We at Wagoners Abroad see our fair share of tourist things, but what we really enjoy is finding those gems that show the interesting cultural items of a city or country. This includes not only seeing, but experiencing how the locals do things. Spending a few hours in their shoes is a fantastic way to better understand people. With the help of Paula at Devour Madrid Food Tour, she was able to show us a few of the gems in her neighborhood of Huertas.
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To highlight my favorite parts of the Madrid food tour, I’ll use a handy-dandy guide to indicate what type of gem to which I’m referring. The gems are:
- K – Knowledge
- F – Food
- L – Local
Now obviously, there’s some overlap, and I’m just having a bit of fun, so don’t take the categories too seriously. I won’t cover every part of the tour, but just my favorite parts.
Starting Off in Huertas
What good is a tour without an awesome tour guide? Right off the bat we could tell that Paula was going to be fun. Her enthusiasm was infectious. When we first met our group, she gave us a quick run-down of what we would be doing.
I Hear My Stomach Growling
Now what’s the most important thing to bring when you’re searching for gems? Why your appetite of course! Paula didn’t disappoint on this front. She showed us some of the best restaurants in Madrid.
We got our sugar fix, time for a little salt!
With our energy up, Paula showed us around Huertas neighborhood, bringing us to a tiny little nondescript shop.
The bag was full of fresh, warm potato chips when we got it, but they were quickly eaten. Even though food was involved, this is one of those cool places that your everyday tourist would just walk by, and not know what goes on in this tiny little corner of Huertas.




The translation (not mine) is:
I looked upon my native country’s walls,
if once they were strong, now they were decayed,
fatigued by time’s inevitable race,
by which their former valor now must fade.
Feeding My Brain
Inside the store are so many different food items. Jellies and jams with all sorts of different fruits. Different meats and morsels that are making me hungry again. We got to meet the owner, and in the back there are some jars set out for us.
Game on!
Paula has us taste the first one, and asks us what it is. Everyone got it right…except me. It was banana, and I guessed apple. Hey, I was just warming up.
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Living (and Shopping) Like A Local
When you think of doing what the locals do, what comes to mind? For me, it’s going to the market. Experiencing the local market in Huertas was a fantastic way to pretend we were locals.
Look at the picture, and you can see they love their olives. I’m not a huge olive fan, but I did like a few of the milder ones. Anya and Heidi are the olive aficionados, and went back for seconds and thirds.
Hamming it up with a little something extra
Now I’m not a big fan of Spanish ham, so what Paula suggested was a cured/sliced beef called Cecina. I’ve seen this a hundred times, and thought it was ham, so had never sampled it. It was very tasty, and I’ll be trying that again.



We’re Becoming Big Fans of Madrid
Throughout Huertas, the street signs are these beautiful 3×3 tiles with various pictures on them. I can’t remember the name of the artist, but they all have a great story behind them.




As far as the meats go, there was Jamón Serrano, salchicha (similar to sausage), and chorizo (similar to pepperoni). I’ve tried salchicha and chorizo, but if something looks like pepperoni, it should taste like pepperoni. The Spanish typically eschew spicy things, so their chorizo is not spicy. But the owner had a huge surprise for me.
I tasted the chorizo, and it had a good kick. My face lit up as I was eating it, and he and Paula smiled. This was fantastic chorizo! Not only did I eat mine, I ate Anya’s, and finished the community plate. We’re ordering some of that and having it shipped to Almuñécar!
On the wine front, we had a red wine, and a white. The red was based on the Tempranillo, but it was the white wine that won me over. It was a nice little number made from the Verdejo variety. It was light and sweet, and introduced us to a new type of wine that we’ll be having again.
Here’s a little tidbit. If you ever meet someone, and they say they’re from Madrid ask them:
“Eres un gato?” AIR-ez oon GOT-oh?
Chances are, they’ll give you a surprised look and a smile, and they’ll tell you “Yes” or “No”. Madrid is an amazingly diverse city which brings in people from many countries. A Gato (cat) is someone from Madrid, vs. someone who has moved there.
It’s A Madrid Food Tour Wrap!
What a fantastic adventure and we visited a few more places as well. I hate to call it just a tour with all of those great places Paula took us to. So remember when you travel, that is cool to see the “big stuff”, but don’t forget the easily-overlooked gems that show the true culture of the area you’re visiting.
























Devour Madrid – Huertas Neighborhood Food & Market Tour
Website: This tour is no longer offered by Devour Malaga, but you may click here for best options on prices and availability.
Disclosure: Our experience with the Huertas Neighborhood Food & Market Tour was provided by Devour Madrid, and all opinions are our own.