Portugal Info
Joined: 21 Oct 2006
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Home Country: portugal
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 Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 4:54 pm Post subject: FOOD & DINING IN PORTUGAL |
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FOOD & DINING IN PORTUGAL
Portuguese food is distinctive and varied, featuring many regional specialities that have evolved from local traditions and ingredients.
Much of Portuguese cooking is spice based, thanks largely to Vasco da Gama and the other navigators of his time. He and his seafaring countrymen traversed the globe collecting pepper, cloves, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a range of savoury foods which serve as the base of many dishes today.
A typical meal in Portugal starts with a selection of appetizers such as goat of sheep's cheese, pâté, olives, cornbread and delicious smoked ham called presunto.
Soup (sopa) is a regular feature on the restaurant menus, normally made on the premises with fresh ingredients bought at the local market. Vegetable soup (sopa de legumes) is very common and always a good choice, or the traditional caldo verde - a soup made with potatoes, shredded cabbage and smoked sausage. Most seaside restaurants serve a delicious fish soup (sopa de peixe), made from fresh pieces left over from the main dishes.
Fish is a mainstay of Portuguese cuisine, particularly sardines (sardinhas) and the ever-present dried codfish known as bacalhau. Other popular fish dishes include hake (pescada), sole (linguado), salmon (salmão), trout (truta) and monkfish (tamboril). Some of Europe's tastiest seafood (marisco) can be found in restaurants up and down Portugal. Lobster (lagosta) is widely available, while crab (sapateira), clams (ameijoas), mussels (mexilhões) and prawns (gambas) are normally good value.
Portuguese meat is both tasty and safe to eat, particularly pork (porco) which for centuries has been an important livestock in the country's rural economy. The annual slaughter (a matança do porco) between December and Easter is still a major event in the winter calendar of most farms and villages. In the Bairrada region north of Coimbra, many restaurants specialise in roast sucking pig (leitão assado). Some parts of the pig in feijoada, a bean stew made with black pudding (morcela) and pork knuckle.
DINING IN LISBON
The explosion of restaurants in Lisbon in the late 20th and early 21st centuries indicates that the Portuguese regard dining just as seriously as Spaniards. High prices have not suppressed their appetites, and residents of the capital are dining out more frequently than in the past.
Plenty of restaurants serve the usual fish and shellfish, and many erstwhile Portuguese colonials from Brazil, and even Mozambique and Goa, have opened restaurants in the capital. The menus in the top establishments remain on par with those of Europe's leading restaurants. In Lisbon, you'll encounter the best of Portuguese cooking mixed with continental classics.
You needn't pay exorbitant prices for top-quality food. Restaurants featuring Portuguese and foreign fare -- from beer-and-steak taverns to formal town house dining rooms to cliff-side restaurants with panoramic views -- suit all budgets. For the best value, look for the "tourist," or fixed-price menu, which usually includes two or three courses, and sometimes wine, for far less than ordering a la carte. You might also want to consider an evening meal at a fado cafe. Lisboans tend to eat much later than most American, Canadian, and British visitors, although not as late as their Spanish neighbors. Some restaurants (including Gambrinus, Bachus, and Cervejaria Trindade) stay open very late.
A Picnic in a "Green Lung"--Lisbon has many "green lungs" (public parks) where you can go with picnic fixings. Of these, the most appealing is the Jardim Botânico, Rua do Alegria (tel. 21/362-25-02), with its ornate iron benches and shrubs and trees from all parts of the world. A good place to stock up is Pingo Doce, Rua do 1 de Dezembro 81 (tel. 21/342-74-95). To accompany your sandwiches, you'll find a wide selection of cheese and wine, along with fresh fruits and breads. You can also order a roast chicken for 5€ ($6.25) per kilo (2.2 lb.). It's open daily from 8:30am to 8pm (Metro: Rossio and Restauradores).
DINING IN PORTO
When Prince Henry the Navigator was rounding up the cattle in the Douro Valley to feed his men aboard the legendary caravels, he shipped out the juicy steaks and left the tripe behind. The people of Porto responded bravely and began inventing recipes using tripe. To this day they carry the appellation "tripe eaters," and it has become their favorite dish. To sample this specialty, the adventurous can order tripas à moda do Porto (tripe stewed with spicy sausage and string beans).
"Porting" & Dining -- Much of the character, architecture, and history of Porto is derived from its wine trade. As such, you'd be well advised to take a morning tour of two or three of the wine lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, learning about the nuances of port and the vast amounts of time and labor that go into it. And if you happen to be on that side of the river already, consider a lunch at a restaurant that's richly permeated with the old-fashioned mystique of the port industry, Barão Fladgate, Rua do Choupelo 250, Vila Nova de Gaia (tel. 22/374-28-00; www.tresseculos.pt). Owned and operated by the Taylor Wine Company, and set within the walled compound the company maintains on a hillside high above the Douro, it's slow, graceful, and much more formal and old-world than any other restaurant in Vila Nova de Gaia. In some ways, it's a gastronomic showcase for the port wine industry and the Taylor Wine Company, in particular.
If you arrive on foot, expect to be seriously winded by the time you reach the restaurant, thanks to the steep uphill climb past forbidding stone walls that line the narrow streets on either side. Once at a table, you'll be offered a glass of Taylor (white port) and then be presented with a list of the company's other products by a formally dressed battalion of waiters. Menu items are strictly Portuguese, including dried cod with fresh cream sauce, pork medallions with caramelized pineapple, and old-fashioned specials including a cozhinado (stew) of the day. As you dine, views of Porto, just across the river, spread out across the panorama. Main courses cost 8€ to 15€ ($10-$19) each. Meals are served daily 12:30 to 3pm. During the month of August, the restaurant is also open for dinner every Monday to Saturday from 7:30 to 10:30pm. Reservations are required.
INTERESTING PLACES TO DINE
Clara (Lisbon; tel. 21/885-30-53): This elegant citadel with its soft piano music is a refined dining room serving a remarkable Portuguese and international cuisine that has made it a favorite among serious palates. The chefs take special care with all their ingredients, and we sing their praise year after year for their impeccable offerings.
Gambrinus (Lisbon; tel. 21/342-14-66): It isn't as upscale as some of its competitors or the preferred rendezvous of the country's most distinguished aristocrats. Nonetheless, this is one of the hippest, best-managed seafood restaurants in Lisbon; the stand-up bar proffers an astonishing array of shellfish. Enjoy a glass of dry white port accompanied by some of the most exotic seafood in the Atlantic.
Casa da Comida (Lisbon; tel. 21/388-53-76): This restaurant is probably at its best on foggy evenings, when roaring fireplaces remove the damp chill from the air. Don't let the prosaic name fool you -- some visitors prefer its Portuguese-French cuisine over the food at any other restaurant in Lisbon. Portions are ample, and the ambience is bracing and healthful.
Conventual (Lisbon; tel. 21/390-92-46): The facade that shields this restaurant from the medieval square is as severe as that of a convent -- which, in fact, it used to be. Inside you're likely to find the prime minister of Portugal dining with assorted ministers. You'll always find a collection of panels from antique churches, and rich but refined cuisine based on the bourgeois traditions of Old Portugal.
Cozinha Velha (Queluz; tel. 21/435-02-32): During the 1700s, food for the monarchy's most lavish banquets was prepared here (the name means "old kitchen"). Today the high-ceilinged kitchens serve an unusual restaurant whose cuisine reflects the old days of Portuguese royalty. Dishes include cataplana, a savory fish stew with clams, shrimp, and monkfish. Equally outstanding is soufflélike bacalhau espiritual (codfish), which takes 45 minutes to prepare and should be ordered when you make your reservation. The restaurant is celebrated for its desserts, many of which are based on ancient convent recipes.
Restaurante Porto de Santa Maria (Guincho; tel. 21/487-10-36 or 21/487-02-40): The understated beige-and-white decor highlights the restaurant's bubbling aquarium and sea view. The menu lists nearly every conceivable kind of shellfish, served in the freshest possible combinations in a justifiably popular dining room.
Four Seasons (in the Palácio Hotel, Estoril; tel. 21/464-80-00): This tranquil restaurant, with its rich colors and artful accents, has been a fixture in Estoril since the days when deposed European monarchs assembled here with their entourages. High glamour, old-world service, and impeccably prepared international cuisine are this place's hallmarks.
Casa Velha (Quinta do Lago, near Almancil; tel. 28/939-49-83): On a rocky hilltop above the modern resort of Quinta do Lago (with which it is not associated), this restaurant occupies a century-old farmhouse, with kitchens modernized for the preparation of gourmet food. The sophisticated cuisine includes preparations of upscale French and Portuguese recipes.
Churrascão do Mar (Porto; tel. 22/609-63-82): Porto's most elegant restaurant, serving a Brazilian cuisine, is housed in a 19th-century antique manor restored to its Belle Epoque glory. The town's finest chefs turn out a savory cuisine specializing in grilled seafood. |
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