Churros y chocolate

We heard that Madrid got cold in the winter.  However, having braved snowy winters in the American midwest and in Scandinavia, we thought we could handle Spain.  But, even we will admit that things get a bit chilly here in January and February.  Fortunately, there is a way great to keep warm -- churros y chocolate!

There are many places in town to get thick, rich cups of chocolate and the accompanying fried dough sticks.  If you're staying in the city center, you'll probably have heard of Chocolateria San Gines, the classic 24-hour place for chocolate in Madrid.  There's also the Valor chain of chocolate stores.  Either place would make a great start or end to your day. 

In our experience, you want to find somewhere that has freshly fried churros so look for big vats of oil in plain sight to be sure you're getting the freshest possible.  After extensive research, we recommend La Antigua Churreria.  There are three locations in town, but due to close proximity, we've gone back to the Conde de Peñalver 32 location several times (Metro: Goya).  The place has a terrific vibe with lots of neighborhood families and friends stopping by for an early evening (7-8 PM) snack.  Two cups of chocolate and one order of churros come to about 6 euros.

Warning: There's lots to like about the vibe at La Antigua, but the store closes early around 9 PM.  So, don't think of the churros y chocolate as a late night thing at this store, but rather, as an early spoil-your-dinner kind of snack.  You might even think of churros for a mid-morning break at 11 AM so you can make through the day to a 3 PM Spanish lunch.

Yum

Update: We stopped by San Gines on a Sunday morning around noon.  We'll admit that that chocolate was good and the churros were fresh.  The store is charming and worth taking the extra time to find on Pasadizo de San Ginés, 5, near the San Gines church and west of Puerta del Sol.  It is, however, very touristy.  You'll like it though.