Culinary Backstreets Lisbon - Food Tour
Touchdown 6:00 amToday we join Célia Pedros, Culinary Backstreet's Lisbon bureau chief and our guide for the day. We arranged a spot on this full-day tour called, "Lisbon Awakens: A Culinary Crossroads, Reborn" several months in advance. It is our trick to ward off jet lag after our 6:00 am arrival in Lisbon this morning. And it works beautifully. We stop at a dozen places in the relaxed and charming Campo de Orique neighborhood, and spend the day with a lovely group of women enjoying more food & wine than we expect. What a memorable way to visit and learn about Lisbon's backstreets!
Meeting Point
Culinary Backstreets provided excellent instructions and we locate our 10:00 am meeting point easily once we identify the 18th-century Estrela Basilica near Estrela Garden. Our companions are Judy from Brooklyn and mother/daughter team Amanda and Amy from Miami and Manhattan. Our favorite part of the day is the interaction of our small group - the warmth and kindness everyone shows - and the map of Europe that Célia has us draw together on a brown paper place-mat. It depicts the trade route that makes Portuguese cuisine what it is today. Major influences are South America, India, Africa & China. We use this map throughout our journey, linking the past with the present, food the thread that binds this colorful tapestry together.
Did you know ... the black and white limestone pavement in mosaic-like designs found throughout Lisbon is called calçada à Portuguesa. It is one of the oldest features of the city and is now considered a trademark. Stop #1 - Pastry ShopCélia brings us to a small round café in the park named Restaurante Jardim da Estrela . There's a red child-size trolley outside. A large group gathered nearby is doing aerobic exercise with upbeat music punching the air and we can't help but feel we will need to do the same at the end of this tour. We feast our eyes on an amazing array of baked goods arranged in a glass case. We learn the Portuguese start the day with something small like a pastry. And then we bite into the muffin Célia selected for us to try. Salty, sweet, moist and light with a delicious crunch on top from the pine nuts and caramel. We are off to a great start.
Stop #2 - Soft EggsWe swing into a bright and sunny pastry shop named Casa dos Ovos Mole em Lisboa with wall tiles the color of egg yolks where we learn about ovos moles (or soft eggs). Portugal's nuns created these famous sweet treats over 400 years ago during the time Portugal dominated the trade routes and imported sugar from the colonies. These small sea-themed shapes of shells, barrels and fish are - literally - communion wafers filled with a sugar and egg custard. We bite in and the yolk cream melts in our mouths. Amy is not a fan of these too -sweet gelatinous pastries.
Stop #3 - Traditional Market
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Saturday, June 9MILES WALKED
69 °F & partly sunny (no rain) Tour GuidanceToday is about so much more than just the food. We learn about the history of Portugal. And our group are well-traveled and interesting women who add color and intellect to the discussion.
Back Door DiscoveriesThe visit to the bookstore is not a planned stop on this tour. We visit because Judy, one of our companions, is a journalist and she heard our guide is a cookbook author and we wanted to buy copies to bring home.
What doesn't kill you fattens you up
Today we ate Portugal. Seriously. We sampled and savored so many wonderful staples and specialties of this country. We cannot agree on a favorite. It is all varied and amazing.
Fale em portugues, por favorToday's word is bom-apetite! = enjoy your meal. It is pronounced bohn-ah-peh-TEE-teh
Lessons LearnedDon't buy pastel de nata at the airport. Be patient. Wait until you have time to visit a reputable, well-know shop. It's worth it, trust us. HELPFUL HINT: Be sure to establish your rate with the taxi driver before you get in the car. Make sure he/she speaks English or some language you can understand and hold them to the price they quoted. A Dog's LifeCaryl is only one day into the trip and she is already missing her Raven. She gets her dog fix by petting this Portuguese breed called a Podengo.
Surf's Up!
In the market Mark spots a surf shop. Portugal is famous for it's big waves so this is not a surprising find.
Foodie Heaven
Amy is in her element, surrounded by food, and sampling a wide array of offerings.
Meet the AuthorWe learn that Célia is a cookbook author. She is very humble and almost reluctant to take us on a detour to buy her book but caves to the pressure. She is gracious to sign our books as we said goodbye.
Did you know ... Portugal is commonly referred to as a Mediterranean country even though geographically it does not have coastline in the Mediterranean Sea? There are a number of reasons for this:
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Our next stop is the Mercado de Campo de Ourique, a food market where the old artisans - the fishmongers, butchers, greengrocers & bakers - bridge to the modern world via the food court. It's a feast for all of our senses, the aroma of bread baking, the vibrant colors of fruit spilling from rustic baskets, fishmongers calling out to shoppers, the feel of dried cod. Célia has us taste a variety of nuts dusted with cocoa, cayenne, cinnamon, salt and sugar, and she tells us about the importance of the spice trade to the Portuguese.
Mercado de Campo de Ourique in Pictures
Stop #4 - Wine & Cheese
It wouldn't be a culinary tour without wine and cheese. We pop into an unassuming little shop called Adega & Sabores de Portugal where the merchant is waiting for us with a big smile and a spread set up on an old wine barrel. We have several different types of Portuguese cheese - goat, sheep and cow - to enjoy with olive oil, honey, and our choice of red or white wine.
Stop #5 - Lunch
We wind our way through the neighborhood and enter a contemporary place called Restaurante Cervejaria Europa. This is more than just a tasting - we sit down for lunch. Wine is poured as Célia describes the typical Portuguese dishes that are being brought out for us. Three different types of sausages: blood, chouriço and farinheira - a smoked sausage made from wheat flour, pork fat and seasonings. Octopus salad, simply dressed with olive oil, garlic, celery, parsley and lemon. Sardines roasted with sweet onion and olive oil. Legume salad and chickpeas with bacalhau (salt cod). And of course bread.
Stop #6 - Historic Bakery
We arrive at Panificação Mecânica as they are breaking for siesta but are allowed a peek inside. We are mostly here to take in the architectural elements from the early twentieth century: the huge chandelier, the glass entryway with wrought iron and gorgeous Bordalo Pinheiro tiles in green and black. It's a beautiful, historic place.
Stop #7 - Family Neighborhood Restaurant
Célia has another surprise in store for us. This time we visit a casual spot named Tasquinha ilha da Madeira. It's a hidden gem, a neighborhood restaurant that has upheld their family's traditions for generations. We enjoy beer & wine, and share fried polenta squares and a beef sandwich called a bifana with fries. This simple meal is incredibly flavorful and delicious - marinated beef with garlic on a sweet muffin called a bolos lêvedos that is cooked on a griddle like a pancake.
Stop #8 - Grocery Market
It's time to cleanse the palate. We stop in quickly at a grocery market the size of a convenience store. It's very small for food shopping compared with American grocery stores. Like in other European countries, the Portuguese people shop more frequently, buy fresher products, and stretch what they have over several meals. Célia buys us some cherries, which we all sample. They are not as flavorful as we had hoped and she explains it is because they have had a lot of rain.
Stop #9 - Private Club
On our way to our next stop, we learn about the Portugal revolution and how a revolt against the government turned it from a fascist dictatorship under Salazar into the people's republic. We find out that the private club we are entering, Cooperativa A Padria do Povo, was actually a meeting place for the resistance. Under a canopy of grapevines ripe with plump fruit, we study the smokestack and imagine the energy this space must have held as its inhabitants planned a coup. We go back inside and sit down at a table dressed in red and white buffalo checkered cloth to another meal and this time port wine. We cannot believe how much food we are eating on this tour (note to self - cancel dinner reservations). We learn more about the African and Indian influences on Portuguese cuisine as we bite into samosas served with bright orange piri-piri sauce, spicy red pepper blended with olive oil and commonly served as a marinade for chicken. We spoon rich vindalho into our mouths, an Indian curry dish made with goat and poured over jasmine rice.
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Stop #10 - Ginjinha
We stroll further down the street and enter a place with lots of dark wood paneling and a bar made of brick and marble. Célia greets the owner, who is wearing a white cap and black apron and preparing food for the dinner crowd. He proudly displays a large jar of ruby liquid, which we learn is the famous liqueur called ginjinha, made by infusing sour cherries (Morello cherries) with aguardente, a Portuguese brandy and sweetened with sugar. We are treated to this homemade brew, served in small shot glasses, some with a cherry at the bottom. It is tart and rich, not too sweet. It pleasantly burns as it travels to our bellies.
Stop #11 - Bookstore
We take a detour, visit a bookstore called Livraria Ler and have a truly backdoor experience. We are led away from the shop at the top and wind down a staircase to the basement. We learn this bookstore has been in the family for generations and that the founder once hid banned books during the German occupation. His daughter opens a hidden door behind a bookcase to show us the secret storage room. She pulls out notebooks with the original paperwork from the government depicting what books were banned.
Stop #12 - Pastel de Nata
Our time is coming to a close and what better way to end this journey than by sampling one of Portugal's crowned jewels - the pastel de nata (cream pastry). We visit Aloma, arguably one of the most renowned in Lisbon. A plate of these treats arrive warm from the oven, sprinkled with cinnamon. We bite slowly, relishing the flavor. The cream inside is silky with just the right balance of salt and sweet. The crust is similar to puff pastry and flakes delicately in our mouths. No one speaks. We simply sit with satisfied grins feeling fully sated.