Eric_Malson

Thanks for the report....it was a delightful trip down memory lane (vicariously, of course) for me. I'm so glad you tried out Centro Ideal de Graça. Come to think of it, they probably don't speak English there. But thanks for trying.....and I trust you got some tasty pastries in the bargain. For your last meal in Porto, you had one of the most interesting typically Portuguese dishes--alheira de Mirandela. It's a sausage, the ingredients of which vary, but generally include breadcrumbs, garlic, often some kind of poultry. There's a story that Jews, in order to avoid unpleasant incidents during the Inquisition, started making these to mimic the appearance of regular pork sausages. So when the Inquisitors came around and saw the alheiras hanging in the kitchen, they knew that these people couldn't be Jewish if they had pork products hanging in their houses....!

Old thread, I know, but ran across it and thought I'd toss in a rec as well..... Tempo Doloe--very good Indonesian restaurant in more or less the center (I can't remember exactly where it is, but almost everyone knows about it and is pretty easy to find.....Leidseplein, maybe? Anyway, you'll want to look it up and make a reservation because it is extremely popular.). They have a fantastic rijstafel that I still remember 8 years after the fact (that must count for something!)--easily my best meal of two or three separate trips to Amsterdam.

Howdy, neighbor! This is the first time I've stumbled across one of your posts here (Ron lives just a couple of blocks from me). I was reading this thread wondering why no one had mentioned that delicious gin from France I can never remember the name of, and there you were! I happened to try it at a tasting in a liquor store a couple of years ago, and remember thinking at the time that it was the most delicious gin I had ever tasted. I've never tried it since, in part because when I order a martini, the bar never has that gin, and in part because I often forget its name (because I never have it....). Otherwise, Boodles is my favorite martini gin, followed by Bombay (NOT Sapphire...the regular ol' Bombay). So Ron, the next time I'm over, will you make my a Citadelle martini? Pretty please??

Has your trip happened yet? If not, where did you decide to go? I could put in my 2 cents if it would do you any good. If so, how about a report? Enquiring minds want to know! BTW, Chloe....have you eaten in Tromba Rija? 4 years of living in Portugal and I never managed to eat there, although I always wanted to.

I'll weigh in on this, because I find it interesting. "Rebuçado" means, literally, "wrapped up"--it's also the word for lollipop or those hard, sucky candies in general. "Areia" means "sand". These are the (rather odd, if you ask me) Portuguese equivalents of the syrup/candy stages in cooking. "Ponto de rebuçado" corresponds to our "soft crack" stage, and "ponto de areia" is "hard ball" stage.

Chloe, if you're setting up an Opera/Song festival in Ponte de Lima, I would hope you would definitely get in touch with me! I actually played a concert in Ponte de Lima 6 or 7 years ago (with a cellist) back when I was living in Lisboa and working with the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa. And who knows in what capacities I might be of service? I know a LOT of repertoire and a lot of singers..... My other favorite Portuguese cookbook is the 3-volume Cozinha Portuguesa by Maria Helena Tavares Crato (Colecção Habitat, Editorial Presença). However, I only have the first two volumes (not being a big sweets/dessert/preserves person)--the volume most likely to have things relevant to the topic at hand is the one that I lack. It's still widely available.....Chloe, if you run across it, perhaps you could have a look and see if there's anything that might be of interest to Aquitaine. And Aquitaine, I do speak and read Portuguese, and am happy to be of help if I can. Although, since it seems that Chloe is a professional translator, she may be more helpful!

I play the piano, and the bulk of my work these days is in the opera. I'm playing for staging rehearsals for a company here in NYC that is doing Mozart's Così fan tutte.....such days get rather long and mentally exhausting. I knew that cookbook was available in English, although I've never seen it in this country--just in Portugal. I'd be very curious to know how they translate "nabada de Semide" into English. I'm assuming Semide is the name of a town, and "nabada" obviously comes from "nabo", which is the Portuguese word for turnip. "Turnip paste"?? Doesn't quite sound right to me.... If you find out, please post it!

I didn't have the brain right now to scrutinize all the replies (too much opera rehearsal today), so forgive me if I repeat previously offered information. I don't know a whole lot about the topic, but I'll answer the questions I can. As Chloe mentioned, quince paste is a traditional Portuguese foodstuff, although she neglected to mention the Portuguese name for it, which is marmelada (marmelo being the Portuguese name for "quince"). I only ever saw it in "bricks" over there, but I never actually sought it out. I tried membrillo on my very first trip to Spain almost 20 years ago and found it totally disgusting (this sort of thing is just not to my taste at all), so I knew to avoid it in the future! But I can assure you there's nothing "upscale consumer" about it in Spain (and Portugal)--it's quite traditional and can be found homemade in the smallest villages. Consulting my copy of Cozinha Tradicional Portuguesa by Maria de Lourdes Modesto (a fantastic book), she reminds me of another whole class of dishes (desserts, mostly) made with "doce de abóbora chila (or, more commonly, xila)" which is a marmelade-type preserve made with a special kind of squash, the texture and flavor of which reminds me very much of spaghetti squash. This is usually spiced with cinnamon, at least in the Algarve region. Most unusual of all is her recipe from the Beira Litoral region for "nabada de Semide", which is a sweet, thick paste made from turnips, with a few almonds added. It is stored the same way Chloe describes in her pear cheese recipe (with the addition of a drop or two of brandy). One of the best on-line sources for Spanish ingredients, La Española, has 3 or 4 different types of membrillo for sale. Their site is: La Española Meats and Spanish Foods

I never went to El Gordo. I did go to Meson Andaluz once or twice, and realized I was better off eating Spanish food in (relatively nearby) Spain. A few food experiences I forgot to mention in the previous post.... if one is based in Lisbon and has a car one should definitely take a trip to Arruda dos Vinhos (take the A1 highway from Lisbon, in the direction of Porto, and exit at Alverca. From there, follow the signs to Arruda dos Vinhos--the trip takes about half an hour from Lisbon). Arruda has an outstanding restaurant called O Fuso. There are two specialties of the house that make it well worth the trip from Lisbon: bacalhau grilled over a wood fire (with liberal amounts of garlic, then doused in olive oil) and, my favorite, costela de vaca--a huge....what do you call it?....rib chop of beef, also grilled over the wood fire in the huge stone hearth in the center of the restaurant (remember the beginning of the Flintstones cartoon, at the drive-in? This rib chop reminds you a bit of that....). A grilled chouriço to start, and you're in heaven. The restaurant is easy to find, right on the main drag in the center of the town. Also about a half-hour-to-forty-five-minute drive from Lisbon, due north along the A8 toward Torres Vedras is a restaurant I think is truly special. It's in an old, low, stone house (which I'm sure was once a quinta) and has that unmistakable aura of "local tradition" about it....in the back, there is a porch, surrounded by grape vines, with tables....perfect for a summer afternoon. The best reason to go here: their specialty, kid goat roasted in a wood oven, served bubbling in it's own juices in a clay casserole with small roasted new potatoes. This, in turn, is served with one of the most delicious side dishes I have ever taste--the rice. But it's not just any rice....it's rice that has been cooked in the drippings and juices of the kid goat and its giblets (do goats have giblets?), which reduces to a thick, concentrated sauce. In a way, it's like in intense, meaty and smoky risotto, but the most amazing risotto I've ever had (and I love risotto to begin with). This nirvana can be experienced at the restaurant "O Labrêgo" in a "town" (more like a wide spot in the road) called Feliteira, which is a few kilometers south of Dois Portos, which in turn is just south of Torres Vedras. It's not directly accessible from the highway--have a good map handy. Another great day/evening meal trip form Lisbon is to go to Almeirim (take the A1 highway to Santarém, and it's just across the river). Almeirim is famous for its "sopa da pedra", a traditional soup that evolved from the old "stone soup" legend (and sure enough, in most restaurants, each serving of soup comes with its own polished stone in the bottom of the bowl!). It's a hearty red-bean based soup foritified with potatoes and the usual suspects--chouriço, morcela, and bacon. The best place in town to sample this is the restaurant O Toucinho. The other specialty here is grilled meats (which they do over charcoal), of which the best is a sort of thick lamb chop, but cut in a way I have never seen anywhere else, the name of which I can't for the life of me remember. Just ask which it is--it's the most popular one. The bread is also spectacularly delicious here. The restaurant is a bit tricky to find if you don't know where you're going. Just go to the bull ring, then ask someone for directions. I think it's time for another trip to Portugal soon.....

Since I lived in Lisbon, I know that town the best. Pardon me if this gets wordy, but at least you'll definitely know what you're getting into! The consistently best kitchen I found in Lisbon is a bit tricky to find, but worth the trouble: A Coutada (Rua de Bempostinha, 18). It's near the Campo dos Martires do Patria, which is easily reached by the No. 100 bus from Praça da Figueira or Cais do Sodré...from, there it's best to ask, as the side streets go off in odd directions. Everything is good....check the pratos do dia (daily specials) first, and if they have the chicken cabidela, grab it (best version of the dish I ever tasted anywhere, including the north), although it will most likely be masking under the picturesque name "frango á tripeirinho". Usually there will be a rice dish special, like an arroz de marisco, arroz de polvo, arroz de corvina (firm-fleshed white fish--can't remember the English equivalent), or arroz de pato (duck rice). One the house specialties is balchão de gambas--a Goa-inspired sort of creamy curry of shrimp served in a green pepper with rice (they also do this with chicken). Also, sensational grilled meats on huge skewers--I particularly like the thick pork tenderloins wrapped in bacon, served with arroz de feijão. You'll really have to work to spend more than $20 a head here. Closed Sundays. O Coreto de Carnide--also consistently excellent (R. Neves Costa, 57). Take the metro to Carnide, cross the busy road and take the side road up the hill--it's right there. "Coreto" is the Portuguese word for a gazebo-shaped bandstand, and sure enough, there's one right there in the quiet praça, where they have tables set up in nice weather. They have a spectacular sopa de peixe (fish soup, chock full of chunks of various fish--best I had in Portugal). And definitely order a Chouriça assada (yes, it's feminine here) as an appetizer....they toss it on the charcoal grill--a little bread, a little red wine--perfection. One of the more fun specialties is Naco na pedra--a nice hunk of good-quality beef (I don't know my cuts very well....top round, maybe?) brought to you on a hot stone slab, where you cut off slices and cook them yourself, with 3 or 4 side sauces for dipping. Leite creme is good here. A Cabrita (R. Cândido dos Reis, 87--Cacilhas)--I think it would be a shame to go to Lisboa and not take one of the ferries across the river...in summer, it's wonderful. And what better reason to do it than to have some good food while you're on the other side? Cacilhas is chock-full of touristy restaurants for just that purpose, most of them along the water. I suggest skipping those (mostly overpriced, and quality no what it should be) and had up the next street away from the water from the ferry landing, but parallel, past the really touristy, multi-language menu joints and look for A Cabrita on your left. On Sunday, they have a killer bacalhau com natas (one of my favorite ways to eat bacalhau, soaked and shredded, then made into a gratin with potatoes, onions and cream, and baked in the oven), good Sopa alentejana (the bread-garlic-poached egg-cilantro soup), great grilled chocos (cuttlefish), and, if in season, the best sardinhas assadas I ever had in a sit-down restaurant there. They used to be closed on Thursdays. Cheap. Oh, man....so much wonderful food and so many places... In the Bairro Alto....I recommend the Restaurante Fidalgo (in the Rua da Barocca), and next door is a fabulous pastry shop (Casa de Matilde), perfect for a merenda (late-afternoon snack). Try the salgados....pastéis de massa tenra, folhados de carne, empadas de galinha. Directly across the street from these is a restaurant, the name of which I can't remember, but is notable for its game specialties--javalí (wild boar), lebre (hare), and venison. A Portuguese fellow whose English was excellent (but wasn't quite up on his slang) once told how much he enjoyed the "hare pie" there (the empada de lebre IS delicious....). Bota Alta is good, and quite well known, so it tends to be difficult to get into. In Rua Diário de Noticias is Restuarante Vá e Volte, a very unprepossessing joint with excellent, cheap food (try the ervilhas com ovos escalfados--peas stewed with pork, ham, bacon, chouriço, onion, and carrot, garnished with poached eggs, but get it at lunch...the peas are usually mushy by dinnertime. An almost transcendent, homey, comfort dish.). Casa Transmontana is in almost all the guide books, but try to go on Monday for the rancho, a hearty stew of chickpeas, macaroni, chouriço, morcela, farinheira (a sausage made of bread, paprika and garlic) and bacon. Do not go here if you're at all in a hurry--the service can be VERY slow, but just relax into the groove and drink more wine while you're waiting for your food! I used to live near Graça, a praça just up the hill from the Feira da Ladra (the famous flea market), which has a couple of gems. And as a tourist, it's fun getting there because it's right on the No. 28 eléctrico (electric street car) line...catch it in the Bairro Alto, or better yet, near the Estrela Basilica....it goes through many of the most picturesque neighborhoods in Lisbon. Right on the praça is the Pastelaria Centro Ideal de Graça. I went there every morning (ok, afternoon...) for breakfast, and 5 years later they STILL know my order. If it looks good, it is, and don't forget to try a salgado or two ("salty"--as opposed to sweet--pastries, filled with meat, chicken, or shrimp). They also have particularly good coffee. Tell them the musician who now lives in NYC sent you! Down the hill a bit, past the church in the direction of the castle, is a really excellent family-type restaurant in a building with a prominent blue-tiled wall (it's hard to miss) called A Mourisca. Good Sopa alentejana, really good açorda de gambas (bread stew with shrimp and cilantro...sounds weird, but just try it!. They make the best cabrito assado (roast kid-goat) I tasted in Lisbon , with the possible exception of A Polícia near the Gulbenkian. It's a daily special only, and the day used to be Sunday, but wasn't any more my last trip....it may be Friday or Saturday now. It's well worth finding out, though! One of my favorite only-in-Lisbon experiences was to eat at a restaurant in the old Arab quarter, the Alfama, called O Pereira de Alfama (Rua Guilherme Braga, 22). It's a quirky place....almost not even a restaurant, more like a bar that looks like it hasn't changed in 70 years, with a small room with a couple of tables with oil-cloth checkered tablecloths and benches in the back. A couple of times, I tried to eat there and they claimed they had no food. A couple of times, it was mysteriously closed (normal closing days are Sunday evening and all day Monday). But IF you can find them open and IF they will cook for you, it's an unforgettable experience. The menu is pretty limited, and confined to the most common, hearty, northern-type specialties: cozido (the Portuguese answer to pot-au-feu, with typical sausages and meats), galinha de cabidela (the chicken-with-giblets-rice-and-blood dish), and feijoada á Transmontana (red beans stewed with the usual suspects: chouriço, morcela, pork, bacon). It's real peasant food, and you'll think you went through a time warp to eat it. It might be worth a call first to find out their current disposition, but get a Portuguese to call for you, because not much English is spoken (Tel. 218 877 421, I think). Dirt cheap. If you end up going out to Cascais (the train ride along the water is very pleasant), there's a restaurant out there that should not be missed: Ginginha Transmontana (Rua de Alvide, 366). It's a rather long walk from the center of Cascais, so it's best to take a cab (they're cheap)....if there is any question about the address, direct the cab driver to the Largo das Fontainhas. It's a tiny place (best to call ahead and reserve--214 832 655), with décor best described as "funky". When you sit down, they will automatically bring you their house white wine and the house appetizer, mussels that have been steamed with white wine, onions, garlic, chouriço, and bacon. Accept them. They specialize in meats and seafood "grelhado na telha", or grilled on a roofing tile. They set up a piece of terra cotta roofing tile on a salver on which to grill filet mignon the size of a softball, lobster, squid, shrimp, fish, etc. over flaming aguardiente (brandy). When it is brought to the table, garlic butter is liberally applied, and, in the case of seafood, lemon, to douse the flames. They also do a killer chanfana (kid goat stewed with red wine, onions, chouriço). This is the most expensive restuarant I have mentioned....it'll run you about $35-$40 a head, and well worth it. Closed Sundays. If you want to try the cooking of the Beira Alta region (where a lot of great hearty, peasant-y food comes from) without going to the trouble of going there, your best bet is a restaurante just off the Avenida da Liberdade, in the Rua da Conceição da Glória (don't know the number, but it's about a third of the way up on the left...the doorway is easy to miss!) called O Fumeiro (literally, "the smokehouse"....cured meat products, or enchidos, are integral to this type of cooking). Everything I've had has been good.....here, generally the more rustic and mountain-sounding the dish, the better. I will say the one soup they have, and a couple of the regular dishes, tend to be extremely salty....all the more reason to drink copious amounts of wine, I say. There is a similar restaurant, almost as good, in the Amoreiras shopping center called Restaurante Serra da Estrela. I don't know Porto so well, although I did visit quite a bit. I had, generally, fewer stand-out great meals, although I found the level of cooking consisitently higher. One place that one could always count on for an outstanding meal was in the first suburb to the north along the coast, Matosinhos, called Marisqeuira Mauritânia. They specialize in seafood, but I also had many spectacular meat dishes....find out what the daily specials are and order what sounds good. You can hardly go wrong there. North of Porto, in the Minho region, is the town of Ponte de Lima. It's a charming town, as is its sister/rival town up the river a bit, Ponte de Barca. Worth a day trip to see it (especially on market day), but worth a trip from anywhere to eat at A Carvalheira, which is located across the river from the center of Ponte de Lima in the neighborhood called Arcozelo. It's in an old stone house, and the centerpiece of the restaurant is the big stone hearth, where some of the cooking is sometimes done....it's the perfet spot for a warming, winter evening meal. Although everything I tried was superb, the house specialty is pernil de porco assado, or roast pork shoulder (Filipinos, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are quite familiar with this cut), and it is spectacular. Crispy crackling...well, I suppose it's not skin, but fat....on the outside, perfectly tender meat on the inside, accompanied by roasted potatoes and greens (couve, something between cabbage and collard or mustard greens, wilted, then sauteed). The potatoes and greens have so much flavor that it's impossible that they're cooked in simply oil--there's definitely lard working its magic in there. As I recall, one of the other house specialties is arroz de pato (duck with rice, baked in the oven)....I saw some at a neighboring table, and it looked wonderful. I was so intoxicated by the meat and potatoes, I can't remember what else I had (dessert must have been good, but what was it?). At any rate, at about 20 bucks a head, VERY well worth the trip if you're in the vicinity. This place is extremely popular, especially on the weekends, so it would be worth calling ahead (258 742 316). If you're driving between Lisbon and Porto, DEFINITELY stop in Mealhada (just a few kms. north of Coimbra) and have some lietão (roast suckling pig). The town is justly famous for it, and there are dozens of places to choose from on the main strip. Pedro dos Leitões is generally acknowledged to be the best one. Luckily, the best food experiences in Portugal do not necessarily mean correspondingly high prices. The hands-down greatest food experience I ever had in Portugal was dirt cheap. Not too far from Mealhada--not far on the map, at least, but there are no highways and the mountain roads are winding (allow 2 to 3 hours from Coimbra)--is a restaurant called "O Albertino". It's in a tiny mountain village called Folgosinho, near Gouveia in the Serra da Estrela. I can't find my notes from the trip (this is serious....), but if memory serves.... When you sit down, you are presented immediately with a plate regional items to nibble on: slices of chouriço, morcela (blood sausage), and queijo da serra (a locally-made soft, runny cheese--truly one of the great cheeses of the world) and a basket of incredible bread. And of course, some of the hearty local red wine. Then the waiter comes around and reels off the four dishes they made that day....as I look torn and bewildered trying to decide, he tosses in the final option "....or a little of everything." It took me about a nano-second to decide upon that one. First came a feijoada de javalí--a stew of pinto beans featuring wild boar as its chief meat ingredient (with, of course, the usual hints of chouriço and bacon for extra dimension). Simple, honest....fantastic! Then came the cabidela de coelho. This is a variation of what is probably my favorite Portuguese dish, galinha de cabidela (galinha is chicken, or more properly, hen, and "cabidela" is a dish made with the giblets and finished with blood), but made with rabbit. Rice is cooked in the rabbit/giblet broth, and blood is added at the end (not too much....it's really not as disgusting as it may sound). Somehow, rabbit blood gives an overall silkier texture to the dish than the more common chicken cabidela has....it was, in a word, wonderful. This was followed by roasted kid goat (cabrito assado), served with small new potatoes that had been roasted along with it. Also delicious, although this was the only dish that was somewhat less than truly spectacular--I've had much better cabrito assado elsewhere in Portugal. The meal completely regained its footing with the final offering, leitão assado (I assume we all know by now that's roast suckling pig). Made on the premises, slightly different than the way it's done in Mealhada, but tender, peppery, with the requisite crackly skin....superb. The meal was capped by the best leite creme I've ever had (and I've had a LOT of them), leite creme being a soft-ish eggy custard, very much like crema catalana, finished with a sprinkling of cinnamon and a burnt sugar crust on top (a la crème brulée, and the real crema catalana). All of this set me back.....are you ready?....about 10 dollars. If you go, definitely call ahead for a reservation--the restaurant is quite small, and every really serious chowhound in Portugal knows about it. The day I was there, businessmen had driven in just for lunch from both Lisbon AND Porto (luckily, I got there a bit early before the lunch rush, or I would have had to wait at least an hour and a half for a table). The telephone number is 238 745 266 (and they're closed Sunday night and all day Monday).

I've never tried the Suspiri de cabra you mention...I must look for it. I'm assuming the second cheese you mention is queijo de Azeitão, a really spectacular Portuguese cheese. For my money, the big winner of Portuguese cheeses is queijo da Serra, from the Serra de Estrela mountains. It's sometimes a bit hard to find, and I've yet to try a really good one here (and it tends to be too expensive--a problem that the queijo de Azeitão shares--compounded by the fact that it's not really practical to buy slices....one pretty much needs to buy a whole wheel--about 3 pounds). But if you can find a good ripe one--a really ripe queijo da Serra should run all over the plate--grab it. You won't be disappointed!

Fat Guy, I'm so glad there's another Afuega 'l pitu fan around--it's been one of my favorite cheeses for years, and was thrilled a couple of years ago to realize you can find it in NYC with some regularity. I have read that same hypothesis as to the origin of its name in cheese books, and can tell you that it's completely incorrect. They got the meaning of both words in the name wrong.....afuega 'l pitu (which is from Asturias, as madrileño pointed out) is bable, the Asturian dialect (somewhere between Portuguese and Castellano). "Afuega" is the bable equivalent of the Castellano "ahogar", which means "to choke" or "to drown", and "pitu" is bable for chicken or rooster. "Afuega 'l pitu" can, therefore be translated loosely as "chokes the chicken" (I love that!), presumably because chickens can't eat it without choking to death (due to its dry-yet-gummy texture....apparently chickens are so stupid they'll eat anything, even if it kills them). I've spent a LOT of time in Asturias and got this from one of my Asturiano friends.

Having been totally swamped (professionally) for about the last 4 months, I haven't been on the site much at all lately, so I'm just now seeing this..... I lived in Portugal for 4 years (now back living in NYC), where I made it my mission to find all the great things to eat I could. I could go on for hours about all the wonderful food there ( not always easy to find unless someone who knows tells you exactly where to go) and would be happy to tell you anything I know. But help me narrow it down.....what are you interested in finding out about? Tell me--places? Types of food? I need an idea where to begin. I also have extensive knowledge of the great food (not to mention breathtaking landscape) of Asturias--will you be passing through there?

When I was working in Seattle a couple of years ago, I have to say I was shocked at how expensive restaurants were in general. It seemed ones only options (at least in easy reach, being carless in lower Queen Anne) were either meals that cost $40+ or fast food. With the exception of a couple of unexciting Thai restaurants, the one exception I found (but it's a really good one) was Mediterranean Kitchen. Dinner is in the $15-20 range (for Seattle, that's CHEAP), and lunch a bit less. Their garlic-marinated grilled chicken wings are stupendous....I still have dreams about them!

And, Degustation, when you do, please let us know how it is! And PLEASE try the cabidela (at the very least, I can live vicariously through you!).

I guess I misunderstood, at least in part, the nature of your request. Cafe Ferreira is obviously not a "traditional" Portuguese restaurant. Still, it does some things that are not in any way Portuguese.....all of the more nouvelle-type restaurants I tried in Portugal (at least all the ones I can remember, and the ones that identified themselves as somehow Portuguese and not another ethnicity) still stayed within certain parameters derived from traditions in Portuguese cooking. For instance, Cafe Ferreira has a couple of salads on the menu that include cheese.....I never encountered cheese in a salad ever in a restaurant in Portugal, no matter how upscale. To me, that simply says, loud and clear, "NOT Portuguese". There were several odd "red flag" items like that on the menu. Still, they've evidently put a lot of thought into their menu....it's probably a good place.

Since I have now appointed myself the Portuguese food guru of the board, I will now pass sentence on these two restaurants..... First of all, Cafe Ferreira--this appears to be the sort of high-end place with a more general menu mentioned by Degustation above. The real Portuguese options on the menu (at least real-sounding....one never knows how they're actually going to prepare the dish!) are the caldo verde, possibly the creme de mariscos, depending on how they make it, the sardinhas grelhadas, the chouriço (but without the bean salad....a salad of black-eyed peas is a very traditional Portuguese thing, but NOT as an accompaniment to chouriço!), the lulas grelhadas, the octopus salad (but once again, it would not normally be served with chickpeas or eggplant caviar.....), the bacalhau (practically the Portuguese national foodstuff!), the arroz de marisco (once again, depending on how it was prepared....rice dishes are NOT risotto-like in Portugal, but much more soupy), the cataplana of fish and shellfish, carne de porco à alentejana (for me, this dish redeems the whole menu--very traditional and a truly wonderful dish if well prepared), and possibly the veal chop (a conceivably Portuguese preparation, but in high-end restaurants only, obviously). All in all, not a bad average I suppose......the other dishes, however, although they may contain a recognizably Portuguese ingredient or two, have nothing to do with Portuguese cooking or execution (lemon-flavored rice? Port reduction with fish?? Sesame-crusted tuna???). As for Piri-Piri: the menu of this joint just SCREAMS typical, simple neighborhood restaurant in Lisbon! (kind of makes me nostalgic.....prego! bitoque! bifana!....bifana was my favorite late-afternoon snack in Lisbon, washed down by a nice, cold impérial or two, of course!) Pay special attention to the daily specials (forgetting the pastas, of course)--they are virtually all wonderful, interesting dishes, unique to Portuguese food......chanfana, feijoada, cozido, arroz de tamboril, coelho à caçador--all are totally authentic dishes, and, if well prepared, very good eating. It's almost shocking to see mão de vaca com grão on the menu....it's such a traditional, simple, working-class kind of dish, and one I never expected to see anywhere outside of a tasca in Lisbon. My best advice: go on a Tuesday so you can try the arroz de cabidela. This is, by a lot, my favorite traditional Portuguese dish, but the translation of "chicken risotto" could be a bit misleading.....what it actually is (with the usual caveat of "assuming proper preparation") is chicken that has been stewed with its own giblets (especially liver and heart, and often some bacon and chouriço tossed in for good measure), served with rice that has been cooked in the cooking liquid of the chicken....chicken blood is then added at the end, giving the rice a dark, rich "seasoned" aspect, and finished with some cilantro. The appetizer list is also totally authentic, although mussels are not generally prepared "à Bulhão Pato", just small clams--wonderful when done well. This makes me wish I were closer to Toronto......it's been months since I've had a good cabidela!

What an interesting post, Wilfrid....thanks! I'm continually fascinated by what is supposed to pass for "Portuguese food" on this continent. I'm especially fascinated by the information that not one, but TWO restuarants on this side of the Atlantic serve a "clam and chouriço stew", something I never encountered in 4 years of living and eating in Portugal (it sounds odd, but it's something I would have definitely tried if I ever saw it on a menu). I also can't help but wonder how "rabbit Portuguese-style" can be roasted when virtually no one in Portugal prepares it that way (I say virtually--I know I never encountered it, and I love well-prepared rabbit). There are many wonderful rabbit dishes done other ways, though--I've eaten it braised, fried, and--my favorite--stewed with rice, with or without blood and giblets! Toucinho do ceu is a real Portuguese confection, but not the one you ate! In reality, it is a dense, extremely sweet egg-yolk-and-ground-almond concoction (it's name means "bacon from heaven"). If you had a squash something, it was an attempt to replicate one of the many Portuguese desserts made with xila, a cooked and sweetened squash very much like spaghetti squash.....I always found it disgusting, personally. Grão Vasco is, in Portugal at least, considered a fairly ordinary wine--above average in its general category, but quite ordinary. I imagine you paid for your glass about what an entire bottle would cost in a restaurant in Portugal! If you ever get the chance, try Quinta de Bacalhoa or a good vintage of Esporão. I don't mean for this to come off sounding snobbish....I just find it very strange that people open what they call "Portuguese" restaurants, then don't trust Portuguese cuisine enough to actually serve it. I would be fascinated to see what would happen if someone with taste and knowledge ever did open a REAL Portuguese restaurant over here. It would, at the very least, be a complete revelation to many....it might even be a big success!

One of my favorite topics (what people are reading, that is), so I figured I'd add my $.02..... Sketches from a Hunter's Notebook--Turgenev A Sentimental Education--Flaubert (since they were good friends, I like the synchronicity of reading these two at the same time) Dodo--E.F. Benson (not quite as utterly delicious as the Lucia books, but still fun) The Culture We Deserve--Jacques Barzun (everything I've always felt about the current state of art and scholarship but could never quite articulate) The Station: Athos, Treasures, and Men--Robert Byron (about a trip to Mt. Athos in Greece. Byron was a classmate of Waugh and Sykes, and the only book of his still in print is The Road to Oxiana...if you want to read a REAL travel book--as opposed to a tourist guide--about a trip to the Oxus river region in Afghanistan in the 1930's, pick it up. It's brilliantly written, and meticulously and wittily observed--his sense of satire and the comic is wonderful. Paul Fussell calls this book "the Ulysses of travel books.") I always seem to end up editorializing when it comes to these things.... BTW, I found A Nervous Splendor fascinating....if you want an interesting look at Vienna about 35 years after that time period, read Elias Canetti's third volume of memoirs, Das Augenspiel (The Play of the Eyes). It's some of the same sort of material, except he was friends with many of the major figures in the cultural and intellectual world there in the '20's. His way of thinking and feeling (and therefore writing) is utterly unique and marvelous....I consider anything by him well worth reading.

Nightscotsman, the "Triple-decker Bar" had nothing to do with any of the other bars discussed--I just happened to remember it while reading this thread. It was a darn good bar--just the three layers of different-colored chocolate (sort of like a pousse-cafe!), no filling. I somehow never thought to Google it....I can't be the only one that remembers these, and I'm sure of the name. But I do remember they weren't around long--a year or two at the most sometime around 1970.

Well, not quite the ONLY reason.....I consider Ali Baba's a very compelling reason to go the west side. As is Luchita's (Mexican) on W. 117th St. One day one of my colleagues, a native Clevelander, came to me and said, "Eric, we just found this wonderful Mexican restaurant....you have to try it--it's just like eating in Mexico!" (She and her husband had lived in Mexico for a few years when he played in an orchestra down there.) When I asked what it is, she said Luchita's. I then told her I had been going there ever since I moved to town....I assumed she already knew about it. I just knew it as the only Mexican restaurant around I could stand (not a big Mexican fan, but Luchita's IS good).

I know it's an old thread, but I just happened across it and, as a long-time former resident of Cleveland, thought I'd add my $.02 It's been over 10 years since I moved away away from Cleveland, and sadly (tragically, even!), 4 or 5 of my favorites no longer exist (Miller's Dining Room and the old George's Diner--oh, that ham!--top the list). Still, there are a few joints left worth mentioning...... Ali Baba's on Lorain at around W. 121st St.--I've passed through Cleveland twice in the last year and was not able to find them open either time, so call ahead. They make the most delicious Lebanese food I have ever tasted (it's been over 10 years, and I can still taste the hummus, labnee, and shish taook--with homemade garlic mayonnaise!). It used to be--and I presume still is--dirt cheap, too. Balaton--I have not been to the new location on Shaker Square, but the old Balaton on Buckeye (the encroaching slums forced them to move, no doubt) made simply incredible Hungarian food, for ridiculously cheap prices. All palpably homemade....easily the best (and biggest!) Wiener Schnitzel I've ever tasted, and that includes anywhere in Austria, goulashes, soups, palacsinta.....oops.....I'm drooling.... Mama Santa's in Little Italy--best pizza in town. Great homemade cavatelli, too. Player's--with Mama Santa's already cited, Player's Pizza on the west side has quite good yuppie pizza (you know, goat cheese and smoked chicken and roasted red pepper toppings), with a varied menu and nice, low-key ambience. Presti's Donuts, in Little Italy--I still have dreams about these, but you must heed my advice: go in the middle of the night (3 or 4 a.m. is best). One or two guys are in the shop all night, from about 11 p.m., making donuts for the next day, which they will sell you as they come out of the oven. By 3 or 4 in the morning, there is a better selection and it's so very calm and....well, there's just something about devouring fresh, hot donuts at 4 a.m. At 7 a.m., they close the shop and all the donuts are sent to the bakery (of the same name) a few doors down the block. Draeger's--An old fashioned candy store and ice cream parlor that makes hot fudge sundaes the way they're supposed to be made--with quality, old-fashioned vanilla ice cream and a separate pitcher of hot fudge made the way a real, old-fashioned candy store makes it. I hear their candy is good, too. There is also a truly wonderful Cantonese restaurant at 39th and St. Clair, the name of which I can't recall right now. I tried to go there on my last two passes through Cleveland, and was so crowded both times it was hopeless...... Bo Loong! That's the name....call ahead and try to reserve--it's well worth it.

I'm reading this thread with a touch of mystification, since it's been at least 25 years since I bought a "candy bar" (at least an American one), but it got me thinking (a bit off topic)...... .....does anyone remember a candy bar (Nestle, maybe?) made about 30 years ago called a "Triple-Decker Bar"? It was 3 layers, one each of dark, white, and milk chocolate (respectively, from the bottom up). As I recall they weren't around all that long, but I sure loved 'em as an 11-year-old!

I googled and found espardenyas, and they are apparently sea cucmbers (they look like what I've eaten in Chinese restuarants under the name of "sea slug"). I just found out the red sea anemone has the Spanish name of tomate de mar, or sea tomato!

Percebes? Probably not....percebes are goose barnacles (although I am enjoying the mental image of goose barnacles getting scared and falling off their rocks!). I used to eat them in Portugal and the Açores....never noticed them in Spain, but I think they're readily available in Galicia. "Sea anemone" is anémona de mar, but it could be almost anything. (For instance, Portuguese has at least 4 completely different words for what we think of as "crab", depending on the specific type.)