Looking at today’s photo, you can start understanding what Portuguese foodie dreams are made of…
This bacalhau sampler is a good representation of how obsessed my country is with salted codfish. It stinks before you cook it, but once you follow one of the (supposedly) more than 365 ways of preparing it, it tastes delicious – at least for the Portuguese palate! Because, let’s face it, strong flavored and fibrous, salted cod really is an acquired taste.
Sometimes, when you travel to a new place, you may be eager to experience the local cuisine, but you may have a hard time deciding where to start. Touristic restaurants seem to be keen on recommending dishes, but they don’t necessarily offer the best representation of the local gastronomic delights.
As Portugal seems to be trending in the tourism scene lately, I increasingly come across more articles about travel and food around here. The problem is that they are usually written by foreigners with good intentions, but limited knowledge on how to make the most of a trip to my country. And so the day when I read a blog post recommending a taco bar as one of the “must-eat places in Lisbon”, I lost it a little and [after a big WTF] I decided to do something about it.
And thus the idea of “Lisbon in 100 Bites” was born. Backpack ME’s first ebook will contain 100 food recommendations for your next trip in and around Lisbon. It’s not about places where you should go to eat to. Instead, it is about dishes and foods that are representative of the local cuisine and that you can find pretty much anywhere. It’s about the things that we do eat around here, out or at home, everyday, without necessarily splurging [hint: tacos are not involved].
If you like to explore new cultures through the way they eat (just like yours truly), stay tuned for a rich, appetizing, olive oil infused taste of Lisbon. If you’re not a pen-pal of ours yet, please subscribe to Backpack ME’s monthly newsletter and we’ll let you know when “Lisbon in 100 Bites” is finally available for download. Look forward to more than 100 pages of down-to-earth Portuguese food, mouth-watering photos and comments from a person who writes about Portuguese food in English and, for once, is actually Portuguese! ;)
Introducing the Ultimate Lisbon Food Guide