Restaurant Week is only good if you get the full Monte

This is a long over-due follow-up to last month's Restaurant Week. We went to Taberna del Alabadero and it was pretty good. With the exception of a few establishments, most places do an abbreviated menu for the week. Taberna was no exception.

We rarely go out for this promotion for that very reason, but G figured as long as they take corkage, and they're good on regular nights, then an abbreviated menu would not be so bad. And it was not bad at all.



I love the vintage photographs and the opulent red wallpaper everywhere. (A great warm-up to our spring Madrid trip.)

We brought this bottle of rioja...

Apparently they were celebrating their 20th anniversary. Good for them.

A little sparkling before dinner...

I had the calamari salad. Boring.

But G had the DELICIOUS sweet breads in a creamy sauce with a bit of balsamic to start...

The duck was okay...

...as was G's beef tenderloin

For dessert, I had the simple rice pudding, which was warm and soupy. I liked it a lot. It's a child's dessert and not very inventive, but good nonetheless.

G had the very basic flan.

Overall, the food was fine. I know I can get better from this place on a normal week. It's just for restaurant week, this menu doesn't do the place justice, which is the nature of the Restaurant Week beast. Next time I'll go to a place like 1789 (if I can get a reservation) to get the full Monte for a great price.