A Mixed Bag

Thursday 28th & Friday 29th July.

A double-day update here. Largely because I'm lagging behind but also because Friday was, quite literally, nothing to write home about. Certainly not from a food perspective.

Ok, Thursday first. An absolute scorcher of a day. The wind that has been around for much of the week had all but disappeared, leaving a clear blue sky and soaring temperature. By the way, I don't really know the exact temperature as there's nothing along the promenade showing it, as there often is in this type of place. I do know that the temperature on our car dashboard was showing 22 degrees on Friday, a much cooler day than Thursday.

Anyway, as usual I've gone off on a tangent.

So, hot day meant a long stint on the beach where I bought a bag of doughnuts from a local lady who walks up and down the beach all day long with a little white cart, tooting her horn. She's very popular and seems to do a lot of business. I'll take a photo of her next time I have my phone at the beach.

The doughnuts tided us over until lunch when we went to the inevitable 'English' cafe, Martinho's. It had been recommended to us by Mary, the lady who showed us to our apartment and gave us the keys, although I suspect she might have an interest in the place.

The Missus had a rather good chicken caesar salad (without anchovies at her request), Pookster had cod goujons, which, she assured us, were very tasty and I had one of the finest burgers I've ever had the pleasure to eat; possibly second only to one I had from Five Guys Burger & Fries in Orlando, Florida, earlier in the year. The menu stated at all the burgers were hand-made from traceable ground Scottish beef and I chose the 'stacked chilli burger', topped with cheese, onion rings, lettuce, tomato and a cheeky chilli sauce on a lightly toasted sesame seed bun. Very good and one worthy of a second visit.

After lunch it was back to the beach to make the most of the fantastic weather.

Later, then, and to dinner. Having eaten out for lunch we decided to eat in so it was a trip to the supermarket for me, returning with a salami and tin of tomatoes. An old 'blokeinthekitchen' classic, this one but one we haven't had for some time.

So, a couple of crushed garlic cloves are sautéed with olive oil until sizzling, but not browned then the sliced salami is added to the oil along with a good dose of black pepper and dried chilli (I used the piri-piri seasoning I'd bought earlier in the week).

Once the salami starts to release it's colour into the oil, add a tin of tomatoes to the pan plus about a third of the can of water. Add a pinch of salt, give it a good stir and simmer for about half an hour, until the sauce is thickened. Serve over pasta (I used spaghetti because I had some) and scatter over some grated cheese (again, using up stuff I had in, I used a mature cheddar but I'd usually use Parmesan here) and roughly chopped parsley.

We enjoyed this outside on our terrace with some crusty bread drizzled with garlic-infused olive oil and a few glasses of a crispy local rosé wine.

And so to Friday. Another misty start so I decided to venture down to the local tourist information office to see what else the region had to offer. Unfortunately, most of the information was in Portuguese but there were a few PC's with free Internet access. I took the opportunity to look up the address of Mundus, the restaurant I mentioned we'd failed to find in an earlier post.

By the time I'd emerged from the office, now in possession of the restaurant's address, the sky had cleared so I headed back to the apartment to gather the troops and head to the beach.

Our time at the beach, however, lasted only a few hours as the sky clouded over so we decided to once again attempt to find the elusive Mundus for lunch.

Our TomTom found the address, no problem, so we set off in the direction of Nazaré. Problem is, there have been a lot of new roads built in the area and we spent a lot of time on roads that, according to the satnav, didn't exist. Still, we knew the way to Nazaré and got there ok, however it was the exact location of the restaurant that eluded us previous. But we had the address this time so we'd find it no problem, right? Wrong. No matter which way we tried to approach the area, we were always directed to the same place - a road that, due to the aforementioned roadworks, now ends rather abruptly half way down.

After another fruitless half hour driving in circles, I headed back to Sao Martinho.

We ended up in a beach-front cafe/bar called Fraxinus where, the day after having one of the best burgers I've had just one block away, I endured one of the worst. Least said about it the better. And the service was rubbish too. In fact the only memorable thing about Fraxinus was that I bought a pair of fake Armani sunglasses from a guy wandering round outside after the arms fell off the Duffer ones I'd brought to wear at the beach (to save my Ray-Bans from getting wrecked). This guy wanted €20 but after I'd walked away and he'd chased after me, he went down to €10. I ended up giving him €5 plus another €1 just to get rid of him after he followed me back to our table gesticulating and rabbiting on in Portuguese.

Later in the day, a rather more momentous occasion, I thought, when we watched Raiders of the Lost Ark with Pooky (aged 8) for the first time.

The day was finished off with a supper of pâté, olives, cheeses, meats and crackers which, in it's simplicity, was far more enjoyable than that awful burger from earlier in the day.

We've now given up on finding Mundus. We've promised Pooks that we'll go to Bem Brasil when we get home.


The Bloke.

Wind and Cutlass

Wednesday, 27th July.

Another beautiful sunny day today but a fairly strong wind cut our visit to the beach short.

Instead, we took the opportunity to explore the promenade, checking out the restaurants on offer for dinner later on.

We chose a restaurant, O Farol (which, if my phrasebook is anything to go by, translates as The Lighthouse) almost by accident, mistaking what was actually two restaurants for one, thinking there was an upper level on the prom and a lower level on the beach. Entering from the prom, we soon discovered our error but the placed looked fine with a nice view over the bay so we stayed anyway.

Soon after being shown to our table, our waiter arrived with an assortment of plates; bread, butter, sardine paté, prawns, something that looked like coleslaw, all of which (apart from the bread) I sent back, asking instead for some olives.

Next, on to the menu. We'd already taken a quick look at the menu outside the restaurant and I'd decided immediately to have the grilled cutlass fish. I'd never had cutlass fish (still haven't, for that matter) but had seen it on a few TV programmes, it being described as being like mackerel.

Our waiter re-appeared and I ordered the octopus salad and the grilled cutlass fish.

Predictably, there was no cutlass fish. The Missus had already ordered the grilled squid with mussels for her and Pooks and, disappointed by there being no cutlass fish, I just opted for the same.

The octopus salad was very nice. Very tender chunks of octopus with a little chopped onion, dressed with olive oil. Simple but delicious.

The Missus had clams to start, simply cooked in olive oil with garlic and coriander as seems to be the norm in these parts. These too were very tasty.

Then came the squid and it was really pretty good. A couple of whole squid char-grilled and a few green-lipped mussels (which I suspect were previously frozen) served with boiled potatoes with a scattering of parsley and wedge of lemon.

I've never had squid cooked that way before and it made a nice change. It's certainly something I'll be trying when we get back home.

We may have ended up at the restaurant by mistake but, unlike the weather, it turned out nice.

Oh, the olives never did turn up.


The Bloke.

A Day of Rest

Tuesday, 26th July.

This morning I opened the curtains to find a thick fog covering the landscape as far as the eye could see. It was clear it wasn't going to be a beach day.

After a breakfast of croissants, we piled into our rented VW Polo (incidentally the worst car I've ever driven - despite the Carro do Ano sticker in the back window) and headed off to nearby Nazaré for a look around. Again, we have been to Nazaré before, The Missus on more than one occasion, but we were last there in the winter and most things were closed.

I never really liked Nazaré. It reminds me of Blackpool. That said, in the height of summer it sort of has a charm about it that reveals why it's so popular. A bit like Blackpool, I suppose.

What I was really looking forward to, however, was another trip to a great restaurant called Mundus; a Brazilian-style place where there's a never ending supply of barbecued meats of varying types - like a Bem Brasil sort of affair. Problem was, we couldn't remember exactly where it was.

When The Missus first came here with Lesley in the summer of 2007 on a property search, they were introduced to Mundus by an estate agent. When we returned at the tail-end of the same year (that's The Missus, Pooky and I plus Lesley and her other half, Jac) we managed to find it.

This time, though, it was just the three of us and, unable to find a wi-fi signal anywhere and our TomTom not helping, we spent half an hour driving round Nazaré and neighbouring Sitio to no avail.

By the way, I'll apologise at this point for the incorrect use (or omission of) punctuation on the Portuguese words. I can generally get by in Spanish but struggle hopelessly with the Portuguese language.

Anyway, we never did find Mundus (even after reversing the entire length of a car-lined one way street that I'd inadvertently driven up the wrong way) and found little else to inspire us so returned (via some very precarious roads when the satnav took us a little off-piste) to Sao Martinho where we had a rather forgettable lunch of swordfish (me) and calamari (Pooks and The Missus) at a little cafe down one of the side streets off the beach.

At least the weather was improving. The fog and cloud from earlier had cleared, revealing a clear clue sky and blazing sun. Normal service resumed.

After lunch, as the girls headed to the swimming pool and with the market closed for the day, I ambled down to the supermarket for some inspiration for dinner.

It came from the butcher's counter where I bought three chicken legs (thigh and drumstick attached) along with some fresh salad, rice, garlic-infused olive oil and some piri-piri seasoning.

After marinating the chicken legs in the oil and piri-piri for a few hours, I simply roasted them (around 40 minutes at 180) and, after resting them covered with foil whilst I cooked the rice and prepared a salad, served them scattered with a little fresh parsley along with the rice, salad and some crusty bread drizzled with the garlic olive oil.

Oh, and, ironically, a white wine bearing the name Mundus on the label!

We still hope to find Mundus (the restaurant) before we leave. Once I find a wi-fi signal and get an internet connection (when, incidentally, I'll also be posting all of these blog entries) I'll look up the place online and get the postcode. Presuming, of course, that the place still exists. Until then, we're sticking with Sao Martinho. They're not short of a restaurant, that's for sure.

The Bloke.

Bad-ass Sea Bass

Sunday, 24th July.

Wow.

That's really all you need to say about tonight's dinner at the fabulous Tasca No Cais on Sao Martinho's waterfront.

We're actually no strangers to this place, having been here during a property search in December/January 2007/2008.

This time, however, the trip is purely pleasure (although we do have our eye on an apartment up the road) and it's the food I'm more interested in than the real estate.

I was keen to delve further into the fresh seafood on offer and this place didn't let me down.

First though, it was the morcilla that caught my eye for starters.

It's fair to say that they don't do things by halves here. That was apparent when The Missus' starter of garlic prawns arrived. They were huge, absolutely delicious and there were plenty of them. Shortly after their arrival, my black pudding appeared.

This, again, was huge - probably about a foot long. It was also very tasty. Laced with paprika, pepper and rice, it had a little background heat which really rounded off the flavour.

Massive was the continuing theme as the main event arrived.

I should really go back a little here to when we were ordering.

I had originally intended to go for the sardines. When in Rome, and all that. Or Portugal, as it were. However this place has whatever comes in on the boat on any particular day and they were all out of sardines.

The Missus had already decided on sea bass however we were a little unsure as all the fresh fish was priced by the kilo.

When our waitress advised that there were no sardines, I said I'd have the bream and The Missus said she'd have the bass. This prompted a frown from the waitress who promptly directed us over to the fish counter. Turns out, if you wanted sea bass you got the whole sea bass (or bream or mullet etc) but these weren't the size you'd see in a UK supermarket. These were about as long as my arm. Seriously. The waitress hauled out a bass and weighed it - little short of 2 kilos. Looked like we were all having sea bass after all.

We weren't disappointed. The fish was simply butterflied and barbecued whole and served with new potatoes and shredded runner beans. And delicious it was too; charred, crispy skin and opaque white, succulent flesh. Worth every one of the €66 for the fish alone.

On a side note, while that might sound quite expensive, in reality it's not. Not if you consider the size of the fish. The truth is nothing's very expensive here at all. At least the food and drink aren't. A rare thing these days in any neck of the woods.

Anyway, this photo doesn't really do this magnificent fish justice but at least the chef at Tasca No Cais did.


The Bloke.

Clamtastic

Monday, 25th July.

After a scorcher of a day at the beach we decided to eat in at our apartment tonight.

Inspired by the clams from our first restaurant, I headed first to the previously mentioned local market just around the corner. Unfortunately it would appear that Monday isn't fish day at this particular market and all that was on offer was an admitted impressive array of fruit and veg. The aroma of the peaches was spectacular in itself.

Not to be put off, I ventured on to the local supermarket down the road, returning with a bulb of garlic, a baby leek, a packet of spaghetti, a chorizo, some fresh parsley, olive oil and a large bag of fresh clams from the fish counter. Oh, and a couple of fresh crusty bread rolls from the bakery.

So to dinner. Ably assisted by The Pookster, I sautéd the finely chopped leek and garlic in plenty of olive oil then added the thinly sliced chorizo, releasing the lovely paprika redness into the oil.

Meanwhile, I cooked the spaghetti in a large pan of salted boiling water. With just a few minutes to go, I added the clams to the chorizo until they opened, releasing their juice into the sauce.

After draining the spaghetti, I tipped the clams, chorizo and sauce over the pasta, stirring it through and added a good handful of chopped parsley.

I served this up with some garlic bread that The Missus had knocked up by slicing and toasting the crusty bread before rubbing with a fat garlic clove and drizzling with olive oil, and some very crisp local white wine.

Whilst I didn't have a chance to stop and take a picture of the finished article, it's definitely one I'll be cooking again and deserves a place in The Bloke archives.

Portugal

Saturday, 23rd July.

Right, so we've abandoned the rain of England in favour of the sun of Western Portugal. Sao Martinho do Porto to be exact.

Unfortunately it's only a temporary abandonment but still, it gives us a chance to soak up the sun and sample the amazing food on offer - starting with these wonderful clams which were simply opened in lashings of olive oil with a lot of garlic and coriander.

These were preceded by a cold seafood appetiser of squid, prawns and mussels with onion, peppers and the ubiquitous olive oil which we hadn't ordered but just arrived. As did the bread and olives that also arrived unannounced. Nevertheless, it was all tasty enough so I'm not complaining.

My clams were followed by some fried John Dory fillets which were unexpectedly battered and didn't quite live up to the standard set by the starter however The Missus had prawns in garlic to start which, were great, followed by sea bass steaks served (unusually, I thought) with pasta, which she assured me was pretty good.

So, all in all, a good first choice of restaurant. We've had a wander around the cove and there are plenty more restaurants to choose from, mostly with a good selection of fresh seafood.

Speaking of fresh seafood, I went for a run round to the far side of the cove and discovered the beach littered with mussels, cockle, clam and razor clam shells. A short clamber over some rocks and I found an abundance of mussels, crabs and limpets. I'll definitely be heading back over there with a bag before the holiday is out to gather up a supply of mussels to cook as I did last year in Nerja, Spain. This time it should be easier as there'll be no snorkelling involved.

Anyway, I'm writing this in our fantastic apartment with has everything you could wish for - apart from wi-fi. So this'll be parked up until I get down to one of the bars at the beach later.

For now though, it's croissants and yoghurt for breakfast followed by a mooch round the market around the corner.

Laters.


The Bloke