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Portugal shares its cuisine with the West End… and it is so delicious!
Still basking in the afterglow of a succulent, carnivore-pleasing dinner, I am trying to find sufficient euphemisms to describe NDG’s Grillades Portugaises (6710 SaintJacques, just west of Cavendish, Tel: 514-484-0025). I’m not necessarily an aficionado of that culture’s food… in fact, I’ve only eaten it several times and sardines usually played a starring role. A couple of months ago, veteran diner and Seeker columnist Sol Boxenbaum and I were talking and he broke into a spontaneous rave about the place. “The food is unbelievable,” he raged. “My favourite dish is the baby back ribs, but their chicken… ohhhhh, their chicken…” He trailed off and I swear I heard saliva cascading down his chin. I contacted the establishment and, not long after, they became advertisers. Now that I have finally devoured their cuisine, I am very, very proud to have them on board. And after sitting down to talk to young owner Bianca Bozsodi, I am also a bit amazed. You see, despite her inherent mix of several cultures, including Romanian, Portuguese is not at all part of her heritage. “Why did I open a Portuguese restaurant?” she repeated my question. “Let’s just say that my husband and I fell madly in love with the cuisine and I wanted to share it with others, including people who had never tried it before.”
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