Old Sichuan

With the demise of the Grand Sichuan at Ninth Ave. and 51st St., and the inflation-commensurate-with-popularity of the prices at Szechuan Gourmet (making it now essentially an expensive restaurant), there has been a void in options for reasonably-priced, good Sichuan food in Manhattan. Thankfully, that void has now been filled by a relative new-comer, Old Sichuan in Chinatown.

Occupying the space directly across the street from New Green Bo, vacated by Yeah Shanghai Deluxe when it moved to the corner, they serve some of the most pleasing Sichuan food west of Little Pepper, including some relative rarities. I'm crazy about flaky turnip cakes with ham but almost never encounter them--Old Sichuan's are excellent. Cold dishes sampled so far--spicy beef tendon and sliced pork belly with garlic sauce--are stellar, with bold, complex, fresh flavors. The same goes for the Sichuan wonton in red hot oil... I wanted to drink the remaining sauce when the delicate wontons were gone. The dry bean curd with spicy black bean is my favorite dry bean curd dish I've tried anywhere, and the sour string bean with minced pork is just what it should be: sour, spicy, delicious. Ask about the special chicken dish on the wall (and not on the regular) menu. It's a dish of which the proprietress seems especially proud: chunks of chicken dry-sauteed with three kinds of pepper flavor... a lovely dish.

Old Sichuan
65 Bayard St., New York, NY 10013
212-227-9888
website

Meste Zé

If you head up the coast from Cascais on the Estrada do Guincho, you're in for a spectacularly beautiful drive. And if you stop at Meste Zé, you'll be in for a spectacular meal.

I first learned the name of this place years ago as "Mestre Zé"... it seems to have lost the "r" in the intervening years, making it even more like kiddie-talk for "Master José" (like "nana" for "grandma"). No matter--the food is definitely NOT child's play. Although this place is a little outside the normal purview of this blog--it's essentially an expensive restaurant--it's home to what is perhaps the single greatest dish I know of in Portugal: a truly sensational cataplana de marisco. This is basically a stew cooked in the traditional Portuguese pan called a cataplana, which looks a bit like a flying saucer and is made of copper....the top half lifts off on a hinge after being sealed up so that all the juices and aromas stay in while cooking. It's made with squid, shrimp, lobster, and various other tidbits, all done perfectly (and since they all require different cooking times, this is no small feat), simmered in a sauce of onion, wine, a bit of tomato paste, chouriço (of course!), and some cream, and served over rice. As far as I'm concerned, one of the most spectacular dishes in the whole country, and they are the only restaurant I know of to make it the way they do.

Meste Zé
Estrada do Guincho
2750-642 Cascais, Portugal
(+351) 21 487 02 75
website

Restaurante Adega O Fuso

If you're in Lisbon and have access to a car, you should definitely take a trip to Arruda dos Vinhos. Take the A1 highway from Lisbon, in the direction of Porto, and exit at Alverca. From there, follow the signs to Arruda dos Vinhos--the trip takes about half an hour from Lisbon, and takes you through some lovely and unusual terrain. The trip is well worth making because of an outstanding restaurant called O Fuso.

The heart of the restaurant is a big, stone lareira--the hearth where all of the house specialties are grilled. And these specialties justify the trip completely: bacalhau grilled over the wood fire--with liberal amounts of garlic, then doused in olive oil--and, my favorite, naturally, costela de vaca--a huge... what does one call it?... beef rib chop, also grilled over the wood fire (remember the beginning of the Flintstones cartoon, at the drive-in? This rib chop reminds you a bit of that....). A grilled chouriço to start, and you're in heaven. The wonderful, local bread they serve is made even better if you ask them to toast it (torrar) over that same fire. The restaurant is easy to find, right on the main drag in the center of the town.

Restaurante Adega O Fuso
Rua Almirante Cândido dos Reis, 94-96
2630-216 Arruda dos Vinhos, Portugal
(+351) 26 397 51 21

Cervejaria Caneca de Prata

If, while in Lisboa, you find yourself in the mood to try vinho verde, do yourself a favor and go to Caneca da Prata (Rua da Prata, 163/165, about halfway between the Praça do Comercio and the Praça da Figueira). They serve it tapped directly from the cask (de pressão), and it's the perfect accompaniment for their marvelous salgados (savory meat, chicken and fish pastries) made fresh throughout the day (almost uniquely in Lisboa....most places make them early in the day and they sit around until they're gone). Ask what's warm at the moment when you get there--their rissóis de camarão (shrimp rissoles), fresh from the fryer are the best I've ever tasted, and those things are EVERYWHERE in Lisbon (although almost never freshly-made). It's also the best place around to get a sandes de leitão (roast suckling pig sandwich). For me, this was the perfect joint for a late afternoon snack--it gets very crowded at lunch-time, and they're all closed up by 7 in the evening.

Cervejaria Caneca de Prata
Rua da Prata, 163/165
1100-416 Lisboa, Portugal
(+351) 21 342 68 05

Restaurante Carreira

If you happen to be up north in Portugal, passing through Guimarães, there are two things you must do: spend an hour or so at the Paço dos Duques de Bragança, and eat at Restaurante Carreira.

It's one of those old-fashioned restaurants I just love where you walk through the kitchen to get to your table. I've only had one meal there, but everything we tried was outstanding. I suspect you really can't go wrong here... really about the best homestyle regional cooking I had in any restaurant in Portugal. It's the kind of place where most dishes come with a nice pot of arroz de feijão (rice cooked with kidney beans, and some bacon and chouriço, of course) on the side. Try anything that sounds good--it will be, I assure you. And it's the only restaurant I ever found that has doce de aletria on the menu--a traditional Portuguese dessert made with spaghetti-like noodles, the ubiquitous sweetened egg-custard, and cinnamon.....sort of like an eggy rice pudding, except with noodles. Sounds weird, but it's delicious. The place can be a bit tricky to find: it's out from the center of town--if memory serves, to the west--in the neighborhood called Silvares (there used to be a lot of car dealerships nearby). But ask around--it's worth the trouble! You also might want to call first...the last time I tried to go there it was closed, on a day when it was supposed to be open.

Restaurante Carreira
Rua 25 de Abril, 1
Silvares 4835-400 Guimarães, Portugal
(+351) 25 341 84 48

Restaurante A Carvalheira

If you're up north in the Minho region, the town of Ponte de Lima is worth visiting for many reasons: it's picturesque, there's a great regional market, and--unsurprisingly for this blog--there's a fantastic restaurant: A Carvalheira.

It's located across the river from the center of Ponte de Lima in the neighborhood called Arcozelo--a very pleasant 5-minute walk across the bridge. It's in an old stone house, and the centerpiece of the restaurant is the big stone hearth, where some of the cooking is sometimes done--it's the perfet spot for a warming, winter evening meal. Although everything I tried was superb, the house specialty is pernil de porco assado, or roast pork shoulder (Filipinos, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are quite familiar with this cut), and it is spectacular. Crispy crackling--well, I suppose it's not skin, but fat--on the outside, perfectly tender meat on the inside, accompanied by roasted potatoes and greens (couve, something between cabbage and collard or mustard greens, wilted, then sauteed). The potatoes and greens have so much flavor that it's impossible that they're cooked in simply oil--there's definitely lard working its magic in there. One of the other house specialties is arroz de pato (duck with rice, baked in the oven), and it's also wonderful. In fact, everything is of the highest quality. And at about 30 bucks a head, VERY well worth the trip if you're in the vicinity. This place is extremely popular, especially on the weekends, so it would be worth calling ahead. Closed Mondays.

Restaurante A Carvalheira
Antepaço - Arcozelo
4990-231 Ponte de Lima, Portugal
(+351) 25 874 23 16

Restaurante O Toucinho

Another great day/evening meal trip form Lisbon is to go to Almeirim (take the A1 highway to Santarém, and it's just across the river). Almeirim is famous for its sopa da pedra, a traditional soup that evolved from the old "stone soup" legend (and sure enough, in most restaurants, each serving of soup comes with its own polished stone in the bottom of the bowl). It's a hearty, red-bean based soup fortified with potatoes and the usual suspects--chouriço, morcela, and bacon. The best place in town to sample this is the restaurant O Toucinho.

The other specialty here is grilled meats (which they do over charcoal), of which the best is a sort of thick lamb chop, but cut in a way I have never seen anywhere else, the name of which I can't for the life of me remember. Just ask which it is--it's the most popular one and, unfortunately, they're often out of it (a bit of Googling produced the word "rinzada"... I think that may be it, but do some inquiring to be sure). The bread is also spectacularly delicious here, fresh from the oven. The restaurant is a bit tricky to find if you don't know where you're going. Just head for the bull ring, then ask someone for directions. Closed Thursdays.

Restaurante O Toucinho
Rua de Timor, 20
2080-103 Almeirim, Portugal
(+351) 24 359 22 37