The Lisbon Connection

The Portuguese appreciate eating and drinking well. The influence of Portugal’s former colonial possessions is clear, especially in the wide variety of spices used, like piri piri (small, fiery chilli peppers), as well as cinnamon, vanilla and saffron. There’s also Arab and Moorish influences, especially in the south. The Portuguese cuisine is rich, filling and full-flavoured.

Lisbon, pastelaria (cafe/small restaurant and cheap) ‘O trenta e um (31) ,  Alfama.

Breakfast: traditionally just coffee and bread, often enjoyed in a pastelaria. Recommended: toast (tosta mista) with ham & cheese (queijo e presunto), or delicious sweet pastries like pastéis de natas, real calorie bombs! Coffee: strong (bica) with milk (galão - garoto), tea (chá) with or without sugar (açúcar). The pastalerias are often a part of the social life in the neighbourhood.

Owner of Taverna do Poco, Largo do Terreirinho, Mouraria, Lisbon. A real traditional Portuguese restaurant where you can have a 5 course meal (cheese, soup, main course, desert, coffee and wine) for only about 10 (2008) euros. This restaurant is only open during the day until around 18:00.

How to recognize cheap and really Portuguese restaurants?
A little bit disorderly, but very clean; a big TV screen, people like watching TV while eating (a lot of football, futebol), TL-tubes on the ceiling and paper table-covers. Prices (in Lisbon 2008) between 8 and 15 euro (three courses and wine).

There’s a lot of seafood restaurants, many with very beautiful displays of lobsters, shrimp, oysters, and crabs, but a big TV-screen (futebol!) is also really important….

Besides: be prepared in the more expensive and touristical restaurants you have to pay for starters like bread, cheese and often olives or shrimps (camarao). They are not a part of the meal! You won’t pay for them if you don’t eat them, and often the waiter will take them away (não, obrigado), no thank you.

 

Like in all mediterranean countries lunch (almoçar),  is a big affair for Portuguese, served between noon and 3 o’clock, often in a restaurant. Usually three courses, including soup (sopa) like caldo verde (a soup of cabbage and potatoes), fish, like codfish (bacalhau) or charcoal-grilled sardines (sardinhas assadas) or meat (rabbit and pork are very popular), Coelho a caçador (rabbitstew, in red wine), accompanied with a small bottle of red or white wine (uma garaffa de vinho branco ou tinto) or Vinho Verde (a young sparkling ‘green’ wine, low-alcohol). If you don’t feel like experimenting, try a ‘bitoque’. It’s steak and fries, with a fried egg, garlic and rice.

Lunch at home… cheers! (Saúde!), Cais do Sodré, Lisbon’s railway- and ferry station, June 2008

Roasted salmon , about 10 euro in a cheap restaurant, incl a glass of wine.

Desserts (sobremesas): crême brulée (pudim flan), chocolate mousse and a big variety of almond cakes (amêndoa). Toucinho do céu (bacon of heaven) or barriga de freiras, (nun’s bellies), recipes originally created by nuns in the 17th and 18th Century. Often cheese (queijo), from sheep or goat’s milk. Very popular is ‘queijo da Serra” from the region of Serra da Estrela.

Dinner is served late, after 8 o’clock.