Summer in Lisboa

Summer in Lisboa, 2023

I've only been to Lisbon once before, and it was on a thirty-six hour TAP layover flight from Newark to Zurich on my thirtieth birthday 'Around the World in Seventy-Seven Days' celebration. For this reason I had no choice but to feel a real taste of the place was missing from palette. I've been to the drier rural areas of Portugal on numerous occasions, but Lisbon and Porto have both slipped through my metropolitan net of experience.

Summer Evening Solar Flares in Lisbon Volume Two, 2023

On my flight To Lisbon this past summer I was pleasantly surprised to find Bourdain's No Reservation Lisbon episode available to watch. I haven't watched the show in years, but remember the Lisbon episode to be particularly eye-opening. I already noted some places to notice and food to try after reading his posthumous book, World Travel: An Irreverant Guide. The chapter on Portugal is rich with prose and culinary information. So, after re-watching that No Reservation episode, I was especially prone to the well-seasoned travel guidance from the legendary traveling pirate cook poet himself.

The obvious must-eat and visits while in Lisbon and Porto were the acclaimed Cervejaria Ramiro for the freshest of seafood bounties, the elegantly tinned sardines at Sol E Pesca, breaking my alcohol fast with a Ginjinhas and plenty of aged Port, bifana pork sandwiches, prego, Confeitaria de Bolhao, and virtually bottomless pasteis de nata. Portugal is a sensual overload, and I'm already looking forward to another summer spent in Portugal.

Thank you to eater.com for the No Reservations Bourdain one-liners below. It's a highly-recommended episode if you're looking for an additional shoulder-bump of inspiration or culinary excuse to escape to Lisbon next summer.

1. On shrimp brains: "Basically, if you don't like what's in a shrimp's head, I can't be your friend."
   
2. On a steak sandwich served with yellow mustard: "There are certain American dishes for which you want the nasty mustard."
   
3. On prego: "For dessert — and you gotta have dessert right — prego, a steak sandwich slash booze mop that puts you right over the edge in a protein overdose."
   
4. On what he's into these days: "I have recently acquired a true and deep love for really good stuff — eels, sardines — that come in cans. Really."
   
5. On drinking cherry liqueur first thing in the morning: "Cancel the meal scene. I'm going down."
   
6. On bifana pork sandwiches: "Yes, give me your hot porky love."