Enjoying a leisurely lunch

Lunch should be long and leisurely not rushed. The people who live around the Mediterranean have always appreciated this and in Cartagena the long lunch is still thriving.

A few days ago we enjoyed a lunch at the Café Marin, in Calle Angel Bruno, where the cooking was great and the waitress, Catie, was so friendly that we felt as if we were eating in someone’s home. The Café Marin is in the Ensanche district, which was formerly the giant lagoon that protected the back of ancient Cartagena. This was filled in during the early 20th century and is now a popular residential area.

We arrived some time after 1pm and Catie pushed two tables on the pavement, or sidewalk, together so that there was plenty of room for Sharon in her wheelchair. Being virtuous, water, fizzy and still, was ordered rather than wine and the menu was explained. Waitresses and waiters in Cartagena have fantastic memories and they give details of everything on offer and answer all questions.

Sharon decided to have pollo asado, which is oven-roast chicken, and I chose albondigas, which is the traditional meatball dish of Spain. The world albondigas is derived from the Arabic word “bunduqah”, with “al” meaning “the.” Our friend Graham also had the meatballs and his wife, Liz, chose paella.

First to arrive was a huge salad, with lovely fresh tomatoes, lettuce and olives, together with a big basket of fresh bread. We tucked in.

Then the main courses arrived and they were all fantastic. Sharon´s chicken was mouth-wateringly tender and served with oven-roast potatoes and juices from the pan. The albondigas were delicious and served as a kind of stew dotted with little cubes of roast potato. The paella was rich with the colour of saffron and Catie brought a fresh lemon for Liz to squeeze over.

Full to bursting, we all agreed we could not eat any more. But, then Catie insisted that the inside of the café be inspected. In fact, Café Marin is not just a café, but a bakery and patisserie as well and the shop is full of fantastically tempting treats. We ordered a plate of small sweet delicacies, a couple of big glazed strawberry tarts and an apple flan, which were brought out to the table. Everything disappeared in a very short time. Another specialty of Café Marin is the take-away meals that are very popular with the locals who call in a constant stream to pick up something tasty for lunch or dinner.

We can´t remember what time we finished lunch, enjoying coffees, of course, after the desserts had disappeared. Who cares? That´s how lunch should be.

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