What do you do with an old water mill?

Turn it in to a restaurant of course!

So welcome to Os Moinhos, which means the mills. Ok, so it was a little hard to locate in the dark even though we had a map. Just as we called we turned down a street and saw a sign with an arrow so we knew we were near.

They even had a fun company truck.

We when arrived we had no idea they had a massive party scheduled. Maybe it was a wedding party/rehearsal dinner or maybe a Christmas party, but either way we were outsiders lost in the crowd. We knew we had a problem when some man came over and shook Ryan's hand and was talking to him in Portuguese. So after 15 or so minutes we tracked down a waitress who did, thankfully, speak English. In the meantime, I wandered around.

As this was an old mill entering the building was like stepping back in history. It was incredible inside. Here is a little stove in the attice space right next to our table.

What could this possibly be?
Oh, that seems interesting...

Wait, this must be where the water would run down.

Oh wow, you can actually see right down to the ground level.

And here is where the tunnel ends. This is outside of the restaurant.

Up in the attic was a locked door. I liked the looks of these old style keys.

Here was a set table, ok not ours, it was one for the party, but it was set so nicely I had to take a picture.

Even with all the other people and all the excitement with the party, we still received great service. As always, we started with the bread.

and some olives and cheese...

Mother-in-law soup, which is similar to Italian wedding soup. This had sausage in it so I did not try it, but Ryan really liked it.

Ryan had the filet mignon for dinner, although it was not quite what you would think of when you hear filet mignon. It was served with a salted peach and fresh made potato chips and salad.

I had the grilled red snapper, topped with garlic, served with salad and boiled garlic potatoes. This was a very traditional Portuguese (Azorean) meal.

Dinner ended with a meia de leite (latte), as usual.

Most restaurants bring the check over in a box of some sort. I found this one to be most unique as it was an olden style iron. The check was contained inside and you leave the money inside too. This was a great experience and I would definately go back.

So that was Saturday night and Sunday was pretty laid back after I got out of school. I found my cat now loves to lay like this. Look how close she is to the gas heater. She gets so hot, but she will not move away. In fact, she spends all night screaming in front of the darn thing in hope that it will trun itself on. She is nuts.

Oh, and this is cool too. Look what I won for being the first one to class. technically there were a few there before me, but I they left and so they did say I could take the prize. I was excited because I love to show college support for my school(s).

QUESTION: What was the most unique dining experience you have ever had?

Enjoy your Monday!