Whenever we travel, we try our best to eat the foods of the locals. Our first night in Portugal, after a very LONG, eventful day, we chose to eat at a little local place close to our hotel. It was a little restaurant called Fome de Leao.
It was a tiny little restaurant, as many of the small family owned restaurants are. But it was full of personality and the food was delicious.
The Portuguese are big meat eaters. In fact, they consume more meat than all other Europeans, with the exception of Spain. Meat consumption in Portugal is among the highest in Europe, reaching approximately 119.6 kg per person in 2023, with pork being the most consumed meat, followed by poultry, with high consumption of processed meats and sausages as well. They also eat a lot of fish. Cod is one of their favorite types of fish, which is really ironic considering cod is NOT found in the Portuguese waters. They have to import cod from the colder waters, mostly from the Nordic countries. The Portuguese diet is called the Atlantic Diet rather than the Mediterranean diet because of the amount of meat they consume. Over the past 50 years, the economic situation in Portugal has improved, making meat, which was once a luxury, widely available and affordable, leading to a massive increase in consumption.
We ate everything Portugal had to offer, fish, meat, pastries and then some. We enjoyed everything we tried. Our first dinner was delicious Portuguese meats cooked in traditional styles.
Almost every restaurant we went to started us off with a little bowl of olives. I could definitely get used to this trend. I love olives. And the only wines we drank were, of course, Portuguese wines. 🙂
I had roasted chicken.
Larry enjoyed one of the many varieties of Portuguese sausage. A lot of the meals come topped with fried eggs too.
It was all very good, but even better when we added some of the specialty chili oil.
It was a delicious way to end our first day in Portugal.
Stay tuned. There is a lot more still to come. Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. ‘Til next time.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 