Anthony Bourdain never mentioned this…

Anthony Bourdain never mentioned this…

As all first-timers go we followed the recipe and fell into the usual traps the fado house overcharging us and some unhappy faces on the table due to misunderstandings with the menu.

Fish on the grill is always a good choice in any restaurant, but it is always advisable to eat where the locals eat. Of course you don't know this the the first few days in a new city, but as a rule of thumb walk about get yourself lost in the streets sacrifice a portion of good food fora slice of pizza or other similar ff experience.  The first two days in Lisbon were like sailing the uncharted seas. By chance we found the gingina place that we had seen in Anthony Bourdain's show "No reservations" and probably missed 10 good cafés in Alfama. We were struck by the fact that the Portuguese are infidels when it comes to a pint, they prefer the imperial;a mistery resolved in Portimao after 5 days of hits,misses and pizzas. On our last night at this ocean side town we finally ate snails at the most local of local places where the owner/waiter/chef speaks only Portuguese and he explained to us that it's better to have imperial and then another one and then another one because that way the beer stays constantly cold and fresh.  The snails by the way were delicious and we might have overestimated our capacities by ordering an extra plate of pica-pau, slices of grilled beef with sauté and garlic.

Note to self and others when travelling to Portugal, Spain and the rest of the Iberian peninsula don't forget the tapas and remember most restaurants offer formula meals. When we talk about tapas I had a lovely plate of salmon, prosciutto, bacalhau with chickpeas and a glass of bear to polish it off of all places in a mall. And the formula, lovely lamb chops on the barbacue and a salad and wine and all that for 10euros. But enough about the meat and the fish, were we to be more curious and brave we'd have found more vegetarian friendly dishes in Portugal. We came around a version of mish-mash and rice with vegetables prepared in the usual restaurant way. My regret is not tasting the fajola the bean and pork dish. But there is no country for regrets, you always need do leave something behind in order to come back. Nevertheless,to soothe an aching heart, or hurting feet from all the uphill and downhill streets we turned to the comfort of delights invented by no other but nuns- pasteis de nata or custard tarts. Add a little cinnamon and suddenly a 1euro tart is a luxurious 1000euro Belle du Jour.

To end a day at the beach and this post I leave you with the inevitable and omnipresent doughnuts on the beach known locally as "bolinos". And an imperial Sagress.