In My Glass – An array of food and wine in Portugal

Leaving Port

Acouple of things jump out at you when you first visit Portugal’s capital, Lisbon. The first thing that hit me was the city’s similarity to San Francisco. Lisbon has lots of hills and different ways to get to streets on them. San Francisco has its cable cars. Lisbon has several elevators and a tram and funicular network that gets people from one level of the city to another.

The other grabber is that the city is comparatively young by European standards—but ancient when compared to San Francisco. There are one or two gothic buildings but everything else has a recent feel to it. That’s where the San Francisco similarity comes into play one more time. Each city was leveled by an earthquake and has recovered. Lisbon’s was much longer ago, in 1755. The combination of that earthquake, a tsunami and subsequent fires almost totally destroyed Lisbon. Thousands perished.

One of the newbies that stood out, spectacularly, for us was the Discoveries Monument. It was built on the north bank of Lisbon’s Tagus River in 1960. It commemorates the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator. The monument represents a three-sailed ship ready to depart—leaving port, Portugal’s part in transforming a large world into the small one we have today. On the monument, led by the prince, is a horde of other people who were involved in Portugal’s dominance of the oceans. Vasco da Gama and Magellan, just to name a couple of the most well-known. It’s really kind of neat to spend some time there and dwell on how Portugal changed the world.

Let’s get to dining. There are many places in Lisbon where you can treat yourself to superb food and wine. By far, our favorite is Faz Figura Restaurant. It’s off the beaten path, quite a distance from the city center. Far away from any touristy places. It’s in a hilly area in the narrow streets of

the upper areas of Lisbon. The location is part of its attraction. Not only does Faz Figura have delicious food, but it is located at a stunning venue that makes a dining experience even better. The restaurant has a veranda that overlooks the Tagus estuary.

Leaving Port. On the subject of wine, Portugal has, in the past been famous for its fortified wine, Port. To the detriment of Portugal’s many fine wines, maybe Port was too famous. Times have changed. Port has fallen out of favor and the country’s table wines are becoming more recognized. We wanted to pay them an official visit and Faz Figura seemed to be the perfect spot.

Our visit started with a glass of white wine from the local, Lisboa region. Even before we ordered, an array of dishes was placed in front of us. There were black olives marinated in some orange infused oil; maybe oranges, maybe cumquats. And the cheese! It was a special cheese to be consumed only on the day it is made. Round that out with a little local ham and some bread and you’ve defined a great way to kick off a lunch. What a tasty delight.

Then it was time to get serious. This, after all, was an official wine visit. Each of us selected a simple dish, dorado (sea bream) and vegetables. For red wine we stayed fairly local. We aimed in the direction just a little southeast of Lisbon—a region called Alentejano. At first, that might seem an odd match. But the fish was quite powerful and it all worked out. It worked out enough that we walked out of the restaurant with two more bottles to bring home with us.

Lisbon is a great place to visit. Despite all the hills, its a walkable city—thanks to those elevators and the tram and funicular network that gets you from one level of the city to another. And, when it came to dining, our meal at Faz Figura was just the tip of a tasty iceberg. We’ll be back. In fact, we have already made reservations to do just that. Faz Figura and Portuguese wine await.

Portugal expands beyond its world famous fortified wine

BY » Trevor Burton | PHOTOGRAPHY BY » Trevor Burton

this month IN HISTORY September BY » Mickey Dunaway

Asking a 74-year-old guy what he wants for Christmas usually gets a shrug and a “Damned if I know” response. When asked last Christmas, I finally came up with the idea of getting a turntable to play the 30 or so albums my wife and I have carted around to several states over the years since we abandoned the last turntable for a CD player. The idea of a new turntable evolved rather quickly into a new hobby of searching out places and adding LPs to the collection. With music on my mind these days—not that I am a musician by any stretch—it seemed like a good topic to look at musical events that have occurred in September. Thanks to Wikipedia and On-This-Day.com (https://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/music/sep01.htm) for pointing me in the right direction on many of the events noted below. September 2, 1991

Garth Brooks’ third studio album, “Ropin’ the Wind,” debuted at number#1 on the Country and Pop Charts. “Shameless” (by Billy Joel) and “What She’s Doin’ Now” rose to #1, and “Papa Loves Mama” made it to #3. September 3, 1942

Frank Sinatra started his solo singing career. I have never been a Sinatra fan. Am I by myself? September 4, 1959

The song “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin was banned by a radio station in New York, N.Y. My, how music has changed. September 4, 1981

George Strait released his first album, “Strait Country.” I came to admire George Strait when he skipped the Kentucky Derby one year because it was on his daughter’s first prom night. September 7, 1957

Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” was released. Cooke was shot and killed at a motel in Los Angeles at the age of 33. Another oneof-a-kind voice was lost tragically. September 9, 1956

Elvis makes his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The camera shot Elvis from waist up.

September 13, 1997

1973’s “Candle in Wind” by Elton John was re-released. The song served as a tribute to Princess Diana.

September 14, 1741

George Handel wrote the “Messiah” for an orphan’s charity concert. An Easter standard in Christian churches.

September 14, 1814

The lyrics to the “Star-Bangled Banner” were written by Francis Scott Key. It became the national anthem on March 3, 1931. September 15, 1930

Indiana native-son Hoagy Carmichael recorded “Georgia on My Mind.” This has been the state song of Georgia since 1922. September 16, 1964

“Shindig!,” a variety show focusing on rock, premiered on ABC. The acts included Sam Cooke, The Everly Brothers, and The Righteous Brothers. September 18, 1969

Tiny Tim announced his engagement to Miss Vicki on “The Tonight Show.”They tiptoed through the matrimonial tulips two months later—on The Tonight Show. September 19, 1975

Eric Clapton earned a gold record for “I Shot the Sherriff.” Bob Marley wrote the song.

September 12, 1996

Tupac Shakur died after being shot four times in a Las Vegas drive-by. The murder has never been solved.

September 20, 1973

Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash on his way to a concert in Texas. Another unique talent lost to a plane crash.

September 22, 1985

First Farm Aid Concert was held in Champaign, Ill. Organized by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp. $57 million raised since its beginning. September 23, 1952

Hank Williams recorded his last studio album. He died of a drug overdose on January 1, 1953, at age 29, on his way to a concert.

September 24, 1942

Glenn Miller ended his U.S. broadcast contract so that he could go to WWII. On Dec. 15, Major Miller, without formal approval, caught a plane out of Bedfordshire, England, to Paris; the flight never arrived.

September 25, 1975

Jackie Wilson collapsed with a heart attack while playing “Lonely Teardrops” at the Latino Casino in NJ. Wilson was 41 and remained in care until he died in 1984 as the attack caused brain damage. September 26, 1984

Prince released the song “Purple Rain.” He was a private individual with considerable breadth and depth of musical talents.

September 29, 1962

“My Fair Lady” closed on Broadway after six and a half years. At that time, it held the record for the longest-running show. September 30, 1791

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