Salmon steaks |
I know I touched on food in previous posts, but figured I’d
make one dedicated to just the tastiness in Porto. In a nutshell, the food in
Porto was excellent. Didn’t have a meal that I didn’t like, and I had a ton of
great seafood.
For dinner, we walked down to a restaurant we had passed on
the way from the train station (didn’t catch the name), which had some very
tasty fish. I got a “grilled” salmon steak, which was more sautéed that
grilled, but very tasty.
Francesinha |
Day 2, we had a MASSIVE sandwich that would put the Coronary
Bypass at the Vortex to shame. After our tour ended, Sean and I got a
Francesinha at Café Santiago. The Francesinha is two pieces of bread, a grilled
steak, two slices of ham (like from a ham at Thanksgiving, not deli ham), and
two hunks apiece of two kinds of sausage. Dip it in the secret sauce, melt four
slices of cheese on top, and serve with French Fries. We weren’t hungry for a
loooong while after that.
Dinner rolled around eventually, and Sean and I found a
place on the waterfront. I got something our tour guide had recommended, but is
guaranteed to gross out my Aunt Ivery: tripe and bean stew. Even our waiter
made a face when I got it, but it was good! It was like very mild red beans and
rice from New Orleans.
Day 3, we built up a bit of an appetite hiking to the port
cellar (and, you know, drinking port), so we grabbed lunch across the river in
Gaia. I got the grilled sea bass (which was tasty, but a little too bony, so it
wasn’t quite my cup of tea), and Sean got the grilled chicken. Oddly enough,
the potatoes were the best part; a little vinegar and olive oil can make plain
boiled potatoes quite tasty. We also stopped at a café on the way back for
coffee and a pastry (but mostly to escape the rain). After that, we met up with
Anita, and eventually ended back up at the waterfront, where we split some sangria,
and I got a dessert made with ice cream and espresso.
Fried peppers, olives, wine and fried sardines |
Anyway, dinner that night easily took first prize for best
meal so far in Europe. We got a recommendation for A Casa dos Brenlhas from our
hostel, and figured we’d give it a shot. I mentioned this place in an earlier
post (which they apparently saw and liked on their FB page. Hi guys!), but I’ll
go a bit more into detail here.
Anyway, Sean, Anita, and me all split a carafe of wine (it
evolved into a carafe and a half, but who’s counting?). We all got a small
plate and a big plate, and figured we’d share everything. For small plates, we
got some small fried sardines (which were MUCH better than the large ones in
Lisbon), fried peppers (not spicy, but quite tasty), and grilled chorizo (my
personal favorite; Sean laughed when I lunged for the last bite).
Tasty, tasty stuff |
These were all excellent, and we could have made an easy
meal out of those, but we still managed to save room for the main course. I got
the bread stew with seafood (clams and shrimp) which was excellent, though I could
easily have split that alone with someone and been stuffed. Sean and Anita both
got the grilled beef and fries, and polished their plates, if I remember
correctly (and Anita tried to help me polish mine, too!).
After that, the extra half-carafe of wine made an
appearance, and we got dessert. Sean and I got a custard tart of some kind
(think flan, but cut from a cake) and Anita got a slice of very tasty-looking
ice cream cake. Somehow, Anita sweet-talked a bit of mine out of me. I’m a
sucker for a pretty smile, what can I say?
After that, we finished the meal off with a glass of port,
and paid the (astonishingly low) check. Total damage for dinner, dessert, and
drinks was 33 euro, which was a steal! I’ve seen individual meals in the States
go for that much, wine and dessert not included! For how great the food was, I’d
say that’s definitely worth the cost! Definitely give Brenlhas a try if you’re
ever in Porto!
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