Country Article / Postcards

How to eat your way through…Lisbon

Date: 02/26/2007

The sun sparkles on the river Tagus, and, from one of the seven hills high above the busy center, it feels like a seaside vacation. But I’m in Lisbon for the food, having acquired a taste for Portugal’s hearty cooking. In the capital, you can take your pick of good fresh seafood morning, noon, and night; ditto for cakes and pastries. Here’s how…

Pick and point
For breakfast, head for any of the cafés or pasteleria, generally open from 7 a.m. Grab a table in the sun or gently elbow yourself a place at the counter in the formica (be warned: interior décor is not a strong point) and shade with the locals for coffee. If your Portuguese is limited, you won’t starve—just go to the counter where it’s all displayed and point at what you want. The most common snacks are the rissois, the little savory shrimp-filled pockets of fried dough; the croquetes, plump sausages of bread-crumbed meat paste mixes, usually chicken or beef; cod balls ( accras), and sturdy bread rolls of ham, smoked ham, cheese or omelette with salad. For the sweet tooth, the cake choice is impressive: substantial walnut slices, ultra-sweet almond tartlets, the sticky un-cheeselike Sintra quesados, delicate custard tarts— pasteis de nata, which deserve a whole art icle to themselves—and rougher versions of chocolate croissants and iced buns. I defy you to spend more than $8 for two full breakfasts. And if you miss a meal, most cafés will serve these snacks throughout the day.

Home-brewed beer and monkfish
Thus fortified you can head for the shopping and sights in the Baixa district, where you can get a breeze and a fabulous view from the top of Eiffel ’s elevador—and an apéritif if you don’t mind doing the tourist thing. From here it’s a short walk to the Carmo district where the tiled cool of the Cervejaria da Trinidade awaits you for lunch. Pour one of their home-brewed beers down your throat and you’ll be ready for the seafood dishes—the shellfish comes with generous portions of monkfish in a tangy soup served with homely boiled potatoes, chunky fries, or rice. All of the fish dishes are recommended, but especially the bacalhau à Trinidad, a substantial helping of salted cod roasted with potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. A two-course lunch for two with beer or wine is 32 euro ($43).

For dinner I suggest the Casa do Alentejo, a tourism center for the central southern region of Portugal. The big surprise once through the door is the décor, a reconstruction of a Moorish palace that was destroyed in the earthquake of 1755. The vast rooms and volume make digestion of the rich stews and game dishes here a little easier as you people-watch.

Which coffee? Clearly coffee is served all over town, but what sort to order? Lisboans will ask for the strong stuff: a bica, a short, bitter espresso, or a slightly less potent carioca, while the fainter-hearted may prefer a galao, a glass tumbler of very milky coffee, or a garoto, where you choose how much milk goes in. Tea, or cha, is available, with or without milk or lemon. Lemon peel infusion— cha de limon or carioca de limon—makes for a zingy alternative, or lime blossom infusion, cha de tilia. Freshly squeezed local orange juice is a must. Just make sure to order sumo de laranja natural, not just sumo de laranja straight out of a bottle.

Best Lisbon addresses on a budget
Eating well on a budget is easy—every little quarter has small eateries offering fresh home cooking at great prices, just don’t expect candle-lit romance or fine decoration: food is the priority.
Breakfast:
Simple, unpretentious on the sunny terraces at Restauradores square opposite the post office, or the cafés on the Largo Saô Domingo, all in the Rossio district. More upmarket, for suits, is the Café Suiça, east side of Praça Dom Pedro IV.
Lunch:
Cervejaria da Trindade, a convent converted into a brasserie, with tables in a sheltered courtyard as well as in the main dining areas. 20C rua Nova da Trindade, Carmo; tel: 21-342-3506
Dinner:
Casa do Alentejo, 58 rua das Portas de Santo Antao; tel: 21-346-9231