Anyone here ever have Portuguese food?

[Warren]

What did you think?

I Stumbled upon a Portuguese cookbook at Barnes & Noble tonight and was enthralled by the descriptions of the food and the regions of the country.

This dish http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/port/acorda.html in particular (sounds like a a paella varient, and I loooove paella) sounded like it may be worth the trip. Maybe not to Portugal but certainly a long drive to a NorCal restaurant.

Anybody have any suggestions for a Portuguese place even a few hours from Chico, Calif? I'll not travel to or spend money in San Francisco so those places are out.

Thank you in advance,

Warren

[vaskidmark]

Go for it!  Having mis-spent quite a bit of my youth in and about Rhode Island and Cape Anne, I got to taste Portuguese food on a regular basis.  It's wonderful.  I am continuously delighted at wat they can do to salt cod to make it taste delicious, and was absolutely astounded at my first taste of fresh anchovies - as opposed to those salty things some folks put on pizza.

Emeril Lagasse is of Portuguese descent, and he is very open about his mom's influence on his receipies.

stay safe.

skidmark

[Warren]

Thank you.

One reply from such a cosmopolitan set such as the members of this board?

[cosine]

Thank you.

One reply from such a cosmopolitan set such as the members of this board?

Well, I can distinguish a hamburger from a hot dog.    Unfortunately, that's the extent of my culinary expertise. This Portuguese food looks interesting though.

[takhtakaal]

Portuguese food is incredibly good and simple, as is its Brazilian culinary cousin. Look and see if there is a Brazilian steakhouse anywhere near you. for what they call churrasco.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churrasco

http://www.rodiziogrill.com/

[Perd Hapley]

Seein' as how I is an Amurican, and this is Amurica, I eat Amurican food.  Like pizza and coffee and such.  But if you hate Amurica and would rather eat some other country's food, go right on ahead.  Commie. 

[takhtakaal]

The word is "rodizio." Literally, one eats meat until one signifies defeat, or bursts, whichever happens first.

They come to your table, knife in one hand, all manner of juicy, skewered grilled beast in the other, daring you to let them slice it and drop it onto your plate, already bulging with potato salad, beans, piri-piri, and whatever you foolishly took from the buffet.

You eat, and eat, and eat, and then they tell you about the incredible desserts.

Above, the meat on the plate is sirloin, sliced right at the table, and pork sausages called "chouri?o." Below, from the buffet, beans, potato salad, green salad, farofa, beef with peppers, and piri-piri. Afterwards, I had flan.

Seriously, Brazilian steakhouses are not to be believed.

[Warren]

Oh I've to one of those, a place called Samba in Redondo Beach, California. It's awesomeness can not be overstated but i am looking for more traditional PG food. Regional dishes and so forth.

[280plus]

Does Portugese moonshine count? 

[takhtakaal]

Oh I've to one of those, a place called Samba in Redondo Beach, California. It's awesomeness can not be overstated but i am looking for more traditional PG food. Regional dishes and so forth.

Gotcha. You might put your question here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showforum=27

It's an awesome foodie forum, the registration is painless, and someone there will have the knowledge you seek, for sure.

ETA: BTW, this is about three hours from you, but by all accounts a Portuguese experience beyond words: http://www.lasalette-restaurant.com/