O Vehlo E O Mar

---

Time for restaurant review and a little more. Last night, on the advice of our friend Barry, we took a car to Sesimbra, a small town on the coast, to have what our friend Barry said would be one of the best meals anywhere. The drive was about 40 minutes, due south, across the Golden Gate look alike bridge crossing the Tagus River, then into a wooded landscape that looks a little bit like north Florida or Georgia, flat with scrubby pine trees and oaks. As we approached the coast, the land grew hillier and we climbed steeply until we could see the coast and the Atlantic. As we descended to Sesimbra the view was spectacular. There is a marina with a diverse set of large motor yachts, dozens of sailboats from magnificent to modest, and a reasonable number of still working fishing boats. The driver left us and we walked along the boardwalk to the fort, or what used to be the fort. Now it's a restaurant on a high point looking out over the water. Nice views. It was a beautiful evening.

At O Vehlo E O Mar we scouted out the offerings on the outdoor chalk board menu and in the fish case. It looked promising though not imposing. Apparently we were the only ones with a reservation, or maybe the only Americans with a reservation, or maybe they sent a picture because when we walked in I was greeted with the question, "are you Mr. David?" Of course I was. Our table was upstairs next to the open window. It overlooked the boardwalk and then the beach and ocean. The breeze was perfect. I'm telling you all this pre stuff because, as we all know, atmosphere is probably a bigger factor in ones restaurant experience than we realize and the atmosphere at O Vehlo E O Mar, last night on a perfect evening with a perfect table with my favorite date in a romantic far away place couldn't have been better.

On the suggestion of our friends Howard and Becky we decided to try the Green Wine. We ordered a half bottle of the best they had. First, it's not green, even though the label says it's green. It's a medium colored white wine with a little effervescence, not too dry, not too sweet, and definitely not too good either. Sorry Howard. Fran added some club soda which reminded me of her mother, but I managed to ignore that romance stifling faux pas and the trip down memory lane as the wine was probably better as a spritzer anyway. Next to us there was a table of what appeared to be a Portuguese family with a guy who was definitely the alpha leader. He had ordered red wine from the extensive list of Portuguese wines. I know nothing about Portuguese wines. As the man swirled the wine in his glass and took a long sniff before tasting, I knew immediately what I had to do. I sent Fran into action. I told her to chat him up, and get him to help us with our red wine choice. And she did. "Excuse me," she said in her sweetest, least threatening way, "do you speak English?" And the conversation took off from there. They were a family and friends from Porto which, he told us, definitely has better food than the food in Lisbon or south, that the food in Portugal is some of the best in the world, better than in France or Italy certainly, and we were very astute to have picked this restaurant as it is as good as any in or near Lisbon. As to the wine, the wine he ordered was good, yes, but there is another one on the list that, if I were willing to pay 60 euros was fantastic. Normally, the wines of the Douro region would be the best red wines but on this list the Douro wines of quality were limited to two very expensive and overpriced wines. This wine to choose was from this area, the Algarve region. We splurged. The waiter decanted the wine, took the bottle away, and we never saw it again. I didn't write down the name. I know, all this foreplay and no wine name. What was I thinking? It might have been the atmosphere. But the wine was good, very Bordeaux like. It's no great tragedy that I didn't get the name, but it was perfect with our fresh sea bass with rice, shrimp, clams and mussels. It's one of their signature dishes for two. It was sort of a bouillabaisse, actually a lot like a bouillabaisse and it was terrific. Felix the owner came by to check on things. He thanked the guy next to us for suggesting I order this particular wine and then fussed over us a bit.

Thank you Barry for the suggestion and Howard too. Hey, everyone who goes to Lisbon should try the Green Wine. Just don't order more than one glass. And the drive out to Sesimbra is worth the time. We had a great night.

---

Comments

[Tom Drum]

The Food Channel
My oh my, it certainly sounds like some tasty vittles can be had in Portugal. I know they won't have any food on the boat, so it probably is a good idea to stock up before. Honestly, it sounds like you are having a great time, and I hope it continues.