Armani no no

I seriously hope this look does not make its way across the ocean and into the closets of our unknowing men!

Oporto

Porto
Porto is a quaint little city carved into a hill above the Douro River. Maybe its the age of the city or just a lack of an engineer, but The streets are a cobbled maze of twists and turns. At times I felt like I was in Groundhog Day and was perpetually lost. Most people spoke enough English to get by, except the cab drivers. While cheap to take, there was a lot of sign language and long routes. 

I spent a lot of time on the message boards of the company owned site, Chowhound.com in search of both trendy and traditional restaurants. The 2 nice dinners I treated myself to were truly fabulous. I had tasting menus at both and was blown away by the culinary expertise. Hope I still get into heaven after eating baby goat...

My observations so far:

*There are a lot more old people here. 
*Portuguese STARE at anything and everything. They are curious kindred spirits. 
*Everyone wears pantyhose. Mo matter the outfit. 
*The 80's are in. Neon sneakers, whitewashed denim and fanny packs abound. 
*Everything is smaller. From my hotel room (just a tad larger than my wing span) to beer (a mini bottle? Come again?) No percebo Portuguese. 

Bon Voyage!!

April 4-7 ~ Porto, Portgal

April 7-11 ~ Lisbon, Portugal

April 11-14 ~ Algarve, Portugal

Portugal On My Mind

Makin it rain

Stay tuned for the next post from Portugal!

On Austin Time

I was lucky enough to spend the weekend in Austin during the kickoff of th Interactive portion of SXSW. I had only heard about Austin through Bay Area folks that had flocked to the up and coming city. Food, tech, and no cowboys - sounds good to me!

Austin was exactly how I pictured it. Dresses and cowboy boots, rusty neon signs, and flat, flat lands. Little did I know, those dilapidated neon signs had some killer foods behind them. After a stroll on South Congress peeking in vintage shops, Allens boots, and a vintage circus themed candy store, we sat down for our first experience with Queso. Somehow, being in Texas made eating warm Velveeta A-OK. Find a homemade recipe at the end of this post.

I thought SF had food trucks nailed, but Austin has officially beat us. Coordinated lots of food trucks were abundant. Each trailer with it's own flair - an Airstream cupcake truck, a fortune teller style booth peddling pies and plenty of RV trailers converted to kitchens. Our desire for BBQ led us to Franklin's BBQ a former trailer dweller, Franklin's had just opened their first brick and mortar establishment the day before we went there. After waiting in a hellishly long line (with the Sold Out signs already posted) we ordered the famous brisket including the crunchy ends - a carnivores popcorn. By the time I got to the register, the husband and wife team had convinced me that in addition to my brisket, beans, cole slaw, potato salad and Root Beer, I just *had* to have the Bourbon Banana Cream Tart with a Vanilla Wafer crust. Glad I listened - on all fronts.

I'm already anticipating my next trip to Austin and starting a jar for my cowboy boots fund. My hit list includes, Gordough's donuts, The Swan Dive and a ride on the Pub Crawler!!


Links:
Homemade Queso
Olivia
Franklin's BBQ