I’m on a tapas roll!  Yesterday we tried another newish tapas and wine bar called Estado Puro, located right across the Paseo del Prado from the Prado Museum.  A very stylish locale, it offers the innovative and elaborate tapas of famous Madrid chef Paco Roncero.  He’s the chef at the top rated Casino de Madrid.  The tapas are modern interpretations of classic Spanish dishes and the menu is filled with interesting choices.  The tapas are very creatively presented and arrive on slate board plates.  We tried four different tapas and results were mixed:  the tempura asparagus and the “meat bombs” were delicious while the deconstructed tortilla and the presa iberica with chimichurri were just ok.   There are lots more things on the menu I would like to try though, such as the mini hamburger plate, the fried egg with baby squid and the boletus carpaccio with pine nuts.   The tapas are a bit pricy…they range from 6 to 12€, but are smallish, so this is a place to come and try only a few at a time then move on to one of the more traditional places in nearby Huertas.  The wine list by the glass offers 6 reds, 3 whites and a couple of rosés….a good variation, though none of the wines were spectacular.  In the whites my favorite is a nice Godello called Montenovo, the best red was Artazurri,   a joven red from Navarra.  The wines are all priced at 2.50€ a glass, which is a bit steep for this level of wine….but the pours are really generous.  To sum it up:  Estado Puro is a fashionable new alternative on the tapas trail…the location is amazing and they also have a really nice outdoors terraza seating area with spectacular views.  I’m not completely sold on the food, but I’ll definitely be returning to try some more.  Another plus is that it offers its full menu all day from 11AM to 1AM, a rarity still here in Madrid.  Read on for more details on the food and wines at Estado Puro. 

The decor is modern yet cozy, with images of peinetas, decorative Spanish hair combs, covering the walls.  I also love the presentation of the food….slate plates with some really unique touches…the tempura asparagus comes in a cute french fry paper bag that is actually porcelain.  
Our first tapa was asparagus tempura with romesco sauce.  The asparagus tempura was very good, though a bit heavy on the coating…the combination with rich romesco sauce was great…though I would ideally add a squeeze of lemon juice to cut through all the rich flavors.  Our next taps was the meat bombs…not a very good name for what amounts to a meat croquette…definitely not an explosion of meat….but really delicious, especially with the spicy tomato sauce it came with.  Next up the deconstructed modern interpretation of the Spanish tortilla…onion, potato, egg, all the ingredients in a tortilla…served separately in a foamy concoction.  Just ok…the potato foam was a bit starchy, and it needed more onion flavor…..didn’t like the texture either.  Finally we had the presa iberica with chimichurri.  Presa is a very fatty cut of the Iberian pig that is delicious, but must be served very rare or it can be very tough.  Our piece was ok, but lacking in flavor…the chimichurri was nice, but not enough to pull up the dish. 

The by the glass wine list is good but I hope they change it sometimes….I will be returning to see soon.  I wasn’t impressed with the Semele Crianza from Ribera, which is their top red wine by the glass.  I much preferred the Artazuri joven from one of my favorite bodegas, Santa Cruz de Artazu.  See my rating of their top notch Garnacha:  http://www.planetavino.net/2009/01/26/wine-rating-santa-cruz-de-artazu-2005/.  The joven wine was simple, but attractive and for 5€ retail a bottle…really great!  Besides the reds there were three interesting whites from Rueda, Valdeorras and Somontano and two good dry rosés from Navarra. 

Though  I have some reservations about Estado Puro, overall I really liked the experience….I’ll post an update once I try the place again.  If you want to check out their heavily flash website, you can at:  http://tapasenestadopuro.com/#Inicio.  It’s a pain to navigate but it has nice pictures of all the tapas, as well as good practical info and a map.