Sharing Isn't Always Caring
Sharing Isn't Always Caring
Plus Two Tasty Recipes
We agree to disagree about sharing food. Mindi loves to share restaurant dishes so that she gets a small taste of everything on the table. Daryl does not ‘share’ that view. He likes to eat his main dish from top to bottom - from the carmelized exterior to the tender center. Both eating perspectives have their attributes and will remain something we love to argue over.
However, we’ve been sharing food more frequently lately. One of the reasons is related to the sudden preponderence of Lisbon restaurants that serve small shareable plates for not-so-small prices. The other is related to the large portion sizes that have become the norm at American restaurants.
If you haven’t been to the USA for a while, the portion sizes can be shocking. Last year, when we lunched in New Jersey soon after landing in Newark, we ordered $9 Chinese ‘lunch specials’ only to discover that one chicken with broccoli dish could easily feed two people. The same can be said about the exhorbitantly priced ($20 and up!) luxe hamburgers we shared this summer during our NYC burger quest. And it’s not just us - we spotted several other couples sharing their burger bounties.
Living in Europe, specifically in Portugal, has definitively adjusted our appetites. Even though traditional Portuguese restaurants often pair plates of fish or meat with sides of both rice and fries (one of the quirks of eating in Portugal), portions are still smaller here. In fact, we sometimes order one more plate than the server recommends at restaurants where shareable plates are the norm.
We remember when a steakhouse meal meant eating an entire New York strip steak. And it wasn’t that long ago when we would each happily eat an entire everything bagel with a giant smear of cream cheese at Ess-a- Bagel. (In his younger days, Daryl would even down an extra half.) Perhaps our new found restraint is related to us getting older. There’s that too.
We’re bringing this topic up in response to a recent NY Times article about restaurateurs moving toward smaller portion sizes. It’s a move that makes good sense for financial, health and environmental reasons.
The challenge for American restaurateurs will be in generating revenue with smaller portions assuming that they reduce the prices too (as they should). But this doesn’t mean that it can’t be done and that it’s not the right thing to do. We’ve managed to pair down our portions at home using a digital scale and have learned to wait for our bodies to feel full which usually happens.
In some ways, bigger isn’t always better and learning to value small but grand tastes is a discernible skill. To us, eating smaller portion sizes feels physically better than overeating. The phrase “his eyes were bigger than his stomach” holds true in that sense. Plus, after the meal is over, we’d rather feel satisfaction than guilt.
The Season Is Turning Cool and Fuzzy
When people mention their desire to move to Portugal, the first reason they often site is the weather. We get it. Portugal, for much of the year, is beautiful with mostly sunny days cooled by the nearby Atlantic Ocean. This year has been especially dry - you may have read about fires here. However, for the first time in months, we’ve been experiencing cooler weather, humidity and (gasp!) rain this week. And, while this first rain cycle lasted only a few days and the sun is shining now, we know that more rain is coming.
This cool humidity brings an element common to life in portugal - mold. Mold season here means foods, like fruits and vegetables, suffer a decreased shelf life from a week to just a couple days. We need to keep the windows open during the shoulder season here or else a gentle white fur begins appearing in way too many places. Many houses, due to ‘traditional’ construction methods, suffer major mold outbreaks. (Luckily, our building is immune from this issue.)
We liken the weather in Lisbon to weather in the middle of the ocean. Our location on the head of the peninsula places us into the head of the ocean. When it rains here, it rains hard. When the skies are blue, they’re really blue. When winter comes, snow is nonexistent. It’s a tradeoff that we’re happy to accept - especially the lack of snow part.
Dish of the Week - Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Mortadella
While mortadella, Italy's hot cured meat sensation, can be used in so many ways, Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Mortadella may be the most satisfying. It's a rustic celebration that pairs the cured meat product with hearty pasta and a fragrant pesto sauce.
Oh, we should also mention that it’s super easy to make at home. The dish is now on our dinner rotation. It’s a recipe that we’re excited to share.
Drink of the Week - Mezcal Sour
The Mezcal Sour is special. After experiencing love at first sip while at a local watering hole, it was just a matter of time before we crafted the smooth yet potent cocktail at home. The question was how. While using smoky mezcal is an obvious must, there are no rules for the Mezcal Sour's sweet and sour components.
Based on our in-the-mouth research, it turns out that our favorite Mezcal Sour recipe includes agave syrup and freshly squeezed lime juice. Foamy egg white and a dehydrated tangerine wheel finish the drink. The only way to find out if it’s your favorite is to give it a try.
New on Social Media
We attended two different festivals this week and both appear on our social media channels. Chefs on Fire was the more epic of the two. Set in Cascais, chefs gathered to cook in beautiful surroundings with one rule: all cooking had to be done on an open wood-fired flame. Chefs on Fire feels different than most food festivals with its ample plates, ambitious chefs and marvelous wood fired food.
The fortified wine festival in nearby Oeiras was great too. For the cost of a €10 glass, we were able to taste sweet wine vintages from legendary producers like Kopke, Grahams and Fonseca.
Links We’re Liking
Some souvenirs are better than others. Discover the ones not to bring home. | Washington Post (gifted)
The New York Times published a list of the 50 ‘best’ American restaurants. Most are new. Have you been to any? | New York Times (gifted)
Apparently, not everybody loves quality coffee as much as we do. | CNN Travel
Until next week,
Daryl & Mindi