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Mesón del Champiñón
As first-time Madrid visitors, we had passed was essential to lift the caps from plate to mouth,
Mesón del Champiñón several times on outings losing none of the savory juices.
from our nearby apartments. It always piqued our The Spanish-style blistered padrón peppers
interest because it specialized in one of our fa- (Pimientos de Padrón) are habit-forming. Charred
vorite foods - mushrooms. A visit on a food tour and were tasty and habit-forming. The charred
made us fans. peppers, drizzled with olive oil and showered with
On this tapas crawl, we climbed down narrow salt, are eaten seeds and all.
stairs to a cozy dining room with rustic stone A word of caution about the normally mild pep-
walls. Our second chilled vermouth of the day per. We were told that every so often one is wildly
pared with their famous chorizo-stuffed mush- hot. That prospect gets a little adrenaline going
rooms and sizzling padrón peppers. The earthy every time you take a bite. We’ve had them sev-
meaty mushrooms complimented the salty, fatty eral times since, and, thankfully, so far, so good.
chorizo, garlic, and olive oil. A duo of toothpicks
