Madeira

[TarteTatin]

Madeira the island:

We were there probably about 8 years ago, and found nothing really good as far as food.

Now, Fado music was new to us, and interesting and cool, and being the only Americans there was cool, and 72 degree year round weather was cool, and the island of Porto Santo was cool.

But basically, we found nothing to eat but espada which is a fish that looks like an eel. There was boiled espada, grilled espada, fried espada, beef on a stick and lots of good Madeira wine.

There was also lots of Germans and British tourists on cheap weekends like we do in the Bahamas.

But, has anyone found anything creative as far as cuisine?

[Eric_Malson]

Creative? If you want creative, go to France or El Bulli or someplace like that. But it's worth hunting down good versions of the traditional Madeiran dishes which, at their best, can be very good indeed.

The traditional tomato and onion soup (sopa de tomate e cebola) is a marvelous soup: a thick soup of--yes--tomatoes and onions, thickened with stale bread cubes and served with a poached egg. It is always seasoned with fresh segurelha, or savory. It's surprisingly difficult to find a really good version of this soup, but it's worth taking some trouble for.

For me, the most inspired Madeiran specialty is one that couldn't be simpler--the espetada (often called espetada regional). Cubes of beef skewered on a bay laurel branch, seasoned with coarse salt, garlic and a bit of chopped bay leaf. Grilled over a wood fire, preferably one that includes dry bay laurel branches, is, at its best, much more than the sum of its separate ingredients. (Beef on a stick.....harrumph!)

Definitely seek out a good bolo de caco while you're at it... round mini-loaves of a bread (often made with sweet potatoes) cooked on a hot stone (the caco in question).

With all the peixe espada you were subjected to, I hope you at least tried it prepared my favorite way, de Vinha-d'Alhos.

If you're going to have a car, the best meal I had by far on Madeira was in a village called Estreito, which is about 5 km above Câmara de Lobos, at a restaurant called Santo António. Really great espetada and bolo de caco. Personally, although it may not be the most amazing culinary experience on the planet, I would also not want to miss what is essentially a mountain inn called Casa de Abrigo do Poiso, above Monte on the way to the Pico de Arieiro. On a cold day, it's wonderful to sit by the fireplace and sip poncha (a sort-of Madeirense version of the caipirinha) and nosh on some traditional fare.

[vserna]

In Funchal proper, I have enjoyed the regional cuisine at Celeiro (rua das Aranhas 22, phone 291 230 622), an old-time place with largely local customers. Pretty good espetadas (kebabs). Then again, there seems to be a 'nova cozinha madeirense', or Madeira nouvelle, at such places as Fora d'Água, but these didn't exist when I last was there four years ago, so no idea if they're worth the visit...

Edited September 26, 2004 by vserna (log)

[MiguelCardoso]

My sister has been living in Funchal for over 20 years and every time I visit, she and her husband, both demanding gourmets, make a point of surprising me with new delights and forcing me to admit that they are unobtainable on mainland Portugal.

Madeira is truly a tourist destination, since long before the era of mass travel, so it's easy to miss out on its native cuisine if you go with the flow and stick to the well-worn hotel strip. However, 95% of the population actually live there - so it's essential, if you're after good food, to befriend the locals who, unlike their Iberian counterparts, are notoriously cagey about their culinary strengths.

Although I must agree that they do love their "filetes de espada" to bits. Their "peixe-espada" is black and more deep-sea than the silvery one we love on the Portuguese "continente", as it's somewhat disparagingly called there. It's nothing like an eel - it's scabbard: a delicious fish with just the right combination of dry flesh and subtly gelatinous skin, best when simply fried in a little flour or grilled.

Madeirans prefer it in the form of eggy "filetes", served with chips and one of their beloved bananas. The fact that tourists share this enthusiasm ("fish and chips") only seems to encourage this monomaniacal passion. Madeirans have it when they can't be bothered to choose something else - it's a staple, agreeable to children and adults. (Please note how I have refrained, in a spirit of tolerance, from facetiously adding a Lisboncentric comment along the lines of "Go figure").

I can't bring myself to extol the laudably persistent effort to create a semi-tropical Madeiran cuisine which elaborates on the "scabbard and banana" motif to include their many unique deep-sea fishes, sent on more or less blind dates with their other abundant tropical fruits, such as passion-fruit, chaperoned by their many outstanding fortified wines - Madeira Wine is a universe apart, obscenely underpriced because it's inexplicably less popular than Port - and their adamantly illegal but much-loved "vinho Jaquet", also known as "vinho morangueiro" or "americano" (strawberry-grape wine), which is ridiculously cheap. sweet and fruity, much like an adult version of Cherry Coke with its own built-in hangover.

To eat well, you must go to the off-centre fish restaurants which serve expertly fried miniature versions of the most appreciated (and expensive) big fish we "continentals" are so fond of. We have a "posta" (a cut) of "garoupa" - they have a "garoupinha" all to themselves. We have "a posta" pf "cherne" - they each have a "cherninho". We share a "pargo" - they won't settle for anything less than a largish but individual "parguinho".

We go to great lengths (and expense) to haul in these big Atlantic predators (roughly "grooper", "wreckfish" and "sea bream", this last the prized "tai" of Japan, "pagrus pagrus") and grill or boil them respectfully. Madeirans get them cheaply and with little effort from the deep, clean ocean that surrounds them and invariably and superbly fry them up in olive oil to a seemingly impossible of crispness - so much so that the whole fish is thoughtlessly consumed. They're almost always served with a big salad and equally crispy French fries, delicately scented with cloves of garlic which are shaken along for mere seconds when each batch is salted.

Another treat are "lapas" (limpet clams?), grilled on an iron skillet and simply dressed with butter and garlic.

I can never get enough of just-landed whole Atlantic fish that has been so well fried that there's never a hint of oil, its interior is as moist and luscious as if it had quickly steamed. As they're so abundant, it's normal to have two or three per person, each one fried the moment you've finished the previous one (a total of a kilo and a half is standard and easily affordable) and only ten or twelve of the chips.

Although I've been taken to all the best places, I can't say the "espetadas" are any better than anywhere else, although I heartily enjoy the ritual (the butter dropping onto the hook; the difference in flavour according to the tree the skewer/branch comes from) and the traditional accompaniments: crispy little cubes of fried corn pulp and the wonderfully garlicky "bolo do caco", of which the best, by the way, is sold by the side of the road that leads from the airport to Funchal.

If you're brave enough to venture into Cãmara de Lobos, delicious "petiscos", as well as the best "poncha" on the island, can be had in the fishermen's "tabernas".

Funchal is also a paradise for drinkers and cocktail-lovers. Every barman has his own specialities, of which he's genuinely proud. Prices are about half of what they are in continental Portugal, although the same good brands of booze are used (they have their own, older-established importers) and still generous half-whiskies or half-gin-and-tonics are little more than half of the full version. Everywhere - the humblest café or kiosk - is a bar with an amazing variety of sophisticated drinks which the bartender will visibly enjoy preparing and correcting according to your taste.

I haven't got time to get into the excellent rustic fare you get in the interior. I'll never forget a gargantuan "cozido à portuguesa", with added yams, that took us all of three hours to get through, as each of the many components was served separately, at short intervals, assembling on the plate according to each diner's preferences...

Hope this helps - it's certainly filled me with "saudades" ;)

Edited September 27, 2004 by MiguelCardoso (log)

[South Jersey Epicurean]

Can you recommedn any new restuarants AND places to stay in Funchal Madeira for a SINGLE PERSON? Leaving on July 8, 2005.

Please help!!

[vserna]

In Funchal, Celeiro remains "the" place for regional, no frills fare... As Eric was correctly saying last year, the Santo António, in Estreito de Cámara de Lobos, is a very basic place with very honest local food. The Swiss-owned La Perla, at the Quinta Splendida in Caniço, gets good reviews but I haven't been there. As you know, this is mostly a world of hotel dining rooms with the dreaded 'international' cuisine. There's the indispensable visit to Reid's, of course: the solemn Dining Room, the more modern Brisa do Mar for dinner, where they get into Asian fusion, and Cipriani – the best Italian restaurant on the island. At Estreito de Cámara de Lobos, the Bacchus in the Quinta do Estreito is a very charming restaurant with some decent modern/Madeiran cuisine.

BTW, I see that Reid's has a single-room promotion (the 'great affordables', no less!) and there are rooms available from July 8 at 220 euros a night. A chance to stay at a legendary hotel for a reasonable price! It includes "daily buffet breakfast in the Garden Room or Continental breakfast in guest room, fruit basket in room upon arrival, one bottle of 5 years-old Madeira Wine, complimentary mini-bar set up of soft drinks and beer (replenished daily), one Traditional Afternoon Tea, one four course Dinner in The Dining Room (excluding beverages)." Who could say no?

Edited July 3, 2005 by vserna (log)

[Rusty Shackleford]

My partner and I are off to Madeira for a week, on Monday...any updates to report folks? Fine dining, rustic local, quick snacks...any recommendations welcomed.

Cheers,

Rusty