El George Best, The Cracovia and the Sala Ultramar are three of the nerve centers of this Alzira street that runs curiously through the Arrancapins neighborhood, in the triangle formed by Sant Francesc de Borja and Gran Vía de Ramón y Cajal. In this first installment of our street tour we will only talk to you about George Best, what are you doing gang with a specialty coffee cafe, a comic academy, manga, animation and 3D, an Argentine bar, an Irish-style pub and comic book and bookstore bustling with activity.
Elixir
— San Francisco de Borja, 4
We don't start exactly on Alzira Street, but almost, and the detour is more than justified because this cafe (and store) of specialty coffee rose to the crest of the wave after the pandemic and has not stopped growing since then. Elixir is a family business that started with a small takeaway coffee stand in an outside corner of the Russafa Market and less than a year ago it took over this second location in Arrancapins where, now yes, you can sit down and order something sweet or savory to accompany your coffee, like rosemary chicken crepe, the salted caramel one or the Valor chocolate one. But there is more, In April a third Elixir will open on Cavallers Street and, when I start rolling, They will also be present at the Mercat del Grau. Their idea is to buy locally and avoid intermediaries as much as possible.. They have their own brand of coffee that they roast themselves and in the store they grind the beans to order., more or less fine, so that it adapts perfectly to your coffee maker. They will do the necessary tests to find the exact thickness that makes your device work well.. They plan to do coffee tastings and exhibitions for spring, stay tuned to your networks.
Geroge Best
— Alzira, 12
George Best turns seven in May, the house of pop-rock in Valencia. It is a place that a group of colleagues dedicated to the musical agitation of the city have invented, inspired by other clubs in Spain such as La percha in Granada.. They thought that in Valencia there was no pub that exuded a rock guitar atmosphere, So they set it up themselves with the romantic idea of attracting people of all ages to dance., drink and forget everything. The image is from Lawert, a designer linked to the world of music (and football) what, they knew, would perfectly capture the philosophy of the project and the character with thick sideburns that gives it its name.. In case you haven't heard of him, we present it to you. George Best was a Northern Irish footballer in the 1970s. (era in which football still retained some romanticism), talented, elegant, thug, alcoholic and womanizer. He is the author of phrases like: “I spent a lot of money on cars, women and alcohol. The rest I just wasted.". Parties are common at George Best post party of the most powerful groups that come to play in Valencia, The silver has passed through them, Women, Carolina Durante, Biznaga, The planets, The Red Room, Second… For music above all, but also for the environment, the logo and decoration, George is one of the coolest joints in Valencia.
Cyclops
— Alzira, 13
Cíclope is a comic academy, manga, animation and 3D that it offers, mainly, extracurricular classes for twelve-year-old boys and girls, but the range of students goes from four to sixty years old. In 2019 They moved from Àngel Guimerà to continue offering semi-personalized open classes according to the student's interests, whether watercolor, acrylic or the drawings of Wednesday Adams or Marvel superheroes. Yes indeed, Oil is not used in Cíclope, here the tools are paper and the computer. They have a classroom set up to teach video game classes in which there is little programming and a lot of effort to help students creatively develop their own world.. Classes have been taught for youtubers right here but, parents!, let no one put their hands on their head. In the end, they explain to us, They are audiovisual classes adapted to the interests of the boy or girl in question who, oh surprise!, many times they are on Youtube. In Cíclope, extracurricular activities are offered for young people of the 21st century who were born hyperconnected in the Internet age.
La Milanga
— Historian Diago, 17
La Milanga is an Argentine bar where you can try authentic beef Milanese sandwiches, the traditional Tucumán empanada and the best Argentine spatialities. Leila tells us that the “small” province of Tucumán, Where is the chef at La Milanga from?, was the one that declared the independence of the United Provinces of the South (first name of Argentina) regarding Spain and that many of the typical Argentine dishes have their origin there. Something similar happens in Spain with paella, national dish par excellence with a very specific origin that we all know (wink, wink). An Argentine example? The knife-cut beef empanada typically from Tucumán that earned La Milanga an award from eltener.es for the homemade dough of its empanadas. They also have chicken, corn, spinach (all tucumanas) and ham and cheese. If you don't feel like a sandwich, you can order the Milanese on the plate., the Neapolitan for example, with homemade tomato sauce, ham, mozzarella, pepper and fried egg. And if what you want is precisely that, a sandwich, They have other equally Argentine options such as choripan, Creole chorizo (really) and chimichurri sauce. As a starter you can order baked provolone gratin in its sauce, carved entrail or humita, a typical food from the Andean area made from corn. But don't forget, this is an argentinian bar, so you can't miss the roast (minimum two people), with five different types of meat cooked on the brazier.
Three-way
— Historian Diago, 15
The name gives us a clue: within, there are billiards. Three bands was born ago 33 years as a place to play pool when there weren't too many decent tables in the city. And it has passed from father to son with few changes, perhaps the most transcendental, remove a pool table to make room for tables. You'll come in for a drink but you'll stay for the Irish pub atmosphere, between sculptures of Elvis and Lucky Luke, guitars and photographs of Marilyn Monroe, moving the little foot to the rhythm of rock music, blues and jazz of the years 60-80. We are from the bar, especially if the stools are comfortable like here and there is a very nice Yolanda behind to tell us that Three Ways is a kind of Cheers, with lifelong clients who have never stopped coming, although the place begins to fill up with young people and foreigners. They come looking for Guiness and Paulaner as a shooter, quality malts and bourbons, cocktails and bottles of beer of all kinds displayed high above the bar. There are thirty references to choose from!! They have little to eat, but if you are hungry and don't feel like leaving the shelter, they prepare a hot dog, a sandwich or a board of Iberian meats cut to order.
Bangarang
— Historian Diago, 9
Bangarang is one of the busiest bookstores in Valencia in the city, It is active practically every day of the week. Jaime and Estela had the romantic idea of opening a bookstore with comics and book references and they embarked on the adventure in 2019. He is a comics specialist, she in books, and together they form the perfect tandem to direct a project that brings together several reading clubs. One of a crime novel with Salva Alemany; The rare ones with Alberto Torres Blandina, focused on works that go beyond the most trite canons of literature; y Hexagonal, hosted by Ana Camarena and Estela herself, where a topic is raised (the class struggle, bad mothers…) about which participants can share with the group the references they want, whether they are narrative, rehearsal, comic, cine, series or visual arts. On the other hand, They periodically organize the gastroliterary event eat a book directed by Lidia Caro, where food related to the book analyzed is served. Canarian food for donkey belly by Andrea Abreu and mamma's lasagna in the session dedicated to the bad mothers. The other fundamental leg of its programming is the book presentations, many from local authors (Andreu Escrivà presented in February Against sustainability), and others from large national and Latin American firms such as those of Claudia Piñeiro, Lucia Lijtmaer, Bigger (National Comic Award 2021), Juan Tallón, Jon Bilbao or Miguel Ángel Hernández. And this month of April, of course, You can also go visit them at the Fira del Llibre de Viveros.
Bodega Beals
— Alzira, 15
It looks like a neighborhood supermarket, but it is a store specialized in cavas, champagnes, wines and spirits with a lot of history behind them. The third generation of the Llorens family runs the Santader de Patraix Winery, inaugurated in 1956, and this Beals Winery, which has been dedicated to the distribution of wines and spirits in Arrancapins for more than twenty years.. It has for sale about two thousand references of the most common products and other more extravagant ones such as those displayed in the small window at the entrance.: cassalla cream or anise and raspberry cream liqueur, For example.
Krakow
— Alzira, 25
Sergio took over the old Cracovia five years ago to give a gastrobar feel to a somewhat stagnant business. He himself prepares the toasts in the kitchen, the tapas and salads that are served at the table and he recommended the Argentine empanadas and the duck samosas, leek and pear, but there is much more: cajun chicken, truffled provolone, smoked sardines, toast the roast beef… Everything homemade. To accompany, You can choose from more than forty beers with prices to suit all tastes and budgets., for those looking for a cool beer, without further ado, and for the most gourmets capable of appreciating the nuances of imported or local craft beer.. But in Krakow, plus food and drink, culture is also served. Once or twice a month they schedule acoustic concerts and there is always a small exhibition with work for sale., in may, los collages by Ignacio Heredia. When there is no live music they play it with pleasure, so it's always a good time to go for a snack or have a drink in a cozy atmosphere, in front of a movie poster Metropolis while the soundtrack plays Pulp Fiction. They wait for you from Tuesday to Saturday 17 at 1.30am. and some weekends at noon (check their networks) for the vermouth.
Dear Jacinta
— Cuenca, 23
The very young Querida Jacinta opened last November with the idea of offering traditional Spanish food, simple but with a modern touch. But things don't always go as planned and the display case full of aged meat has ended up taking on an unexpected role.. So in this beautiful restaurant that welcomes you with a majestic wooden door and a large high window you can order veal sweetbreads, mountain stew, manchego gazpacho, a cod stew or fish stew, but also a one kilo matured old beef chop or a cooked beef rib 35 hours at low temperature. A favor, a staff of friendly and experienced waiters and a very pleasant place with sofas and books on the second floor that invite you to have a cocktail (Negroni, Pisco Sour…) comfortably. Meat or regional cuisine, you choose.
Ultramar Room
— Alzira, 9
Culture on Alzira Street is provided by Sala Ultramar, that in April 2022 he was celebrating ten years of crossing. He began to navigate on Padre Jofre Street thanks to the push of 16 partners committed to building a theater that would support and protect Valencian authorship, actors and playwrights like Paco Zarzoso, Mertxe Aguilar, Lola Lopez, Luisa Cunillé, Veronica Andres, Begoña Tena… Some time later the room moved to Alzira Street, to the space left by the mythical Teatro de los Manantiales, to continue programming high-quality theater like that one Querencia by Paco Zarzoso played by Álvaro Báguena and Verónica Andrés who had, inexplicably, little distance. Some works have been recognized inside and outside our borders. We met the playwright Víctor Sánchez (MAX prize 2016 for Best New Author) thanks to the long version of We will not kill ourselves with guns who ended up making the leap to cinema. And we saw María Cárdenas lift the same award in 2017, Best New Author, for the extended version of Sindrhomo which premiered overseas, a piece from Cabanyal Íntim that we will miss so much this first month of May of absence. The Ultrmar Room is not just an exhibition space, It is also creative thanks to the support offered by its two residences.. Overseas crossings provides technical and logistical support to companies in the Valencian Community in their creation and Authored by Ultramar Helps a creator every year to develop their text with financial support and professional mentoring, text that ends up premiering as a performance piece in the theater for everyone's enjoyment. It's a lot of work and not profitable at all., but it is worth it because works such as Miau, miau, miau by Andrea Martínez (candidate in the latest MAX awards), Cas if the fire were not with you by Mafalda Bellido or The invented life of Godofredo Villa by Sonia Alejo. As a curiosity, They have told us that at the back of the stage, under the linoleum, one of the 300 air raid shelters that Valencia preserves, capital of the Republic, built during the Civil War to protect civilians from bombing.
Homosexual
— Dr. Sánchis Sivera, 21
Tired of Parcheesi and the Goose Game?? Homoludicus is a space dedicated to the modern board game, specialized in role, with a toy library in which members can play more than 300 games upon payment of a fee of six euros per year. Or rent them for three days paying an extra. And you, that you are not a partner, You can buy them to take home and enjoy a good time away from screens. It was the first store in Valencia dedicated exclusively to board games and there you can find La Fallera Calavera y el Virus, best sellers. Also a wide range of role-playing games that require a mental effort at the beginning but are engaging like few others.. Toni will explain where to start to enter this world that spurs the imagination in a kind of regulated theater in which you develop your character by speaking., there is no more. There are horror ones, fantasy, science fiction, of Dune, of Star Trek and children's, like that one magic kittens which we told you about in our February magazine. They are a very powerful educational tool with which you can work on subjects such as mathematics., history and economics, and values such as tolerance and equality. If we haven't convinced you at all, go to Homoludicus and they will finish it.
Bar Cassalla
— Good order, 19
Do you know Bar Mistela in Benicalap?? The Canyamelar Tailor Shop? The Cremaet on Puerto Avenue? They are all from the Gastroadictos Group, like this Bar Cassalla that opened in Abastos four months ago with a lot of grill and a lot of bar. They light the embers first thing in the morning to, of 9 a 12h., offer a la carte lunches (there is no menu) with grilled sausages. From 1 p.m.. the meals arrive. Of Picaeta you can choose, For example, crayfish croquette or toast with a Van Company sobrasada that is visible to everyone, suspended inside your skin. And hang your napkin around your neck to sink your teeth into the matured entrecote 35 days, tuna steak or turbot, all cooked on the grill. You can also try a wonderful marrow rice with piparra, but only at noon. Besides, They have a zone showcooking for those who want to ask the chef and see live how he cooks the dishes with all the art in the world.
Villaplana
— Dr. Sanchís Sivera, 24
Villaplana is a bar with a lot of history behind it, a family business opened in 1964 that has been feeding traditional tapas to the residents of Abastos and beyond for three generations. A long-standing bar that was born in black and white with two horses parked at the door and now sports a comprehensive renovation that has given way to wood and white. On the menu you will find traditional basic tapas, very well cooked. (bravas, lace, croquettes, tellinas, morro…) and slightly more daring proposals, like the zarajos of Cuenca (marinated lamb intestines) or the candied artichoke with Iberian jowls and truffled yolk. It is no coincidence that they have been in the ointment for more than half a century, They have known how to adapt to new times without leaving aside the tradition with which they made their name..
