The time I made a whole chicken in a backyard brick oven in Sande. When I say “whole chicken” I’m not kidding. I hacked off the head and the feet, spatchcocked it, and kinda figured out how to make the oven/grill work. Full disclosure – without a meat thermometer, it was underdone, but the done-parts were delicious.
Tripas in Gafanha da Encarnacao. It’s like a chocolate waffle donut. They sell them only from little kiosks in town, and we got one from the one place that was open on a Monday. No clue if it was a legendary tripa place, but the tripas we got… were legendary.
Lunch at Resves in Guimaraes (no website, just a Facebook page). An upper-floor balcony slightly away from the main square, and a delicious mess of octopus, sweet potato and greens. A serious burrata/prosciutto salad, beans (we miss beans!), and killer garlic shrimp.
Dinner with Uncle Bob and Aunt Michele at a restaurant in Porto that I cannot re-find for the life of me! We had various seafood things, including an excellent octopus rice.
Francesinha sandwich at Restaurante Arco Iris in Porto. This was the only time I tried one of these, and it nearly killed me (in a good way).
Wine, pretty much everywhere. Portugal is another of those countries (like Spain, but we forgot to mention it in that culinary roundup) where you cannot buy bad wine, and you have to work really hard to spend more than eight bucks per bottle at the grocery store. Our buying strategy devolved to basically “buy stuff that other folks seem to have bought,” and it worked great. The sticker shock when we get home is going to be rough.
Burgers and fried chicken sandwiches at Holy Sandwich Shop in Porto. It’s really hard to write about burgers without being trite – people get all weird about them and make websites and whatnot. I will merely say that Holy Burger made the best burger I’ve had since Mary’s in Sydney, the fried chicken was outstanding, and they had a Sierra Nevada on tap to boot! It was incredible. If you’re in Porto, go!
Chicken, beforeChicken, cookingChicken, done!Happy tripa eaterLunch at ResvesFrancesinhaWine (Port, to be specific)Holy burger!
I love it that so much of your favourite stuff was in Porto! Of course, you’re still planning to visit Lisbon, right? If so, try to get a reservation at Tasca do Fado (something with Tasca in it) on Rua de Remedios in the Aflame district— very small, we strolled by at 7 pm to get our reservation and then came back at 8 for (as usual) great food and wonderful music starting at 9. Hope Fiona could handle that…
I’m sooo glad you’re spending time with Chantal! She’s super and the area is a gem. You will continue to eat well. Love to all, Auntie Michele
The Johnslingtons 
I love it that so much of your favourite stuff was in Porto! Of course, you’re still planning to visit Lisbon, right? If so, try to get a reservation at Tasca do Fado (something with Tasca in it) on Rua de Remedios in the Aflame district— very small, we strolled by at 7 pm to get our reservation and then came back at 8 for (as usual) great food and wonderful music starting at 9. Hope Fiona could handle that…
I’m sooo glad you’re spending time with Chantal! She’s super and the area is a gem. You will continue to eat well. Love to all, Auntie Michele
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