Country Article / Postcards
A Big Little Meal in Portugal
Date: 07/27/2005
Visit Portugal between May and October, and you’ll see "Há sardinhas"--"We have sardines"--added to menus and scribbled on blackboards outside restaurants. Taste them, and you’ll know what all the fuss is about!
Dear International Living Reader,
Most monuments and even the people in Portugal are diminutive compared with those in the rest of Europe. Our Avenida da Liberdade (Liberty Avenue, built after the 1755 earthquake), running through the center of Lisbon, is a far cry from the length and grandeur of the Champs Elysées, for example. Still, people stroll up and down it, visiting the fashionable multinational stores that frame the tree-lined street, including Armani, Fashion Clinic, and Rodier. We also have Rossio Square, sitting prominently in the center of the capital, but it can’t compare with St. Mark’s in Venice (even if the occasional pigeon stops by to nibble tasty Portuguese bread).
But one thing that runs larger than life in Portugal is the sardine. Ask any American about sardines, and he’ll point to a can from his local supermarket. Look on the label, and you’ll often see "Product of Portugal." But you must come here to taste the real thing! From late May until October, the sardines are fresh, exceedingly tasty, and large--nearly three ounces apiece on average. Restaurants, from the fanciest to the simplest, add "Há sardinhas"--"We have sardines"--to their menus and scribble the phrase on blackboards outside. Taste them, and you’ll be hooked!
Before you dig in, though, remember the local sardine etiquette. There are two schools of thought on this. One holds that you should first slice the sardine down the middle, remove the bone in the center, then eat the whole thing--eyes and all.
The second approach is to slap a charcoal-grilled fish between pieces of crusty Portuguese pão (bread) and eat the whole sardine, bones and all. (Some say the sardine bones are good for you--a rich source of calcium straight from the sea.)
Traditionally, the Portuguese eat their beloved sardines with roasted green pepper salad marinated in Portuguese extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and salt, along with boiled potatoes lightly flavored with butter. Wash it all down with a chilled glass of light Portuguese vinho verde (green wine), and you’re set for a fine summer meal.
Best of all, this dish won’t clean out your wallet. The average cost for a large plate of sardines in Portugal, consisting of at least four to five sardines, is 8 euro ($9.60). The cost can run as little as 3 euro ($3.60) in a neighborhood tasca (café), which is maybe the best place to eat them, along with the locals. You can pay 15 euro ($18) in one of the fancier seaside restaurants, but you’ll be paying for the linen napkins. In a glorious Portuguese summer, the sardines are all the same..
Pat Westheimer
For International Living
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