Catavino - Latest Comments

Re: Top 10 neighborhoods to visit while in Barcelona

John Ingersoll — Wed, 18 May 2016 17:55:10 -0000

Great article! I really enjoyed the pictures as well as the content. You really nailed the feel of Barcelona. I'm a dual citizen of U.S. and Spain, hailing from Madrid but always think of Barcelona as a special place as well. Barri Xini didn't make your top 10 but always fun for me to go to when I am there.

Re: Barry Hatton: 5 Historical events to understand the Portuguese

Erik Marques — Wed, 11 May 2016 08:43:50 -0000

Hmm, ok. I can agree in some parts, but unfortunately, I don't think most of those events are the best to understand us, the portuguese.
A lot of people talk about the called "recato" of portuguese women, or that negativity of the fado and connect this to the muslim. Well, that's wrong since, all that had it's origins in the too strong christian religion that had place in the country since it's beginning with D. Afonso Henriques.
And although this faith helped these ancient portuguese to believe and risk their luck sailing the seas, this constant departures gave origin to a strong feeling of fear and saudade from the mothers and wives that staying behind, giving birth to the Fado. "Fado" means fate or destiny, something that you can't escape from, and that also means God - again, another idea of how strong the catholicism is in here (not so much nowadays).

I guess, happenings like the birth of Portucale Kingdom in 1143 with King D. Afonso Henriques,
the first incursion of the Portuguese Discovering Era in 1415, planned by D. Henrique, o navegador (the navigator), the huge stunami in 1755, that destroyed the Algarve coastline and Lisbon, the never ending struggle to hold on the Spanish on their own country and so many more things. It's a country and language with almost 900 years of history, what else could you expect, right?

Well, I'm sorry I couldn't stop writing. I hope you don't think this as a negative commentary, because it is not. I just intended to make people notice their wrong ideas about Portugal and it's people. If anyone want to have a deeper view into all this, I recommend to start with D. Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal :)

Re: Barry Hatton: 5 Historical events to understand the Portuguese

Fiona Lynch — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 15:21:38 -0000

Fascinating, I want to read the book to find out more !

Re: A Meat-Lover’s Guide to Portuguese Beef

Mary H Goudie — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 08:46:01 -0000

Great article and very well researched Gabriella, have you eaten all of these? Next time I'm close to O Talho I will go in and pick the brains and the offering on their butchers table.

Re: Portuguese Chocolate Rivals Belgium’s Finest

Nuno Baptista — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 15:04:48 -0000

Great Post Rochelle Ramos! Thank-you for revealing the great chocolate that is produced in Portugal. Cheers.

Re: Portuguese Chocolate Rivals Belgium’s Finest

Claudio Branco — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 06:30:33 -0000

There are two unmissable Chocolatiers in Portugal, António Marques from Denegro in Lisbon ( Rua de S Bento, 333 ), and Rui Costa from Marbela is Esposende ( Rua 1 de Dezembro, 71) . Rui is my absolute favorite and I go to Esposende on purpose to try his magnificent Bonbons, luckily I don't have to go to Lisbon to try Denegro as they are available right here in Porto in Dumonde Chocolat in Rua de Santa Teresa.

Re: Portuguese Chocolate Rivals Belgium’s Finest

Nuno Jorge — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 06:21:53 -0000

Thanks Rochelle, inspiring text to work harder and better ... :-)

Re: The Ultimate Guide to Ordering Coffee in Portugal

ptolo — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:15:19 -0000

Não percebi. Uma café??

Re: Alghero: Where Catalan and Sardinian Cuisine Merge

samuel grau — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 20:47:56 -0000

Pity our illustrious cornish chef Stein has never mentioned this well known fact about catalan in
Alghero. Chef Stein has made numerous trips and programs on Spain, the Mediterranean. Sardinia, etc. Not ever has he mentioned a thing.

Re: Alghero: Where Catalan and Sardinian Cuisine Merge

Alfred Martínez — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 13:43:38 -0000

Congratulations on your article.

Clearly explains the relationship of L'Alguer with Catalunya and generates desires to know more about the land

Re: 5 Fantastic Hikes in Catalunya for Food Lovers

Camí de Ronda — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 04:32:09 -0000

Nice article! We recomend walk arround the cost and eat some mediterraneals foods close the sea :)

Re: 5 Fantastic Hikes in Catalunya for Food Lovers

tombcn — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 07:57:58 -0000

Nice! The only thing I'd mention is that Blanes is in Catalonia, not France.

Re: Important Tips for Avoiding Petty Theft in Spain and Portugal

gabriellaopaz — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 07:57:11 -0000

Thank you for sharing your experiences Momo. Being vigilant of your "stuff" is always difficult, especially as we tend to cart around more things these days. Fortunately, I don't think Portugal has changed all that much over the years. Though petty theft has risen slightly, the overall feeling is still very warm and quaint.

Re: Important Tips for Avoiding Petty Theft in Spain and Portugal

Momo Silva — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 03:40:22 -0000

The only time I was robbed in Portugal occurred in Lisbon in the crowded underground. The leader of the gang was British and his younger crew Portuguese. I saw them but was too late when I realised what had happened. That was 30 years ago.

Re: Discovering Dão Wines: The Burgundy of Portugal

drinkportuguesewine.co.uk — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 22:54:21 -0000

Absolutely love the wines from Quinta de Lemos. Nice to see them getting some recognition.

Re: Top 7 Tips for Driving in Portugal: Park Absolutely Anywhere!

Fiona Lynch — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 14:45:40 -0000

I could really relate to your article Gabriella ! I love driving on Portuguese roads, broad sweeping curves, beautifully engineered roads, not a soul on them....then suddenly, out of nowhere you see in your rear view mirror a dark mercedes/bmw/audi/someothergermancar right against your rear bumper. It makes me jump out of my skin every time !!

Re: Top 7 Tips for Driving in Portugal: Park Absolutely Anywhere!

gabriellaopaz — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 08:14:35 -0000

Goncalo, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'm sympathetic to your statistics, but this article is not meant to emphasize death rates. It's meant to offer an expat's perspective on a completely different style of driving with a heavy dose of sarcasm and satire. If you ask any tourist or expat what they find most frustrating about Portugal, the answer is almost always the same "I love absolutely everything about the country, but the driving. It's insane!" Having visited and lived here for over a decade, I'm sympathetic to their concerns, as I've had the same. But you're right, evolving past blind simian status would most definitely help my driving.

Re: Top 7 Tips for Driving in Portugal: Park Absolutely Anywhere!

Goncalo Figueiredo — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 07:59:34 -0000

I'll be the first to admit... although I like your style of writing, 80% of your article is a mishmash of exageration and rude generalization. That means, I still agree with 20%. Not bad! Yes, Portuguese are not the most behaved drivers, yet the same applies to drivers in most countries in the World. But comparing Portugal to India is a heavy exercise of imagination, something you seem to be proeficient at.

Now, being born and bred in Chicago, and with such a wide knowledge of road driving, you surely can explain why Illinois, a state with 13 million people (almost the same as the Portuguese population), had 898 traffic related deaths in 2014, compared to 482 in Portugal. Or why Illinois had almost 800 accidents per day in 2013, and Portugal less than 280.

I wonder how safe would I be driving in Chicago compared to my home country? Going by the statistics, the choice is obvious.

Now... I never knew anyone in Portugal with skills equivalent to one-armed blind monkey, so probably you should start thinking about improving your driving skills, before putting everyone at risk in other countries.

Re: How to bring back wine to the USA when traveling

Cornell Anderson — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 08:00:37 -0000

I believe you may be incorrect regarding purchases in duty free stores IF coming into the US. My experience, and friends of mine, has been that US carriers will still not allow wine and other spirits (greater than the 3oz) to be carried on board even if in the secured bags used by the stores. Perhaps this has changed recently, but otherwise proceed cautiously and don't always trust the store clerk who may not understand US regulations and wants to sell you a bottle of wine.

Re: The Undiscovered Inland Cuisine of Portugal – Part I

Sonia Nolasco — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 03:45:29 -0000

Thank you for reading, Michael. Absolutely appreciate it!

Re: How to bring back wine to the USA when traveling

jasonkallsen — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 12:05:15 -0000

Thanks for the post! Here's the fine print on the official US policies: https://help.cbp.gov/app/an...

Re: The Undiscovered Inland Cuisine of Portugal – Part I

Michael Moyle — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 13:34:57 -0000

Another great post Sonja!

Re: Spain’s Female Winemakers are the Stars of Today’s Spanish Wines

Arthur — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 19:14:11 -0000

I like very much Reyes Gomez and old plus. Congratulations for this post.

Re: Recipe: Portuguese Sardine Salad

Sonia Nolasco — Fri, 22 May 2015 09:04:18 -0000

Hi Michael, so happy to hear the post will be useful to you! One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is play around with Portuguese canned fish - way before it became trendy to do so! It was just something simple I learned from my family in Portugal, who often had to live on a canned sardine budget ;) Did you get to visit any of the gourmet canned restaurants when in Lisbon? I had some tuna from Sol e Pesca, and I couldn't believe the quality. Almost like seared Ahi Tuna. It was expensive, though, but still incredible for canned fish. The best part is that you can bring it back to the U.S. with you. Let's just say that it looked like I was trying to smuggle in an entire small store in my suitcase! Love the sardine contest. The ones you posted are especially fun.

Re: Recipe: Portuguese Sardine Salad

Michael Moyle — Thu, 21 May 2015 18:18:38 -0000

Hi Sonia -- wow, first your goat post, now sardines! I can see that we are very much on the same page in terms of culinary likes. This most recent post is very helpful since we will be having a "Santos Populares" event at our Sausalito Portuguese Hall next month. In the spirit of the event, I had originally hoped to serve some grilled local sardines. However, the commercial fishing season for sardines here in California was cancelled due to low sardine stocks so fresh sardines are out. Hence, canned will be the next best thing. I look forward to trying your recipe and will share it to the Hall's Facebook page in the near future. Incidentally, I am sure you are familiar with the annual sardine art contest that they conduct in Lisboa as part of their Festa de Lisboa and São António celebrations? There has been some incredible imagination displayed in the submissions over the years. We actually borrowed that idea in connection with a Festival we have here in Sausalito featuring Pacific herring (sadly not quite as tasty as sardines). In any case, on the canned sardine front, I thought the attached entries from the Lisbon contest were particularly appropriate! Muito obrigado. Mike