I've just come back from a holiday in Portugal: land of no cuisine. I'm prepared to stand corrected, but as far as I can tell there is no good food in the whole country. The national specialities appear to be greasy, fatty pork and biscuit cake with ice cream (eet's a cooookie, we've been told!).
We did spend most of the time in Porto, so the majority of restaurants cater firmly for tourists and offer nothing more exciting than 'frying pan steak' and 'frog-fish rice'. I did, however, have a chance to visit the 'real' Portugal (the north-east, near the border) and I can confirm that the food situation doesn't improve away from the Ryanair track. Apparently the locals make caldo, a revolting cabbage soup, every day.
During the holiday I had a chance to venture into Spain for a day. This was incredibly exciting because it meant we could visit a tapas bar and eat some real food! We dined gratefully on excellent Spanish jamon, bread and ensalada russa (Russian salad, which contains tuna, potatoes and vegetables with a creamy sauce).
What Portugal lacks in food it makes up for with wine, though. Red wine from the Douro region is particularly nice. We also visited some Port cellars to learn how Port is made and, of course, to sample some into the bargain. I'd recommend this is practically the first thing you do once you're off the plane in Porto: hot-foot it down to the river, cross the Eiffel bridge and get yourself into a cellar, preferably the Calem one. For about five euros you get an interesting tour and two decent-sized glasses of delicious Port to taste. But be warned: it certainly works up a craving for cheese and there's none to be found, so take your own!
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