Fashion Alert- Totally Sweet Restaurant!

by Laurel

It was Easter Sunday yesterday, and we were just exploring Plaza Mayor (Major Plaza) the day before. We came across a cute little restaurant buried like your taxes under business papers in a corner. We looked once at the Easter Menu. Twice. Three times. Possibly even more. Mom couldn't believe her eyes. There was a mouth-watering selection of shellfish bisque, torrijas (really good french-toasty things), fruit salad, and more delicious selections of meat and veggies. We booked a table for four and while Mom and Dad were staring at the tapas in a display case, Bryce and I ventured downstairs to the seating part. We were amazed at what we saw. Tall brick cavern-like arches adorned the walls and ceiling. A small mahogany bar sat at the front of an L-shaped room. Bottles of every color imaginable were carefully placed next to others on a wooden shelf. Three empty swivel stools stood at the foot of the bar, waiting for someone to ease themselves onto the black leather cushions. About twenty tables in a small room had white tablecloths draped over their wooden surfaces. I backed up the stairs with Bryce at my heels, and we bounded over to our parents.
"Well," Mom asked, her eyes glinting, "How was downstairs?"
I squeak out an "Amazing!" and Bryce agrees with me by saying "Awesome!"

                                            The Next Day

We get all dressed up, waiting in our fancy clothes for the rest of the family. I nearly trip over the heels of my jeans as I race down the stairs, following an almost-as-eager-but-faster-than-me Bryce. We walk the way to Plaza Mayor. Every step seems to be a lifetime. We reach the plaza at about nine, a little early for Spaniards to have dinner (Most have it at about ten). We check into the restaurant and after a little confusion, a waiter leads us downstairs. A waiter is at the bar then, looking crisp and clean in a sharp white tuxedo. We sit down at a table with a tan tablecloth. Tonight, all the tablecloths are tan. The waiter takes a long time (I think they do that purposely!) to come back to our table and take the order. It takes about another thirty minutes for him to come back with food. Yummm...... bisque for Mom, soup for me and Bryce. When we finish, the waiter takes our plates and comes back with a second course. Mom is the only one with a plate in front of her, because me, Bryce, and Dad didn't order a second dish. When Mom's plate is cleared, the waiter comes back with a huge pan of paella- Dad's meal. We had to take some home because it was so big. When Dad finished his servings of paella, again the waiter took the pan away and came back with dessert- yummy torrijas- and Dad's wrapped-up paella. We finished the torrijas in eight bites- literally. Bryce was fencing off with his fork the family member who came to eat. Everybody at least had some torrija. All in all, it was really good, and I want to go there again!