Without doubt Porto, Portugal is a gastronomic gem. After a very long flight from California to Porto first, I rested. Next on the agenda was a walking food tour of historic downtown. I invite you to join me in a photo journey of a gastronomic adventure in Porto. Let's get going!
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| Porto's Historic District © Spaswinefood |
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| Historic District, Porto © Spaswinefood |
Eating my way through Porto
Our Taste of Porto Food Tour was arranged by our host Catavino. During this amazing walking tour of the historic center with André we sampled some traditional foods and tasted a few wines. Our tour began near Mercado do Bolhão. We walked from Bolhão
to Victoria.
A Loja des Pasteis de Chaves
Our first stop was at A Loja des Pasteis de Chaves.
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| First Stop, Loja Dos Pastéis De Chaves, Porto © Spaswinefood |
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| Smiling Faces, Loja Dos Pastéis De Chaves © Spaswinefood |
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| Two Smiling Faces, Loja Dos Pastéis De Chaves © Spaswinefood |
Here we tasted two pastries, one savory and one sweet.
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Loja Dos Pastéis De Chaves © Spaswinefood
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| Loja Dos Pastéis De Chaves © Spaswinefood |
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| Chaves Pastry, Loja Dos Pastéis De Chaves © Spaswinefood |
These warm flaky pastries are typical of Chaves, a small city in northern Portugal.
Next it was into the Mercado do Bolhão where we explored a little before stopping to sample more goodies.
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| The Colorful Mercado do Bolhão © Spaswinefood |
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| Mercado do Bolhão © Spaswinefood |
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| Mercado do Bolhão, Porto © Spaswinefood |
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| Shopping at Mercado do Bolhão © Spaswinefood |
The market stalls are filled with many tempting goods. I could not help but notice the amazing fruits and vegetables.
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| Fruit & Vegetable Stall © Spaswinefood |
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| Tomato Season, Mercado do Bolhão © Spaswinefood |
I soon discovered that this is where you can buy shredded kale used to make Caldo Verde.
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| Shredded Kale, Mercado do Bolhão © Spaswinefood |
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Meat Vendor, Mercado do Bolhão © Spaswinefood
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While there is so much to discover in the market our selected stop was the Bolhão Wine House.
Bolhão Wine House
While at Bolhão Wine House we sampled some wine and other goodies.
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| Wine House, Mercado do Bolhão © Spaswinefood |
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| Tasting at the Wine House © Spaswinefood |
Most tried bread and sardines.
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| Bread and Sardines, Wine House © Spaswinefood |
In my case it was cheese and bread.
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| Cheese and Bread, Wine House © Spaswinefood |
Then of course there was some wine sampling.
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| Wine Time, Wine House © Spaswinefood |
Let's take a closer look.
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| Tasting Wine House Style © Spaswinefood |
Let us not forget the something was added. Yes, a sweet pastry added that extra touch.
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| Wine House, Mercado do Bolhão © Spaswinefood |
Let me not forget the wine in the glass was a Moscatel.
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| Lamelas Moscatel Do Douro, Wine House © Spaswinefood |
But of course on our way out of the market we took a quick look at one of the fish stalls.
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| Sardines, Mercado do Bolhão © Spaswinefood |
From the market it was a walk to Flor Dos Congregates. This restaurant is know for its slow food.
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| Flor Dos Congregados © Spaswinefood |
Flor Dos Congregados
Flor Dos Congregados is a third generation family restaurant where visitors can enjoy one of a kind sandwich. The restaurant makes it the slow food way. This is not a sandwich to be made quickly.
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| Flor Dos Congregados © Spaswinefood |
At Flor Dos Congregates we tried their famous sandwich with a glass of sparkling wine. Porto is know Francesinha sandwich, also know as the Little Frenchie, or French. This sandwich pairs well with a glass of sparkling wine.
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| Flor Dos Congregados © Spaswinefood |
Now for a quick look at this very rich and filling sandwich.
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| Francesinha Time, Flor Dos Congregados © Spaswinefood |
But of course they make accommodations for vegetarians.
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| Caldo Verde, Flor Dos Congregados © Spaswinefood |
Now, I had time to appreciate the use of shredded kale in the making of Caldo Verde.
With all the rich food and wine sampling you can see why it is a walking tour.
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| Porto Historic District © Spaswinefood |
Moreover, while walking in the historic district you get a brief glimpse of some of the architecture.
Café Guarany
Café Guarany is an historic cafe, dating back to 1933. This café in the historic heart of Porto is where business men, artists, politicians and others meet for coffee, or cimbalino, as it is locally known.
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| Café Guarany © Spaswinefood |
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| Coffee, Café Guarany © Spaswinefood |
After a quick shot of coffee we are onto our next stop.
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| Leitaria Da Qta Do Paço © Spaswinefood |
Leitaria Da Qta Do Paço
At Leitaria Da Qta Do Paço we tasted their famous eclairs. Their eclairs are indeed light, but also they are served with cream, and of course filled with awesome tastes, like sweet chocolate.
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| Sampling at Leitaria Da Qta Do Paço © Spaswinefood |
Let us take a quick look.
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| Eclairs, Leitaria Da Qta Do Paço © Spaswinefood |
During our walk there were a few places that I noted for future explorations. There were places like, Um Dois Tres Restaurant, cute tasting rooms and more.
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| Um Dois Tres Restaurant © Spaswinefood |
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| Future Wine Tasting, Porto © Spaswinefood |
The historic center is indeed filled with opportunities for gastronomic explorations.
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| Walking Historic Porto © Spaswinefood |
We continue walking.
Taberna Do Largo
Our last stop was at Taberna Do Largo. Here we sampled some wines from the various wine regions of Portugal. That is, we sampled Portuguese wines and petiscos from small producers.
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| Taberna Do Largo © Spaswinefood |
Now for a quick look at some of the wines.
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| Wine Tasting, Taberna Do Largo © Spaswinefood |
Taberna Do Largo is a place I would love to return to do some food and wine sampling.
I would highly recommend Taste of Porto Food Tour to those who wish to discover some of Porto's authentic foods and do a little wine tasting. You will also pickup a few tips on places to try later. Later that evening I was off to Prova.
Prova Wine & Pleasure
Yes, it was time to checkout Prova, one of the best wine bars in town. For me it was an evening for getting back in touch with friends over wine and food. These are friends that I met at earlier DWCC (Digital Wine Communications Conference) gatherings. Special thanks to Gabriela, Ryan and Robert for making this happen.
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| Prova Wine & Food Pleasure © Spaswinefood |
It was an evening of BYOB and a small plates affair. There were some great wines and port of course.
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| Special Wine Moments, Prova © Spaswinefood |
It was an opportunity to taste Douro Valley port wines and other Portuguese wines, which leave a lasting impression. Even though port is not the only wine that Portugal does well I must note that the port lodges in the historic Vila Nova de Gaia are a must. It is hard to pass up a tasting at places, like Taylor's Port Lodge at the top of the Gaia hillside overlooking Porto. The view from there is absolutely majestic.
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| View from Taylor's Port Lodge © Spaswinefood |
Take a walk down the hill towards the Douro River waterfront. There you will find the other well-known port lodges, such as Sandeman's. The Sandeman symbol is hard to miss. I still remember visiting Sandeman's Quinta do Seixo in the Douro Valley during an earlier visit.
When I left Porto I knew I must come back soon for more wines and local foods. Obviously Porto is place that should top most #foodies and #winelovers list. Spaswinefood looks forward to further adventures in Portugal. I invite you to join me in my travels in Portugal and elsewhere in search of the best in Spaswinefood.
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