sus movimientos son torpes.

Sooooooo I go to Andaluuuuusia (that's in Spain!) for the first time ever earrrrrrly Wednesday morning, for five days-ish. Exciting! I hadn't planned on doing any research, but then, well, I remembered I was me so I did some.

We're going to be mostly in Rrrrronda, up in the mountains, but our first night will be spent in Estepona, on the coast, because of a meeting the next day, maybe in Marbella? I don't know. I also don't really understand how/where Torremolinos fits into all this, I just know that it was described to me as being "a coastal resort town stuck in the 1970s" and I thought that sounded great so it ended up on the list of things to maybe do.

OK, so here's what my quick rummage turned up, along with some tips from my lovely host The Captain Nelsker.

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RONDA
Bodega San Francisco, Plaza Ruedo Alameda 32.
1.30-5pm & 8pm-1am Wed-Mon. Closed Thursdays. One of the Captain's very few recommendations, but she eats here "often" when in town, described as "simple good food, super Spanish, cramped seating, chaotic service.". 

Thus, worth putting high on the list. Things to order according to Yelp: setas (mushrooms in garlic/parsley), serranitos (small pork and chile sandwiches, sorry piggies), revuelto de patatas (eggs with potatoes and peppers). Interesting little article about this corner of Ronda (where three of these six bars I've listed are) here. 

Almocábar, Calle Ruedo Alameda 5
1.30-5pm & 8pm-1am Wed-Mon, so....closed Tuesdays? Eat at the bar, not the restaurant. Hardly undiscovered (TripAdvisor) but out of the center enough to maybe be tourist-free. 

Traga Tapas, Calle Nueva 412:00 – 4:30 pm, 8:00 – 11:30 pm. Former El Bulli chef. Lots of great reviews, but I'm skeptical about this only because everything about their decor and graphic design on their website offends me deeply. Will have to see what the atmosphere is like in person, Yelp makes it seem just fine. IN ACTUALITY: everything about the lighting and atmosphere was so wretchedly lounge-y that we couldn't even go in.

Cafe Bar Faustino, Calle Santa Cecelia 4
Closed Mondays. This showed up on both Chowhound and TA. Open noon-very late.

Bar Maestro, Calle Espinel.
Had read good reviews on Chowhound and TA, but then found this funny review of it that makes me think it's kind of a "only if we're in the hood" option.

Casa Maria, Plaza Ruedo Alameda 27
Closed Wednesdays? 
More of a sedate, sit-down restaurant. But it was another one of the Captain's few recommendations, with the caveat that she hadn't been there in a while, so I checked it out on TripAdvisor and it's their #1 restaurant, which as we know, doesn't necessarily mean all good things, but "doesn't mean nothing".

Bodega El Socorro, Calle Molino 4.
Berenjenas fritas con miel de caña (fried aubergines with honey). Croquetas de espinacas (spinach croquettes), pimientos del piquillo rellenos de bonito de norte (tuna-stuffed spicy red peppers).

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