Rachel Comes to Visit

Again, this was over a month ago, but my sister did come to visit.  She was here for my graduation, but she stayed for a week.  This is just a quick run down of the food we ate and some of the activities we did.  Mostly we just hung out and enjoyed the nice weather.

Our first dinner was at Porto das Pipas because my sister really likes the octopus there.

  

I ordered the squid, which is also very good.

 

Ryan had a steak, which is buried underneath all of those homemade potato chips.

 

The next day I headed down to Angra with my sister.  This is the only major city on the island, and is actual small for what you might consider a city.  It is also the capital of the island and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On the way we stopped to take pictures of one of the coolest sculptures I have ever seen.  This is in the middle of the roundabout just before you reach the bull fight arena in Angra.  This was not here when we first got to the island so it was neat to see the entire process.  There are actually 3 bulls jumping and all point in different directions.

 

After walking around and doing some shopping, we stopped at one of my favorite sandwich shops, Sandoxa (pronounced san-do-sha), for some lunch.  Rachel had a nice salad and then we ordered some veggie burgers with an egg.  So good!

 

One thing my sister really liked the last time she was here was the corn bread.  It is very different from American cornbread.  So we went searching for it.  The closest we came was a this, except despite being fresh baked and warm when we brought it home, it was a little burnt.  Didn't stop us from enjoying it!

 

The next day we went to another favorite snack place called Mimos.  I had my favorite tuna melt.  It is on a local made onion roll, with local caught tuna, topped with hardboiled eggs and melted cheese.

 

That afternoon my next door neighbor asked if we wanted some potatoes (and by some I mean that big bucket below).  It seems he had his biggest harvest ever and had no idea what to do with all the potatoes.  We gladly accepted.  Even better was that he gave us some of his eggs too from his chickens, and we all know eggs go great with potatoes!

 

Dinner was at a restaurant that we call the whale.  Actually, it is called O Cachalote, which means Sperm Whale in Portuguese, and there is a giant whale sculpture coming out of the front of the building.  The owner is very nice and we love to dine here.  He showed us his newly completed upstairs dining room.  This would be for 2-4 people wanting an intimate dining experience, perhaps for a special occasion.  He had just put the finishing touches in the room and was eager to show us.  Of course it looked beautiful.

 

Both my sister and I ordered the fish, which was presented beautifully, just as the owner, who is also the chef, always does.

 

The next day we headed to the wine museum.  It is so nice to walk around the grounds there with all the pretty flowers.  Here is my sister enjoying the Azorean air.

 

Dinner that night was at home and about as local as you can possibly get.  We started with eggs, which came from my neighbor.

 

The day before, Ryan had gone spearfishing and caught a couple Veja (Parrotfish).  He cooked these in locally made butter (yum)

 

Then we had some potatoes, also from my neighbor.

 

The end presentation for both myself and Ryan was a breakfast burrito (wish the tortilla was local but it wasn't) with a side of potatoes (seasoned with Old Bay), the fish and some olives.  My sister does not eat dairy, so she just had some eggs and potatoes along with the salad she had purchased from the organic farm in our village.

 

While Rachel was visiting, San Joaninas was going on.  This is a huge festival in Angra, non-religious, despite the carrying the name of St. John (Sao Joao in Portuguese).  There were so many people and things going on, so we just went to check it out a little while my sister was here.  The highlight of the food part was probably the churro lady from Lisbon.  They were hot and fresh, and filled with chocolate, just like they do in Spain.

 

Here you can see a float for the parade, and some little cheese and sausage stands set up in the small square.

 

We were hoping to visit the local crafts tent, but they did not open until 7 pm, so we settled on lunch at another favorite, AquaEmotion.  It is mostly a favorite because of the location directly at the marina, overlooking all the boats.

We started with some sardines.

 

My sister enjoyed a gorgeous salad packed with shrimp and tropical fruits.

 

Ryan and I enjoyed a local cheese plate (they know how to do cheese out here!) and then we each ordered a tuna baguette.  Seriously way to much food, but very tasty!

 

Here we all are enjoying the meal and the view.  Just behind us is the outdoor patio and the marina.

This is another float we passed by on the way back to the car.  They have massive parades with insanely decorated floats and elaborate costumes.  This island is known for it's festivals.  They have the most out of all the islands.  All summer long is one festival after another.  In fact, this weekend starts another major one known as Festas da Praia, or Praia Fest.  Hoobastank is playing this year.  Oh, INXS played at San Joaninas last month, and that was huge.  For this upcoming festival, they will have more bands, but none that Americans would know.  They will have restaurants and other food vendors from the mainland, and tons of people will come from mainland, the US and other islands to enjoy.  Enough about that and back to the current post here.  Just can't help getting excited for this weekend.

  

For our last dinner with Rachel here, we went to Buzius, actually for the second time, because her all time favorite is the spicy squid (Calamari Fra Diavolo).  I have shown pictures before, and therefore didn't take any new ones, but this is one awesome dish.  Ryan had the eggplant parm, which is my second favorite dish there.

 

The last day she was here we went to Praia da Vitoria, the second largest city (and not much of a city by most people's standards) on the island.  We enjoyed some coffee and the great ocean view, chatted a little more and then said our goodbyes as I took her back to the airport.

Next time she comes to visit me we will be in Japan.  I know she has been waiting years to travel to Japan so I am glad she has an excuse now.

I love you Rachel!

QUESTIONS:  Do you have any siblings?  Do you get along?  Do you visit each other or plan trips together?

Sampling Portuguese Food

The next day, we headed to Praia Fest again, but this time, we went for lunch.  We took a walk up to the town square.  They had a little stage set up here, and I am thinking it is for local, traditional music.

This was also the first time I saw the church decorated and looking fancy.  The lower door on this church puts the year this was built in the 1600's.  I think the rest was finished later on.

On the way back to the marina, we walked by the beach.  They have an obstacle course set up.  Look who sponsored this form of physical activity...the ice cream company Ola (similar to Good Humor, and called other brands in other countries).

Not to far from the shore we spotted some people having fun in little sailboats.

Here you can see the food pavilion from another angle.  It is nice that it is right on the water.

On this day, we decided to eat at O Palhinhas Gold from the Ribatejo region of Portugal.  This region is smack in the middle of Portugal.

There was bread to start.  This is very traditional.

We had some black olives too.

Since it was lunch time, Ryan decided to order the cheeseburger.

I ordered the cod, which was cornbread crusted, and served with greens and potatoes.  It did taste good, but it was only warm, not hot.

After lunch, we could not stay away from O Forno, our favorite sweets shop.  These are Dona Amelias, which are the traditional sweet of the island.  They were made on the island for the former queen when she came to visit, and these were her favorite.

But the food sampling does not end there.  We went back the next day for dinner.  Well, we got there at 5:20 and found the restaurants were on break and opened again at 6 pm.  Instead, we killed time by taking a stroll around.  We looked at some snack vendors along the roads.

Then we entered the "fast food" tent or snack food area.  These were little booths, set up how you would see them at a US carnival or fair, and they offered traditional treats.

This area had a lot of tables set up.  many of these places were little bars, so I imiagine at night this area is filled with people enjoying beer.

Finally 6 o'clock rolled around and it was time to get some dinner.  We had wanted to try this place because a server there spoke very good English and was very helpful when we asked questions the day before.  They had an English menu and a photo display of their dishes.  This is called Torres, from the Minho region, which is in the very north part of Portugal on the coastline.

Olives to start.  Often, the olives are served with colive oil and garlic.

Here they also served a cornbread, which is not like the yellow corn bread we are used to in the states, it is more white, and it is very dense.

Since it was dinner time, we went for the full European experience and enjoyed some wine.

Ryan gave the veal a try. It was served with cabbage and potatoes. He really liked.

I had the cod.  It was baked with a cream cheese like sauce on top.  I also really liked the crispy mashed potatoes.

After this meal, we decided to try thei regional dessert instead of going to O Forno.  Ryan ordered something similar to flan.

I had a sweet, fried bread soaked in a light cinnamon sauce.  Both desserts were really good and I am glad we tried them.

QUESTIONS:  Have you ever had Portuguese food?  What is your favorite ethnic food dish?