Off the to-do list: White Port

One of the souvenirs I got my self in Portugal was a small bottle of white port.

From Global Food

After having the classic Twany port several times, I was interested in trying something a little more unusual. Tawny is a very sweet wine, almost syrupy both in thickness and in taste. So at some place in Lisbon I grabbed a little bottle to sample the variety and promptly never got around to drinking it on the trip. When I got back, it went straight away into the cabinet with the expectation to open at... some point. Eventually, the white port earned a spot spot on my to-do list. While I was waiting to drink it, I wanted to be able to share it with as well.

Thanks to Nancy and her wine and cheese party last night I finally managed to crack it open.

From Global Food

Far lighter and much thinner, it had very little aroma with a lovely golden hue. The taste was best captured by Sam when he said, "It tastes like white port," in that it has a similar flavor to any other port, just much lighter. The sweetness is dialed back considerably, and the mouth feel isn't thick like jam, but much closer to a standard white.

While we finished off the evening with the white port, its considered more of an apéritif, and the bottle recommends trying it with soda or tonic.I enjoyed it; its a bit more versatile than a true dessert wine, which can be too much for some people. Still, I have to express a preference for Tawny. I just like sweet wines.

Cheese... you can grill

I'm a cheese fan. There. I said it. Its really not that shocking, but still. Most people I know at least like cheese. Some of us love it. While I might not be all that knowledgeable about the subject I like learning more. Trying new varieties. Pushing the boundary a little.

In perusing Harvest Market and City Feed (thank you sooooo much for updating your site, by the way) for salad cheese I have seen an item which proclaims its self to be "grilling cheese." The concept is a bit odd, and I was honestly wary of how to manage it, so I have routinely eyed the package, even picked it up now and again, but always moved on from it. Not today. I don't know why, but I was moved. Perhaps by the spirit of adventure. Perhaps by hunger. Maybe it was just the idea of GRILLING CHEESE but I made took home a package.

From Global Food

Once home I was a little panicked. Really? Grill? Just grill it? Maybe I could just crumble it and treat it like feta. I stared at it for a bit, nibbled on a sample and was underwhelmed. It had a chewy texture with a bit of squeak. A bit bland. Nothing special. And so I went to the never wrong Wiki for guidance. Ok... its called halloumi, yadda yadda yadda, Cyprus, yadda yadda yadda, fried until golden brown, higher-than-normal melting point. Yeah. That's enough.

Into the pan as thin slices it went with a little olive oil and garlic. Within a minute they were turning golden brown, and after a flip they went on to a mesclun salad.

From Global Food

Now the cheese was crunchy on the outside while remaining tender and soft within. Hot but not scalding the flavor came alive. I was compelled to share and interrupted my roommate to force to try some.

From Global Food

The company site suggests moistening with water and covering in flower before cooking, along with several other means of preparation. Totally unexpected product with amazing possibilities.

Edit: Added photos.

Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie

For an interesting food related show check out the PBS broadcast, Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie, which can also be found on Hulu.

Montreal: Je me souviens... La nourriture

So with an offer from Abby to have a very inexpensive stay in Montreal in the center of city, we packed up for a weekend getaway. The trip north from Boston would nominally take only about 4 hours or so, but with our stomachs in mind we planned a few detours in Vermont. Most importantly, tours of Cabot Cheese creamery, Ben & Jerry's factory; a Lake Champlain store and Cold Hollow Cider Mill.

The most challenging part of the trip was getting to our first stop, Cabot. Far removed from our highway, and and over abundance of faith in GPS lead us along an unmaintained dirt road in the back woods of Vermont. Cue banjo music. The tour was a flat out bust. A short informational video set the scene, which in my opinion is the equivalent of a movie voice over: its lazy. The tour itself was a 5 minute jaunt down a hallway... and then we were just told to head back. The tasting room held a nice verity of product selection, but still it was rather unimpressive. Not a bad stop if you're driving through, but not at all worth the trip on its own.

A short trek over to Ben & Jerry's was a little better, but not much. The corporate campus is actually a lovely, and large site. Sort of a park and almost recreation center, it would be a perfect location for a picnic and family time. The plant is much like the Sam Adams plant here in Boston, more for tours and show than real production. A short corporate video again took just as long as the tour, here a one room production line. But, we again got samples, and followed up free ice cream with an order of ice cream. Fat kids for life.

After the inevitable wait at the befuddlement of the Québécois guard dealing with a guy living in Boston who drives a California plated car, we found our selves closing in on Canada's second largest city. The drive took us past sprawling farms and rural communities which slowly gave way to small suburbs. The most bizarre element of which was the sighting of Boston Pizza. You read that correctly. Apparently its some kind of chain "sports bar/ casual family pizza restaurant" according to their about us page. We Bostonians were as confused as the border guard was.

After the inevitable confusion of navigating our way through a strange new city, we arrived late and hungry and at least an hour a head of half of our party. So we were led to my single regret of the weekend: no documentation, written or photo, of dinner (with some investigation I suspect its called Steve's Pizza). On the corner was a simple restaurant featuring burgers and pizza. On the advise of a contact we wandered in off the busy, Friday night street to what was a clean, but unspectacular looking short order. I often feel that the places which invest the least in appearances, the ones that are the most unassuming are in fact the most spectacular locations.

Tempted by the allure of the mysterious, and exotic poutine I opted for a combo meal of a hamburger, the cheese fries and a beer. The beer order was followed with only: "white or red," and opting for red I was delighted to find a rather lively, flavorful and high quality brew. As for the meal, the burger alone was spectacular, but hardly the most monumental aspect. While the patty was a bit on the small side, it was nonetheless expertly seasoned and grilled to perfection. An absolute delight, bar none.

But the poutine... well, it stole the show. I was honestly wary of the gravy. Gravy is far too often a grim and unpalatable goo. This was light and bound up with the cheese curds beautifully. The curds themselves were similar in texture and flavor to good mozzarella but with a little of the squeak that I understand good curds are supposed to have.

While we were staying, somewhat ironically, in the Portuguese section of town the French influence over our cuisine was ever present and unmistakable. Naturally there were nutella crepes...

From Global Food

From Global Food

But also there were delicate omelets

From Global Food

Croque-monsieurs

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And this thing, which I inhaled so fast i was barely able to actually get a photo of it.

From Global Food

I think they called it a rarebit or something like that, but it had cheddar cheese, ham, bread, french mustard and a poached egg.

But alas, all good things come to an end, and come Monday we headed back south towards home. After another odd conversation with a boarder guard - this one about housing prices - we were quickly back into Vermont. Seeking out a breakfast stop we pulled over in a random town only to find a quaint dinner. With almost no hope of being able to reproduce the location or name of the place, I still must attest to the hearty delights that we found within. Simple and filling food was being served up in the home and restaurant of the owners who appear to seat most people at the bar and mix refills of coffee with banter and winks. Thickly cut corn beef hash found its way before me. Much to my delight it wasn't greasy or bland mush, but rather firm and well done comfort food presented in an uncomplicated and honest way. Amid the comings and goings of locals on a first name bases with the owner and his family, we completed our trip only a few miles away from the big city we had just left, but it felt a world away. Amid trees and rolling hills, was a hidden gem of eatery and a rather appropriate sense of completion to our eating tour of the Northeast.

Portugal: Wine Overview

Portugal was not a beer trip. In fact, I think this was my only beer on the trip:

From Global Food

After all, its hard to compete with the wine since its A: so cheep

From Global Food

B:So good; and C: Has so much variety.

As for A, that price is a little misleading. The standard price we paid for most bottles was in the 5 to 10 euros range, which still meant that it was more affordable to get a whole bottle than a single drink at most night clubs. At those prices, why just get one bottle?

From Global Food

With item B... you can either take my word for it, or go exploring your local wine store. I'm fortunate enough to live in Boston, which has a substantial Portuguese population. The other day I wandered into a random wine store in Cambridge, which has a significant Portuguese/Brazilian section, and found a diverse and plentiful selection of Iberian imports.

The variety is in fact as assorted and interesting as any major wine producing nation. Amongst others, there are, of course, whites...

From Global Food

... reds...

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... roses...

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... ports...

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... and what is known as Vino Verde, or "green wine."

From Global Food

This is not an indication to the color, as you would find with Croatian black wines, but rather to age. Verdes are very young, immature wines. Accordingly, they are fresh, light and have an almost airy quality to them. They are ideal for drinking during hot summer days since they are so refreshing and simple.

At my behest we managed to pack in three winery tours during our time in and around Evora, the capital of the Alentejo region. Our first stop was the relatively modest, family run Roquevale. The next day we visited the massive CARMIM coop...

From Global Food

...and the overly touristy Herdade do Esporão.

Our first shock the presence of boxed wine. Yes. Wine, in a box. Every place seems to produce it due to a large domestic demand for it. Boxes make appearances in several liter sizes, and even juice box versions.

From Global Food

I just don't know.

The tours afforded us the opportunity to not only appreciate the relatively recent modernization of the Portuguese wine industry since Salazar. Up through the 1970s the main fermentation took place not in metal vats as seen today, but rather in massive terracotta jars (which I seem to have lost the photo of). The EU seems to have allowed a massive step up in both the level of sophistication as well the volume. Wineries, including bottling and distribution sections, are now state of the art. Vestiges of the low tech remain at many facilities for tourist photo ops and specialty souvenirs.

Apart from the official channels, the most unusual wine was an unfiltered table wine we had at a local restaurant/store around the corner in Lisbon. First of all, this was the difiniative "locals" place. In my previous entry I mentioned a lack of menus, well this was the place. No chalkboard, just verbal descriptions. Which, given our lack of Portuguese skills, was kind of amusing. But aside from being the attraction that night - five American's walk into a working class family restaurant and have no idea what they are doing, yuk, yuk, yuk - the place was very welcoming and friendly. After a fashion, the waitress brought out the following bottle:

From Global Food

Obviously, this is going to be good.

Putting aside questions about age and anti-freeze, we poured our selves some, which looked as like this:

From Global Food

What can I say? It wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever tasted, somewhat watery, unsurprisingly gritty but good.

And then there was the revelation. It's made with water from Fátima. As in, Our Lady of Fátima. Wow. I've never known a wine to be creepy before. But there it is.

So... if you're looking for a takeaway message, check out Portuguese wines: they are inexpensive enough to warrant experimenting with on their own. Supporting that, they are unique and delicious.

Food and Photos

In my great fortune, I have been able to travel across North America, some of Europe and part of Asia. In the last year and a half I have been to China, including Hong Kong and Macao, Thailand, Portugal and Canada.

I have begun to specifically catalog the experiences of eating and drinking, although in the case of China not always my eating, in the following photo album : Global Food.

Contained within there are photos from Southern France 2005, Paris 2007, Asia 2008 and Portugal 2009. My hope is to continue to document and expand my domestic and foreign experiences there.

Portugal: The best meal

Without a doubt, there is one meal that was bar none the far and away best meal that I had in Portugal: Taberna Al-Andaluz.

From Global Food

Located in Reguengos de Monsaraz an hour outside of Evora, we got a recommendation to eat here from a Portuguese couple during a tour of the CARMIM winery.

From Global Food

Located in the middle of the small city, the restaurant is tucked away, in and back, from the road. Being the middle of the week, there was hardly anyone present. In a separate room were a few older men, whom we learned later were local politicians.

After an initial round of "Portuguese Tapas" we began a very lovely conversation with the owner, who insisted on bringing us a plate of fried black pork while he joined us to have his own lunch.

From Global Food

A local variety of pig to the region, the dish is a perfect example of the style of local style of cooking. Thinly cut, the meat was crispy on the outside and tender within; seasoned with only fresh lemon and sea salt, this dish is perhaps one of the best meals that I have ever had.

From Global Food

As a supporting player was cabbage and cauliflower in olive oil and garlic. Both of which were brimming with flavor.

From Global Food

Not convinced that we were completely satisfied with these dishes and his personal favorite bottle of wine, we of course were given dessert.

From Global Food

Homemade ice cream, fresh fruit and chocolate sauce. Simple, elegant and beautiful. Of course, I was curious and asked if the sauce was porto, and with a twinkle in his eye, the owner brought me a glass.

And after sitting with us, eating with us, feeding us, we were taken on a personal tour of the near by walled city.

If you should find yourself in or around Evora, this restaurant is absolutely worth the trip. Unfortunately, this is the best link I can find on them. I may have their card someplace in my room if your are really interested in more details.