Bread, red wine, sheep's cheese and cured meats...

Welcome to another post from me in the Foodies Bee Hive!

Yesterday I posted (link) about a very nice village in the Serra da Estrela region. My visit to this village was prompted by a conversation with a friend of mine, who frequently goes on vacation to this region, and who is very fond of a restaurant located there. The restaurant is called "O Albertino", and it has a reputation that you might not think of... Just the fact that you're thinking of going there isn't enough... You have to make a booking, even if you're going by yourselves and you're willing to wait. The menu is a set of dishes that are brought to the table, and which customers taste over the course of a very pleasant afternoon or evening. The menu is €21.50 and includes 3 appetizers, 4 main courses, 3 desserts, house wine and bread! The starters include traditional sheep's cheese, black pudding and chorizo sausage. The main course includes rabbit cabidela rice, wild boar on the stove, Folgosinho veal, oven-roasted lamb and Folgosinho roasted suckling pig. And what better way to end this delicacy... with a delicious dessert... Now imagine having three... And they are sweet rice, crème brûlée and curd cheese with pumpkin jam! I'm beginning to craving more just by writing down the menu...

But as I was telling you, when I arrived at the churchyard of Viriato, at the entrance to the restaurant "O Albertino", I realized that I wouldn't be lucky enough to have lunch there. Unfortunately, there were no reservations for that lunch, nor for dinner that day!

But I've learned too many times, and it never ceases to amaze me the twists and turns that life takes! Well... just as I was getting frustrated at having travelled almost 50 kilometres by car and not being able to have a traditional lunch... lo and behold, I heard a group of young people standing outside a house that used to be the Folgosinho Parish Council, and that they were organizing a BBQ in honour of the feasts of Our Lady of Socorro. And they said I could come in and eat and drink to my heart's content. All I had to do was pay 4 euros! I didn't even doubt the goodwill of these young people, and went straight in. At the entrance, there were various products and advertisements for the festival (which lasts a whole week), and even a very cute advertisement with the menu for that afternoon: beer, wine, liqueurs, juices, sour cherry, joy, sympathy and friendship! And it looked great!!! The Party Bar was more than inviting, and as it was already 3pm, the young people who were at the door had to take a break to get ready for the party that was to take place in the evening.

I ended up eating several slices of sheep's cheese (from the mountains) on bread, and drinking 3 or 4 glasses of wine... The black pudding and chorizo were just divine, perfumed with the smoke from the fire where they had been roasted at the end of the morning. To top it off, I had a brandy and a very good espresso!

In the middle of the meal, we still talked about the region, as I'm from a town 90 kilometers away, but on the other side of the mountains, and one of the young men said that he had gone to college with the son of one of my mother's oldest friends! It's such a small world, don't you think? It was such a pleasant start to the afternoon, and although I didn't pay the 21.50 euros for a real meal, with 4 euros, I ended up having a very decent meal, and I didn't get hungry, and I ended up being accompanied and meeting some of the few young people from the area. Two of them were getting married next summer!

As you can see, whenever life makes it impossible for you to do anything, don't despair... staying in the same place with nothing to do can be an excellent opportunity to get to know people and have a chat.

At the end of this pleasant and typical meal (I swear to you that if my doctor hadn't forbidden me, I'd be eating bread, cheese and wine, and I wouldn't be hungry... ahaha) I ended up walking one of the best-known trails in the region.... But I'll talk about that in another future post!

^{The village pillory}

^{The entrance to the restaurant. The inside of the house was very beautiful and simple at the same time, but I couldn't take any photos as I only went in and came out a minute and a half later...}

^{Moments before the story of my afternoon, and the rest of my day, suddenly changed course!}

^{Although the images didn't do justice to the joy that was being felt, the music of Quim Barreiros was playing... and the famous song "Os peitos da Cabritinha" (Cabritinha's breasts)😅😅}

^{With this menu the party would be guaranteed}

^{They were already preparing the fire to roast more food for supper}

^{This food was all on me... Of course I wasn't going to eat all this, but you can see from this picture what I had on offer for just 4 euros}

^{The house red wine couldn't be missing... and I filled the glass four times! By the end it was very warm!}

^{One last selfie to remember an afternoon so well spent}

Thank you very much for your attention! 🧀🥖🍷🍖

Bem Hajam 🍀

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Photocolage made with Canva

Photographic edition with PhotoScape X