Chewing the Fat with Edward Crouse

For those of you who do not know Edward Crouse, all I can say is that you are missing out on meeting one of the most vibrant, goofy, loveable personalities that I know. Edward Crouse is a 2007 Furman graduate and one of my dearest college friends… and he is in Spain! Since he arrived in Madrid on Tuesday the 11th, I have spent a hefty portion of my free time with Edward. Over the course of six days, we strolled through almost every street in the Sol-district, the contested center of Madrid and hence the center of Spain. We tasted croquettes de bacalao (cod fritters); we shared churros y porras y chocolate at San Gines; we climbed a magnolia tree in front of Palacio Real (the Royal Palace) after meeting and talking with Luis—a 70-something year old Spanish man who enjoys taking walks every night by the palace—on a park bench; we toured a museum exhibition of stunning paintings by Caravaggio, Monet, Casas, Dali, and Picasso… for free; we made tortilla española with SK in her apartment; we went to my church on Sunday and later fell into the flow of people at El Rastro. In between these little events, Edward and I have wandered all around other areas of town for hours on end, discussing major life issues such as the culinary culture of Spain and the United States.


The culinary scene is actually why Edward is here. After graduating from Furman, he worked in the famous, Michelin-starred kitchen of Bouchon, which is located at The Venetian in Las Vegas. His mission in Spain is to get an up-close and personal look at the cuisine and food culture of this crazy country, and maybe gather up some ideas and tactics to bring back to the motherland. And so, he left Madrid on Tuesday to visit Segovia and Salamanca. His train ticket takes him to Valladolid on Friday, and I am going to meet him there… somehow (he has no cell phone).

In addition to chilling with Edward, I was also able to spend some QT with Furman Spanish professor Dr. Ron Friis, who is here with the Furman kids in Spain and who is also really fun, super-cool, and so genuine. I never had a class with him, which I am now regretting, because he, Edward, and I have had many interesting and enriching conversations. Dr. Friis guided us to this great restaurant called Casa Mingo (Est. 1888) that serves baked whole chicken and the best chorizo sausage I’ve ever had (it’s marinated in cider… the specialty of the house).

Being in Spain in the fall has its drawbacks in comparison with a U.S. fall. The foliage at this time of year isn’t as marvelous as that found in the western Carolinas. Pumpkin-flavored foods do not make their seasonal debut…ever. And football tailgating is simply unheard of. However, I had an experience that was vaguely reminiscent of the great American sport this past Sunday. As I climbed to the highest stands in the Vicente Calderón Stadium, I almost thought that I was back in the U.S. Yet, once I cleared the top of the stairs and looked at the perfectly manicured green field, book-ended with soccer goals, I settled with the fact that I would not be seeing pig skin spiral through the air. Instead, I got a great show of Spanish passion for their beloved fútbol players. The fans of Club Atléticos are such a boisterious, bawdy, and colorful crew, and I enjoyed watching them almost as much as watching some of the best soccer players in the world handle the ball with incredible skill and control. Real Madrid may be ranked a little higher than Atléticos, but Real Madrid’s fan base is definitely not as die-hard or as entertaining as the Atléticos fans.

Edward and I both fly back to the states on December 22--a funny coincidence. After this weekend in Valladolid, I plan on meeting him in San Sebastian and Barcelona within the next few weeks. With only four more weeks of school and these weekend travels, I have a feeling time is going to fly by and Christmas will be here before I can blink…and since my semi-chronic eye-twitch has returned to pester me constantly, I can trust that it’ll be here shortly!