6 ms·

> The food is bad Dear, your credibility: Goodbye.

by deanCommie 4y ago

nmfisher 4y ago
Never been, but after visiting Spain last year, I struggle to believe Portugal has bad food.
- wenc 4y ago
  And I'm here to say that it's not (and I've eaten all over the world). Portuguese food is excellent. Obviously it depends what you like, but the seafood and rice dishes were excellent. And there's also Mozambican food with spicy piri-piri sauce... can't get enough of that.
- dgellow 4y ago
  In my experience Portuguese food taste wonderfully, definitely something to try out. But it is very rich in lipids and sugar. It’s also quite hard to find interesting things if you’re vegetarian or vegan. I would recommend to try their fish and seafood, it’s fantastic.
dimmke 4y ago
The national dish of Portugal is salted codfish with cabbage. Fucking gross. I will die on this hill I don't care how many downvotes it gets me. You can find Italian restaurants all over the world. Where are all the Portugese restaurants if this cuisine is so brilliant?
- captaincaveman 4y ago
  Indeed the national dish is not to my taste, I'm not even sure what the USA national dish is, however I suspect it probably isn't the best, despite there being very good food available there. It can be hard to know what to eat and often more importantly where to eat as a tourist, and in Portugal its often (in my experience) the last obvious establishments that are the best (often places you don't even think sell food).
  - js2 4y ago
    > I'm not even sure what the USA national dish Doubt there is one (some might say apple pie) and the only thing I can think of that unites all the different American cuisines and regional variations is the sandwich. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/14/dining/field-guide-to-the-sandwich.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/14/dining/field-...
  - CRConrad 4y ago
    > I'm not even sure what the USA national dish is Big Mac?
- heavenlyblue 4y ago
  Italians are quite elitist in their food. It seems like every Italian's live purpose is proving to everyone how good they are at cooking. Spain/Portuguese food isn't snobbish or fancy, but it's generally good. As a matter of fact I find that the baseline for what is bad in these places is actually quite high. That is not the case for your average Italian restaurant around the world. Most of them are not that great.
- deanCommie 4y ago
  National dish notwithstanding, Portugal has other plenty of great seafood-based dishes. The best National food after Italian (and maybe Japanese) is Georgian, but you don't see their restaurants worldwide either.
  - dimmke 4y ago
    Don’t even get me started on Octupus. Putting aside that it’s dubious ethically it’s like fucking rubber. Georgia being a tiny third world country that hardly anybody knows about might have something to do with their lack of cuisine reach. Portuguese is like the 5th most spoken language in the world. That’s pretty damning.
    - femiagbabiaka 4y ago
      You have not had well cooked octopus unfortunately. And as for other fantastic Portuguese dishes, caldo verde, grilled sardines, chicken piri-piri, are all quite good. That’s just off the top of my head. And although it’s technically a Brazilian cocktail, the caipirinha is a top tier hot weather alcoholic beverage. You should visit Portugal again!
  - tormeh 4y ago
    Georgian food is very mediocre. Bread with cheese isn’t bad, but it’s nothing special. Brazilian food, however, is very underrated.
    - reducesuffering 4y ago
      A Georgian feast is like 8 different great dishes, not just Khachapuri. Chakapuli (Lamb & Tarragon stew) or Bazha (walnut sauce) with the way they make chicken… excellent.
BrandoElFollito 4y ago
I am French and I love Portugal. I visited it many times, have Portuguese friends and it is the only country I would be glad to live outside of mine (I travelled the world for 7 years straight). Now with this said, Portuguese food is medium. There are great cheeses, great starters but then it goes downhill. Again, I have nothing but live for that country and people living there, the culture and whynot but food is not the first thing (or the 5th) when I think about Portugal.
- dimmke 4y ago
  This is a more nuanced version of what I was trying to say. But if the cuisine in a country doesn’t hit for me, it’s a big con. I’m in Mexico right now having a lot of fun
toddh 4y ago
If you are from the US the food is different and is regional. The Algarve is very proud of their traditional seafood. If you aren't used to Mackerel and Cod and Sardines it's hard to get used to. As you move north the dishes change. The bread is awesome everywhere.

> The food is bad Dear, your credibility: Goodbye.

nmfisher 4y ago

Never been, but after visiting Spain last year, I struggle to believe Portugal has bad food.

wenc 4y ago
And I'm here to say that it's not (and I've eaten all over the world). Portuguese food is excellent. Obviously it depends what you like, but the seafood and rice dishes were excellent. And there's also Mozambican food with spicy piri-piri sauce... can't get enough of that.
dgellow 4y ago
In my experience Portuguese food taste wonderfully, definitely something to try out. But it is very rich in lipids and sugar. It’s also quite hard to find interesting things if you’re vegetarian or vegan. I would recommend to try their fish and seafood, it’s fantastic.

dimmke 4y ago

The national dish of Portugal is salted codfish with cabbage. Fucking gross. I will die on this hill I don't care how many downvotes it gets me. You can find Italian restaurants all over the world. Where are all the Portugese restaurants if this cuisine is so brilliant?

captaincaveman 4y ago
Indeed the national dish is not to my taste, I'm not even sure what the USA national dish is, however I suspect it probably isn't the best, despite there being very good food available there. It can be hard to know what to eat and often more importantly where to eat as a tourist, and in Portugal its often (in my experience) the last obvious establishments that are the best (often places you don't even think sell food).
- js2 4y ago
  > I'm not even sure what the USA national dish Doubt there is one (some might say apple pie) and the only thing I can think of that unites all the different American cuisines and regional variations is the sandwich. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/14/dining/field-guide-to-the-sandwich.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/14/dining/field-...
- CRConrad 4y ago
  > I'm not even sure what the USA national dish is Big Mac?
heavenlyblue 4y ago
Italians are quite elitist in their food. It seems like every Italian's live purpose is proving to everyone how good they are at cooking. Spain/Portuguese food isn't snobbish or fancy, but it's generally good. As a matter of fact I find that the baseline for what is bad in these places is actually quite high. That is not the case for your average Italian restaurant around the world. Most of them are not that great.
deanCommie 4y ago
National dish notwithstanding, Portugal has other plenty of great seafood-based dishes. The best National food after Italian (and maybe Japanese) is Georgian, but you don't see their restaurants worldwide either.
- dimmke 4y ago
  Don’t even get me started on Octupus. Putting aside that it’s dubious ethically it’s like fucking rubber. Georgia being a tiny third world country that hardly anybody knows about might have something to do with their lack of cuisine reach. Portuguese is like the 5th most spoken language in the world. That’s pretty damning.
  - femiagbabiaka 4y ago
    You have not had well cooked octopus unfortunately. And as for other fantastic Portuguese dishes, caldo verde, grilled sardines, chicken piri-piri, are all quite good. That’s just off the top of my head. And although it’s technically a Brazilian cocktail, the caipirinha is a top tier hot weather alcoholic beverage. You should visit Portugal again!
- tormeh 4y ago
  Georgian food is very mediocre. Bread with cheese isn’t bad, but it’s nothing special. Brazilian food, however, is very underrated.
  - reducesuffering 4y ago
    A Georgian feast is like 8 different great dishes, not just Khachapuri. Chakapuli (Lamb & Tarragon stew) or Bazha (walnut sauce) with the way they make chicken… excellent.

BrandoElFollito 4y ago

I am French and I love Portugal. I visited it many times, have Portuguese friends and it is the only country I would be glad to live outside of mine (I travelled the world for 7 years straight). Now with this said, Portuguese food is medium. There are great cheeses, great starters but then it goes downhill. Again, I have nothing but live for that country and people living there, the culture and whynot but food is not the first thing (or the 5th) when I think about Portugal.

dimmke 4y ago
This is a more nuanced version of what I was trying to say. But if the cuisine in a country doesn’t hit for me, it’s a big con. I’m in Mexico right now having a lot of fun

toddh 4y ago

If you are from the US the food is different and is regional. The Algarve is very proud of their traditional seafood. If you aren't used to Mackerel and Cod and Sardines it's hard to get used to. As you move north the dishes change. The bread is awesome everywhere.