specially Madrilenos) speak with a lisp. We tend to either drop the d at the end of the word (and say Madri) or change the ‘d’ for a ‘z’ which is what I do!

History of Tapas

The word ‘tapa’ literally means cover or lid. It is thought to have originally referred to the complimentary plate of appetizers that many tascas (bars/pubs) would place on top of one’s wine glass, like a cover. With origins widely believed to be in Seville, bartenders would cover (or tapar) wine glasses with a small plate in order to protect the drink from fruit flies. Soon they took to placing a simple slice of ham on top of this plate, an addition that naturally appealed to bar patrons. Seeing the possibilities of attracting more customers, the bar owners began varying the ‘tapas’, adorning the little plates that came with each drink, and the widespread national and international phenomenon known as tapas got its start.

Origins of Spanish Cuisine

I am constantly amazed to find how little the world knows about Spanish cuisine and how it has become confused with the cooking of the rest of the Spanish-speaking world. In Spain, the food is not hot and spicy, nor does it include tamales, tacos, enchiladas or frijoles. The cooking of Spain is subtle and refined, as well as simple and it is the product of many centuries of fine eating. While eating habits and hours are more or less uniform throughout Spain, cooking can be quite different. Spain by no means has a national cuisine. Each region of Spain is a cultural and gastronomic world in itself, defying generalization. Spanish cooking has popular roots. It is the people’s cuisine. Most of it is down-to-earth, uncomplicated food, based on the ingredients available locally or the crops grown regionally. Mountains run through Spain in several directions, acting as natural barriers to communication and making transportation difficult until the last half of the 20th century. This is one of the reasons why cooking differs so much from region to region.