Ah, "los boquerones fritos" (fried anchovies)! Served, seasoned with a little lemon juice, and devoured immediately, washed down with a cold caña (beer). They go down so quickly that's it's easy to forget their painstaking preparation. Before being rolled in flour and fried, the anchovies are opened, cleaned and rinsed, in order to remove the bitter taste of their innards. Don't forget that Madrid is the second largest fish market in the world, so try out as many seafood tapas as you can stomach. Some of the best fried tapas include parrochas (small sardines), chipirones (small cuttlefish), calamares (calamari), choquitos and chocos (small and large fried octopus).
