Thanks for your suggestions. I read that Pisces is really pricey - $69 for the mango signature shrimp. Are most of the entrees that high? Is it worth it to go there?

I think we will also look into Paseos which you suggested in another post. 7 Fishes sounds great. Have you heard about of Hot Tin Roof? They supposedly have a great view of the sunset but I wonder what the food is like?

My daughter and I will be going to Key West for 3 nights. We want to eat at Pisces and at Louie's Back Yard. I especially like seeing the sunset. We also plan to have lunch or breakfast at Blue Heaven. We welcome suggestions on places to eat.
On our drive down from Miami, does anyone have a suggestion on a good old down home restaurant on the water that serves seafood?
I will be in South Beach for a few nights before my daughter arrives. Any suggestions on good places to eat? 4 friends and I will just be back from Cuba so it might be fun to try a Cuban restaurant in Miami.

I also recommend Balikci Sabahattin. It is really a great place. The appetizers are fantastic and so is the fish. The people range from family groups to rich and famous.

I have been trying to get a reservation at Goosefoot but so far no luck. Open Table doesn't have any reservations and I tried calling Goosefoot a number of time 8 weeks out and still have had no luck. Any sugestions on how to get a reservation?

I want to take my two adult children (in their upper 20's) out to eat when they are in town for Thanksgiving weekend. I'm looking for an urban restaurant with nicely cooked food, a little adventure in the entrees, appetizers, etc and and some ambiance too. We like restaurants like North Pond and Naha but I am looking for a lower price point. I have read about Leopolds and wonder if that would fit the bill? Any comments on Leopolds or any other suggestions on where to eat would be great.

A PS - I just heard back from Assinatura and this is what we had to eat
1) Amuse- White asparagus soup with morels and oysters in a foamy cream sauce.
2) Pan fried cod fish tongues, in a Tomato Migas (tomato soaked in bread) with cockles.
3)Smoked Octopus, sweet potato puree and dehydrated apple.
4) Atlantic Grouper, shrimp, corn bread curst and topinambour
5) Roasted Partridge, Chestnuts, turnips and pears
Dessert 6) Toucinho de ceu - bacon on top of lemon ice crea, almond biscuit and mango culie - wonderful!!!

The Portuguese wines were also wonderful!!!

If you are in the Tomar area, Chico Elias would be an interesting place to go. Maria, the owner and chef, has been winning awards for her return to slow cooked traditional meals. The restaurant had numberous articles on the walls by Portuguese and Brazilian travel and food writers about the restaurant. Many of the meals such as rabbit in pumpkin are cooked in a wood burning oven. If you google the restaurant, you can learn more about it.

Near Evora, Herade Do Esporao, a winery, serves a delightful lunch. The dining room overlooks the vineyards and it is a very relaxed setting.

Bimbog, thanks for correcting me re Alma. Yes that was for one person - 47 euros. I have to echo what Bimbog and Antonia 2 have both said. If you are selective, you can find wonderful high end food served in lovely surroundings at places such as Alma or Assinatura and wine pairings for a fraction of the cost in other European countries. But in almost all the restaurants we went to whether they were high end, a neighborhood restaurant, or regional favorites such as Chico Elias, the restaurants were proud of what they were offering you and wanted you to have a good experience and enjoy their heritage. It was such a wonderful experience to enjoy the variety of Portugese cuisine.

I too hope there are more posts about Portugal on Chowhound,.

It is always great to learn something new.

Thanks for your great report on the restaurants. We didn't get to Estremoz when we were in Evora but I wish we had gone there. Sao Rosa sounded wonderful. We went to a hill town near the Spainish border called Monsaroz and toured Herdade Do Esporao winery and had a wonderful lunch there. It is always good to want to go back and see and eat more.

Here are the costs for most of the meals.

Friday - Restaurant Estrela da Se - lunch 15 Euros
Assinatura - 5 course tasting menu - 102 Euros for the food The wine pairing was 24 Euros
Alma- 4 course tasting menu was 47 euros but you also had the sorbet and amuse. Wine pairing was 13 euros.
Restaurante Os Jeromimos - we paid cash - I think it was about 18 euros.
A Baiuca - 52 Euros. It also included the Fado.
Fortaleza do Guincho - it was part of our package since we stayed there but you can check on line to find out the cost of the meal. We had the three course menu but there was an amuse and 3 desserts so it was alot to eat. From what I remember, I think the meal was about 50 Euros per person.
Restaurante Porto Santa Maria - 130 euros for the food. The reason it was so expensive was the lobster cost 66 euros since it was based on its weight. I thought the lobster was not worth the price. The cod cakes and the other appetizers were wonderful as was the spiny stuffed crab that I had.
Nazare - Restaurante A Tasquinha - 20 euros.
Tomar - Restaurant O Tabuleiro - 20 euros.
Tomar - Chico Elias - 56 euros but that included a half carafe of house wine, a soft drink and bottled water. Nothing was itemized. We ordered alot of appetizers and the two desserts which was way too much food.
Evora - Vinho e Nos - 37 euros
Taberna Tipica Quarta Feira- 50 euros - it was 25 euros a person and included the wine, soda and bottled water, etc.
Herade Do Esporao was 120 euros. It included the vineyard tour, the tour of the cellar and plant, the tastings of 4 olive oils, 4 wines and the gourmet lunch that was described earlier. There were people who just ate at the restaurant but I don't know what the actual restaurant cost was.
Lisbon- Restaurante St Antonio Alfama- 65 euros.

I hope this helps.

Sure, let me dig out my receipts tonight and add that info.

PS- I want to thank everyone on Chowhound for their recommendations and suggestions. It was so much fun eating at such a variety of restasurants and we got to sample so many different types of Portuguese cuisine.

We had a wonderful time in Portugal. The food was fabulous.

On Friday, after we arrived, we had lunch at Restaurant Estrela da Se in the Alfama. I had Bacalhan A Bras which is a traditional dish with bits of cod and eggs and my husband had Pasteis of Bacalhan Arroz Esalada which was cod balls with a salad.

We went to Assinatura on Friday night and had the 5 courses with wine pairings. The restaurant was very modern. The decor was very soothing and the service was great. I did not take alot of notes since the waiter promised to send me via email a menu. (My mistake since they have not responded to my emails) I will share my sketchy notes. We first had an amuse which was white asparagus soup with morels and oysters in a cream sauce with foam. It was wonderful. Our first course was a fish course which I did not write down but it was very good. Our second course was clams (coggles) with a tomato sauce with bread soaked in milk. It was exceptional. The third course was cod with shrimp and it was very good. The main course was pheasant in a red wine reduction. It was okay but not exeptional. The dessert was wonderful. It ws a pastry with lemon ice cream and a mango cookie. They served a sauterne with it that was wonderful. I also had a Post Script de Chrysera Savigonon Blanc 2010 (3 varieties) from the Doro that was excellent with some of the fish dishes. I also had a Malavesia which was also good.

On Saturday we went for breakfast to Confesitaria Nacional and had the Nate pastry and an almond pastry called an Empada. On Saturday afternoon we went to Belem and had the original Pastel de Nata, which was still warm. Wow!!!! Wish I lived in Belem. We also ate at Restaurante Os Jermimos which is on the main street.. I had clams which was so so but my husband had sea bass Nazare. He had two sea bass for lunch with the wonderful sauce of paprika and vinegar as well as vegetables. I helped him clean his plate.

On Saturday night, we went to Alma and had another wonderful meal. We had the 4 course meal with wine pairings. The amuse was a scallop with orange and mint with brocilli. It was very good. Our first appetizer was marinated horse mackerel filets in a rustic coriander sauce and lemon oil. It was fantastic. We had a 3B Rose Bairada with both of those. Then we had a roasted fillet of grouper with brown butter, white asparagus and mussel risotto secented with lemon. We had a Azeo 2011 Douro with that. The main entree was grilled iberian pork medallions with turnips, apple and potato puree, pear chutney and thyme juice. It was excellent. We had a Papa Figos 2010 Douro with that. We were then given a brazilian lime sorbet to clear our pallets. And the dessert was a white chocolate "pannacotta" with poached pineapple and almond foam. It was served with a Taylor Reserva Port 2005, The meal was fabulous. All of this for 47Euros without wine and 60 euros with wine pairings. I noticed through out the trip that wine is very reasonable (and good) in Portugal.

Sunday night we went to see Fado in the Alfama. We went to A Baiucca which was amateur Fado. It is a tiny little place in the Alfama. All the cooks also participate and one of them has a wonderful voice. It is quite an experience and lots of fun. I would recommend it. We had wonderful starters - tuna and bean and two different sheep cheeses. The sea bass was also very good.

On Monday night we ate at the 1 Michelin star Fortaleza do Guincho. We were staying there and our meal was included in our package but they let us choose items off of different menus. We had an amuse that included 3 items - Caulflower soup, oxtail with tomatoes and wine reduction and vegetable and a mousse with crab. We then had Crab scented with yuzu, fine jelly and small vegetables marinated with lemon zest. It was wonderful and the wine pairing was a Quinta de Sant" Ana Sauvignon Blanc, 2011. Our entree was roasted stone bass from the coast with girolles, small vegetables with colonnate bacon and a dark sauce. I had a Contraste Douro 2010 wtih that. We then moved on to our 3 desserts. First we had Mignardisdes - apple crumb with vanilla and chocolate. We then had the regular dessert which was grand cru Tainori chocolate mousse, grue chips and raspberry cream with blackcurrant and porto sherbert and fresh raspberries. That was served with Quinta da Alorna, Abafado 2005. We finished with a plate of pasteries including chocolate truffle, madeleine and other wonderful french pasteries. We waddled to our room after that meal and had to take some of the cookies with us since we were stuffed. The great thing about this restaurant was the view - the sunset over the ocean and the crashing waves. The service was impeccable and the restaurant was very quiet. We had a table by the window.
Tuesday night we ate at Porto de Santa Maria in Guincho. It was a mixed bag. The restaurant was very noisey since there were alot of large groups there. I had the stuffed spiny crab as an appetizer and a lobster. Both were excellent. My husband didn't like his fish soup which had very little fish in it and he said his cod which was cooked in the Portuguese manner was not that good. I think the problem with his meal was that we didn't order a fresh fish to share since I was having the lobster. He just ordered a meal. While my meal was very good, we thought the restuarant was over priced compared to all the other wonderful meals that we had in Portugal.
On Wednesday, we headed to Nazare and for lunch we ate at Resaurante A Tasquinha. We had an excellent fish soup with lots of fish in it and shared a sea bass with Nazare sauce (olives, vinegar, onion, paprika). It was wonderful. ( We had been eating alot since Fortaleza do Guincho had a wonderful breakfast buffet.) Wednesday night we ate at our hotel, Mestre Alfonso Domingue, and it was good,. The restaurant is called Vintage. I had veal steak and my husband had sea bass. (He likes sea bass.)

Thursday we moved over to Tomar. We had lunch at a local restaurant Restaurant O Tabuleiro. I had Bean stew with squid (Ensopado de Borrego) and Pat had prork and potato cubes and clams(Carne de Porco Alentenja). Both were excellent. I think both of them were specialities of the region.

Thursday night we went to Chico Elias in Tomar which was one of the reaons we went to Tomar (the Knight Templars were very interesting but the restaurant is a MUST. ) We had to order our meal a few days ahead of time since it is slow cooked in a wood burning oven. We started with grilled sardines with onions. We also had beans with snails and tomatoes. They were excellent. The main courses were rabbit roasted in a pumpkin with onions and mushrooms. Since eels were out of season, we also had pork and cod with corn. These were huge meals but they also served a salad, creamed spinach, rice and french fries. Since the main courses were so wonderful, we didn't eat the sides. We had a very nice house wine. For dessert we had creme brulee and a yolk cake (Tatia de Toluar). The creme brulee was great but the waitress said that the yolk cake was a speciality of Tomar so I ordered it. She said she liked it but a lot of people didn't like it. She was right.
The restaurant is quite an experience. The owner/chef is a short plumb mid aged woman who has won accalades from the press and food writers for her return to tradional slow cooked recipes. The walls are filled with articles (all in Portuguese) about the restaurant). The restaurant is very low keyed and sort of rustic. After the meal, I looked in the kitchen and Maria came out. I told her through the waitress how wonderful the meal was. She hugged me and we got our picture taken with her. All in all a wonderful evening and also very reasonable.

On Friday night we were in Evora and we ate at Vinho e Nos. It was okay but nothing spectacular. I had the black wild pork with chestnuts and it as very good. My husband had pork with bread sauce and it was dry.

On Saturday we took a tour of the Exporao vineyard and winery and had a luncheon there. We tasted 4 olive oils and a number of wines. The lunch was wonderful. We first tasted the four oil oils. We then had a chestnut soup. We also had scrambled eggs with ham and parsley. We were served a white Verdelho 2011 with those courses. We then had cod with pureed potatoes that was served on top of spinach with fancy garlic threads on top. We had an Espora Reserva 2010 (white) with that. Our main course was a lamb stew with potatoes, parsley and juice. It was delicious and was served with a Petit Verdot 2008. For dessert we had a cheese torte with rasberry sorbet. They served a late harest Colheita Tar Dia 2011 with that. It was wonderful but not as sweet as an ice wine. All in all a very memorable meal. And we bought wine and olive oil to take home in our suitcases. Luckily this was near the end of our trip. y

Saturday evening we were back in Evora and ate at Taberna Tipica Quarta Feira. The father cooks one meal and that is what you eat. The son served it. Everything was great and it was great people watching. We had as appetizers stuffed hot muchrooms, hot sheep cheese with oregano, and black porc sausage. For our main course we had black porc that was so tender with spinach, carrot rice and potatoes. For dessert we had quince with walnuts and a local cake with a egg and sugar filling. It was called Melenoz Encharcada. They had a house wine that was very good.

We were staying at Hotel Albergaria do Calvario. The breakfasts were all organic and they had eggs anyway you wanted them, wonderful cakes, honey, wheat germ, quince, different fruits, etc. It was lovely.

For our last evening in Lisbon, we ate at Santa Antonio de Alfama in the Alfama. the walls are covered with photos of famous people who have dined there. We had wonderful sheep cheese, potato skins and olives And we had our last seabass with herbs. All in all a wonderful way to end our trip to Lisbon and Portugal.

We had a wonderful 10 days in Portugal. The weather was great, the people friendly, the roads easy to navigate and not that crowded. Overall our food was fabulous. I hope you enjoyed our comments and they give you some ideas for your trip to Portugal in the near future. It really is a nice place to visit and not that hard on the budget.

We are off to Lisbon today. Have reservations at Alma and Assinatura. Thanks for all the suggestions. Haven't been able to contact Chico Elias yet but will call them tomorrow or from the airport. Sent a fax and that didn't work and the hotel I asked to help didn't respond.

Monchique,

Thanks for all the great advise. We will definately eat at Porto de Santa Maria and try a lunch in Sintra. We lucked into Fortaleza since they have a special for a two night stay Monday - Thursday where you get a dinner included at the restaurant. Do you have any suggetions as to their specialities and what to order?

I will get the hotel to make the reservation for Chico Elias. I am leaning towards ordering the rabbit in pumpkin and the fricasse eels. I have no idea what fricasse eels would be though but it sounds interesting to try. And my husband and I will be sharing the meals. My view is enjoy life and experiment!!!

Is there a great wine store in Evora? Convento do Espinhero sounds like a good place to visit too and sample the cellar offering. (Too little time - too many choices for lunch and dinner) I am looking forward to the lunch at Herdade do Esporao. It includes a cellar tour and tasting of 4 olive oils and 4 wines as well as a gourmet lunch. That will be on Saturday so we still have 2 dinners and 1 lunch to schedule. I am thinking of Fialho or Taberna Quarta-feira for the other dinner. Any recommendations on that?

I will also see if we can include a visit to Arraiolos.

Marjellchen is very high on the trip advisor list. When we were in Berlin for Christmas 2010, I think it was number one. It is a very old fashioned restaurant with very traditional foods. It is a very cosy place and the host is very friendly. The menu tends to be quite heavy and many entrees are comfort foods. They would be like your elderly German grandmother would prepare. We ate there on Christmas Day. It was good and very authentic (from what various posts have said) but I prefer more modern lighter food like Renger-Patzsch. I'm glad we went there but I think I will pass on the restaurant next time I am in Berlin.

My husband and I will be leaving in 3 weeks for Portugal and I have been reading all the threads about Lisbon. I still have to sort out all of that wonderful information and will be asking questions in a few days.
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We are staying 2 nights in Guincho at the Fortaleza do Guincho and will eat one night at the Michelin restaurant in the hotel. Any suggestions on what to select? For the other night and lunches, do you have any suggestions on where to eat? Monte Mar, Porto de Santa Maria, and Restaurante Furnas do Guincho are ones that I have read about. Which ones would be the best for food and atmosphere?

We also will be visiting Nazare, Batalha and Tomar. I read about Chico Elias in Tomar but can't find a website. I read that you need to make a reservation in order to order in advance specialities such as rabbit in pumpkin or duck with figs. It sounds like an interesting restaurant. Can anyone help me out on how to contact them? I don't want to call them. Can you recommend some of their specialities? We will be staying at Hoel Mestre Afonso Dominque in Batalha for 2 nights. I read that they have good lunches and dinners. Can you confirm that? I would also like additional recommendations for meals when we are in Batalha and Tomar area.

We will be sttaying at the Albergaria do Calvario in Evora. Can't wait to have that wonderful breakfast. I would appreciate recommendations for lunch and dinner when we are in Evora. Nyleve recommended Boteqim da Mouraria and Taberna Tipica Quarta Feira in a 2010 thread. Are they still open? We also have a reservation for a winery tour and a gourmet lunch with wine tasting at Herdade do Esporao near Estremoz. I read about it in Travel and Leisure.

I am excited about the trip after writing all this. Thanks for any suggestions.

Susan,
Sorry to join in on this so late. We ate at Reinstoff for Christmas Eve 2010. It was outstanding. Renger Patzsch was also very wonderful - low key but now it has a one star. I keep getting emails from the Duke Restaurant in the Ellington Hotel. It looks very modern and hip. I wish we had eaten there. You might want to look at their menu. It is near Savignyplatz. We also ate at Thieles which is in that general area. It has lighter foods and while it is German food it has pasta and vegetarian options. Lutter and Wegner at Savignplatz is independent of the other Lutter and Wegners and has wonderful weinerschnitzel and a great wine list. It is much better than the other Lutter and Wegners who are owned by someone else. This was the original Lutter and Wegner.

just saw tha Kermit Ruffin has moved his show at Vaughs on Thursday to 7 -10 p.m. Can we eat at Mr. B's Bistro in the bar for dinner after the show? Or would it be too crowded> Should we go at 5:30 pm?

I forgot to mention that if you think another restaurant would be better than the ones I selected, please let me know. I need help with this!!!!!!

My husband and I are going to NOLA in about 6 weeks for 4 nights. . I have been reading the threads and have gotten some great ideas. We have way too many places on our list. We want to sample classic food and also the newer type of NOLA food, cajun and Creole, expensive and cheap authentic places. We want to eat in the FQ but also get out to other areas. We don't have a car. Here is my list. I would appreciate your suggestions:

Thurs

Lunch - Galatoire or Mr. B's (have to try the barbarque shrimp Kukubura raves about) Any suggstions on what to eat at Galatoire?

Dinner - Green Goddess

Kermit Vaughn afterwards

Fri

Lunch - Commander's Place ( I have made the reservation for the garden room)

Walk around the cemetery and also walk around the neighborhood after lunch.

Dinner - Cafe Atchafalya or Mr. B's if we haven't eaten there yet.

Sat

1) Lunch - we would like to go to the Farmer's market in the morning and then go to the WWII museum - any suggestions on where to eat???? would Casamentos be too far? I was thinking maybe we could take the Charles Street Street car to Casamentos.

2) Dinner - Bayona- Can anyone tell me about how they liked this restaurant? There isn't much on the boards about it but someone brought me Susan Spicer's cookbook.

Sunday

1) Brunch- Lil Dizzy

2)Dinner - Dante's kitchen

Monday

1) Breakfast -Elizabeth's

2) Lunch - Mila ($20 special)

And then Coquette, Upperline, KPaul's Kitchen, Herbsaint, Drago's, Liuzza's by the Track, Willie Mae's Scotch House, August, Luke's Happy hour, Acme Oyster, Irene's or Tommys all sound good. And we have to to go Cafe Du Monde too. Plus all those great ideas on what bars to stop in at? Sounds like we need at least a week.

Thanks for all the good ideas. I want to eat at Galatoire (maybe lunch) since alot of the restaurants only do dinner. I will look up Mila and August and Emeril. And Upperline sounds great too!! Too little time - too many choices.

Wow, wish I was going to Berlin soon to try all those restaurants. Makes me hungry.

I really liked your long report on NOLA. Your comments on Krakow were right on last spring. Now I am following your wife's blog. Can hardly wait to get back to Vienna and try some of those restaurants.
My husband and I are going to NOLA in mid March for 4 nights and I have made reservations for Friday lunch at CP. We hope to get to Mr. B's for lunch on Thurs (love those cocktail prices)- our plane gets in a little after 12 noon so I was thinking of getting a reservation for 1:30 or we can eat in the bar if our plane is late. Do you know how long the cab ride is to the FQ from the airport? We want to eat at GG one night and Dante's kitchen another night. Atchafalaya looks good so we may try that. Plus it would help the old budget with our other splurges. Looked at your comments on Galatoire- are we better off just stopping in for appetizers or should we try the Galatoire classics and eat lunch or dinner there? I am torn. We haven't been to NOLA for 20 years so everything is new for us.
A friend brought me a Susan Spicer cookbook awhile ago and I was thinking of making a reservation at Bayona but the reviews on Trip Advisor (I know it isn't great like chowhound) but the reviews are very mixed - either love it or hate it. Any suggestions chowhounds about Bayona? Is it worth the price and the time?
Also any suggestions on special lunch, dinner or cocktail deals like Mr. B's cocktails during the week?

We really liked that restaurant too. The food was excellent. We were there about two weeks before Christmas and couldn't get a reservation because of all the Christmas parties so we walked over there and some nice person fit us in.

Joe,
Thanks so much for the picture of the apple fritters. I talked about them last year on one of the threads - they were so good but our picture didn't turn out. Just seeing the picture makes me want to go jump on an airplane to Germany. Also Hutt'n has the best sauerkraut. I am trying to replicate it. I added caraway seeds, a little red wine, bacon and some bacon grease. I think it is somewhat similar to the sauerkraut at Hutt'n.
To remember our trip, we had Haselnuss liquor from Hutt'n to celebrate the new year.

Reinstoff is also a good choice. It is in what used to be a warehouse in Mitte and is in a very modern setting. They have 7 or 8 choices to choose from and you decide how many courses you want. We ate there last Christmas Eve. (If you go to the thread Christmas in Berlin, I outline what we had to eat.) It is now a Michelin 2 star.
Facil is similar to Reinstoff - small plates, modern and fancy and when the roof is open spectacular view.
What about Regner-Patzsch? The food is excellent but the atmosphere isn't fancy. I will let Lingua tell you about R-P since it is one of her favorite restaurants. Also if you go on the Berln threads, there is alot of info on other fine restaurants in Berlin. These are three that I have eaten at.

We were in Istanbul in late Sept/Oct and ate at some wonderful restaurants. Ciya Sofrasi is a gem- they make food from all regions and you point at what you want from the steam table. We also ate at Antiochia in Beyoglu and Balika Sabahattin (seafood) in Sultanmehmet. For more details on these restaurants go to my post in "Where are the best eats in Krakow, Vienna, Prague, Budapest and Istanbul". You will have a great eating experience.

Frostingfriends,
Thanks so much for your response. We did the same thing at Ciya Sofrasi- pointed at what we wanted and it was great. I only wish we could have stayed in Istanbul another 3 or 4 days - there was so much to eat and so much to see. Also next time I go to Krakow, I need to make sure someone goes with me. I wanted to go eat sausage from the blue van under the bridge but I thought as a woman alone, it wouldn't be a smart idea. And TastyTrix confirmed that. She was the only woman.

Guess I mised it. Will look for that. THE Restaurant looks interesting. Also isn't Rutz Wein Bar open? I vaguely remember it was open for xmas last year but that I am not positive on that one.