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FOOD AND DRINK |
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Portuguese food is excellent, cheap and served in quantity.
Virtually all cafés, whatever their appearance, will serve you a basic
meal, or at least a snack, for under ¬8 (£5/$7.50), and for a little
more you have the run of most of the country's restaurants
Food
Often you'll come across a whole range of dishes served at a café but it
is usually snacks and basic fare . Favourites include tosta mistas (cheese
and ham toasties), prego (steak sandwich), usually served with a fried
egg; bifoque (steak, chips, fried egg); rissóis (deep-fried meat patties);
pasteis de bacalhau (codfish cakes); and sandes (sandwiches). Sometimes,
too, you'll see food displayed on café counters, particularly shellfish
- if you see anything that looks appealing, just ask for uma dose (a
portion). Uma coisa destas (one of those) can also be a useful phrase.
Restaurants usually offer a three-course ementa turistica which is
usually the most economical way to eat - restaurant servings tend to be
so enormous that you can often have a substantial meal by ordering a
meia dose (half portion), or one portion between two.
Regional differences aren't as marked as in Spain, but it's always worth
taking stock of the prato do dia (dish of the day) and, if you're on the
coast, going for fish and seafood . Typical Portuguese dishes include
sopa de marisco (shellfish soup cooked and served with wine), caldo
verde (finely shredded green kale leaves in broth) and bacalhau (dried
cod, cooked in a myriad of different ways). Caldeirada is a fish stew
with as many as nine kinds of fish, cooked with onions and tomatoes.
Also typical is carne de porco á Alentejana , in which fried pork is
covered with a clam, tomato and onion sauce or stewed with tomato and
onions. Meat is usually excellent, and nearly all restaurants have pork,
beef, lamb, goat and chicken dishes. Regional cheeses are well worth
experimenting, particularly goat and sheep cheese. Puddings include
arroz doce (rice pudding), Madeira pudding and nuvens (egg custard).
Portugal's cakes - bolos or pastéis - are often at their best in casas
de chá (tearooms), though you'll also find them in cafés and in
pastelarias (cake shops). Among the best are the Belém custard tarts (
pastéis de nata) , the Sintra cheesecakes ( queijadas de Sintra ),
marzipan cakes from the Algarve, and the incredibly sweet egg-based
doces de ovos .
Drink
In addition to food, all cafés serve alcohol - and they're much cheaper
places to drink than bars, which tend to have slightly more cosmopolitan
pretensions and prices. Portuguese wines ( tinto for red, branco for
white) are very inexpensive and of an amazing quality overall - even the
standard vinho da casa that you get in the humblest of cafés. The
fortified port ( vinho do Porto ) and madeira ( vinho da Madeira ) wines
are by far the best known, and you should certainly aim to sample them
both. Among table wines , the most popular regional names are Dão for
red wines and Bucelas and Colares for white wines. Sparkling rosé wines
are mostly produced for export; Mateus Rosé is one of the most famous.
The light, slightly sparkling vinhos verdes - "green wines", in age not
colour - are produced in the Minho, and are excellent and refreshing
served chilled.
Portuguese brandy is available in two varieties, Macieiera and
Constantino, and like local gin is ridiculously cheap; if you're asking
for gin or any other spirits at a bar always specify you want "gin
nacional", "vodka nacional", etc - it'll save you a fortune.
The two most common local beers ( cervejas ) are Sagres and Super Bock -
both are served on tap and are very drinkable. You can order many other
bottled foreign brands in most bars. Order um fino or um imperial if you
want a small glass; uma caneca will get you a half-litre.
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