Portugal

Beer and seafood in Lisbon

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When Portuguese chefs are not working, they like to gather at Cervejaria Ramiro to enjoy some beer and seafood.

The restaurant is located in an unglamorous part of Lisbon and looks like an ordinary place. What makes it unique is its extraordinary seafood.

Ramiro does not serve farmed shrimp that arrives, tired and frozen, from far away lands. Instead, they offer you precious fresh shrimp from the Algarve. They prepare exquisite “carabineiros,” large shrimps once abundant in Spain but now available only in Portugal. They cook tender clams, a wonderful crab called “santola,” and salty percebes brought warm to the table.

Even though Ramiro is in business since 1956, it is excluded from tourist guides for national security reasons. If the Spaniards learned about Ramiro’s seafood, they might invade Portugal.

Av. Almirante Reis, nº1 – H, 1150-007 Lisboa, tel. 21 885 10 24, email geral@cervejariaramiro.pt, click here for website.

Mãe d’ Água

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There is so much about this restaurant that is out of a fairy tale: two brothers, an ancient spring, a magical landscape, food and wine fit for a king.

In 2004 the brothers Artur and Carlos Lopes found a late 19th century barn in Sobral do Parelhão, a small village near Bombarral, 70 km north of Lisbon. There, they built a restaurant perfectly in tune with its surroundings. They called it Mãe d’Água (water source) because water from a nearby spring runs through the building.

They cut the ancient brick walls to open large windows that frame the handsome landscape of Estremadura. They filled elegant wood cabinets with wines from the region. They chose a menu full of delicacies, briny shrimp in garlic sauce, fragrant lingueirão rice, tender lamb chops, and much more. Mãe d’Água is a fairy tale come true.

Sobral do Parelhão, Bombarral, Rua 13 de Maio 26, 2540-467 Carvalhal, tel.262 605 408, email geral@restaurantemaedagua.com, click here for their website.

The best Portuguese pears

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In August farmers markets overflow with pera rocha (rocha pear), a delicious pear variety unique to Portugal. In 1836 António Rocha, a horse dealer from Sintra, noticed a tree that produced unusual pears. These pears had a crusty texture, a sweet aroma, and a refreshing taste. He shared grafts from this wonder tree with his neighbors, who shared them with their neighbors, spreading pera rocha throughout the west of Portugal.

Paul Cézanne, born in 1839, loved to paint pears. He painted them as overlapping abstract shapes, with warm colors and cool shadows, with flat brush strokes, with thin washes of pure pigment. All his life he searched for the perfect pear. He did not know that António Rocha had found it.

Portuguese wine

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After World War II Mateus Rosé, a sweet rosé wine, brought precious export revenues to a poor country. But it branded Portugal as a producer of cheap, easy-to-drink wine. Virgil famously wrote that “Bacchus amat colles,” (Bacchus loves the hills), implying that grapes cultivated on slopes are especially blessed. Portugal’s rolling hills going down to the sea are ideal for wine production. Large investments in technology and a new generation of enologists are making sure that the blessings of the ancient god of wine do not go to waste.

America discovers Portugal

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Americans discovered France, Italy, and more recently,
Spain, as vacation destinations.  But Portugal has remained terra incognita. That is changing. The New York Times has written a steady stream of articles about Portugal. Most are about Lisbon; about the places to go, the culinary renaissance, the new restaurants, the new museums, the relaxed atmosphere, and the art scene. But the Times has also discovered Cascais and Évora. The Wall Street Journal tells its readers that “In Portugal you can pack seven days worth of castles, clubbing, seafood, shopping and luxury hotels into one perfectly affordable long weekend.” Now, perhaps Woody Allen will consider directing a movie about a writer who comes to Lisbon and discovers that the secret to eternal youth is a daily bath of piri-piri sauce.

The first Portuguese hero

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Viriato was the first Portuguese hero. As a leader of the Lusitanos, he resisted the Roman invasion between 147 BC and 139 BC by waging a clever guerrilla war. He died in bed, assassinated by members of his tribe bribed by the Romans.

In the 1940s the city of Viseu erected an impressive monument to Viriato. But the most popular homage to the great warrior is not carved in marble or cast in bronze. It is made of eggs, coconut, and sugar. The V-shaped pastries called Viriatos are very popular in the Viseu region. And, thanks to them, all the little kids know the name of Portugal’s first hero.

The fate of Portugal

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The great poet Luís Vaz de Camões published his masterpiece, the Lusíadas, in 1572. In the first part of this epic ode we learn that the fate of Portugal is being decided in Greece. The Greek gods (called by their Roman names) are divided into two parties. Bacchus is the nemesis of Portugal. With the help of Neptune, he sows unexpected obstacles and unending perils on the path of the Portuguese. But Venus takes up the cause of Portugal. And, with her thoughtful help, the Portuguese show that they can accomplish great things.

Fog

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When we walk on the beach on foggy days we always have a sense that something special is about to happen. In the XVI century Portugal had a young king, D. Sebastião, who tried to conquer the north of Africa. He failed with terrible consequences. Much of the country’s elite died in battle or in Moroccan prisons. The king vanished and Portugal lost its independence to Spain. But the Portuguese did not loose hope. They believed that D. Sebastião would return on a foggy day to restore the glory of Portugal. So, if you are walking on the beach on a foggy day, keep an eye on the horizon. This could be the day.

Figs and treasures

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Spoiler alert: if you are planning to read ancient tales about treasures, stop reading this post! To those still reading, we will tell you that in ancient tales, treasures are often buried under fig trees. The reason is symbolic. The fig tree is ugly but it bears the most luscious fruit.

Portuguese figs are glorious. You can pair them with “presunto” (Portuguese prosciutto) as an appetizer or have them for desert. When you taste a Portuguese fig you realize that the real treasure is not underneath the fig tree but hanging from its branches.

Portuguese beer

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Beer has been produced in Portugal at least since the Lusitanos occupied the region. Issues with refrigeration and poor branding prevented the Lusitanos from gaining market share in the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman conquest in 27 B.C. These problems were gradually surpassed over the next 20 centuries.

Two leading brands eventually emerged: Super Bock, introduced in the 1930s, and Sagres, introduced in the 1940s.  Both beers taste great on a hot Summer day. Both taste even better in their draft versions, which you can enjoy at many beach-side cafés.

Super Bock is more popular in the north of Portugal while Sagres is more popular in the south. We try not to take sides in the Sagres versus Super Bock controversy. But, the perceptive reader might find signs of a slight bias on our part.