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Review: Tasting Menu at Feitoria Restaurant in Lisbon
Feitoria Restaurant is located in the Altis Belem Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal.
Those who do not routinely read my blog every day might wonder why a Sacramento Realtor would write about the tasting menu at Feitoria Restaurant in Lisbon when she instead could be farming for buyers and sellers and writing about Sacramento real estate. I write about what I do, and sometimes, believe it or not, I do other things than sell Sacramento real estate. I could go on vacation to Portugal, for example, in search of a Michelin Star restaurant and find the tasting menu at Feitoria Restaurant in Lisbon, shoot a bunch of photographs and decide to share. There are no rules about Sacramento real estate blogs.
The Andy Warhol Brillo pad boxes at Museu Berardo with Elizabeth Weintraub
One of the places the Sofitel Hotel recommended to us was Pastéis de Belém, and the guy was really insistent that we go there to sample pastries. It is apparently a famous pastry shop. He drew big circles on the map to show us where it was located. We grabbed a cab and spent the day visiting Belém to see the Berardo Museum, Belém Tower, Jerónimos Monastery, the usual things to see in Lisbon. Yes, that’s Judy Garland on the wall. Against my diet, we sampled pastries, too.
Starter course from the bonsai tree at Feitoria Restaurant.
Our real focus, the highlight of our visit to Belém, was being on time for our reservation for dinner at Feitoria Restaurant in the Altis Belem Hotel & Spa along the Tagus. It is a Michelin star restaurant. Living in Sacramento, it’s not like we have any Michelin star restaurants around us unless we drive to the wine country or San Francisco. I’ve probably dined at fewer than a dozen Michelin star restaurants in my life, something I hope to continue to rectify, and by far Alinea Restaurant in Chicago was the most expensive. But what we spent at Feitoria comes close to the bill at Alinea. Worth every penny.
We do not recall what was served to us in the bonsai tree at Feitoria Restaurant, but it was the first course of the tasting menu at Feitoria. Beautiful just to look at, right? And so utterly creative.
Amashi, tomatoes, plum and avocado from tasting menu at Feitoria Restaurant
Our next course was served with our second wine pairing as well. We started with a glass of sparkling wine from the Douro region, but unfortunately I did not take photos nor write down the names of the wines. There were too many wines anyway, and the pours were extremely generous. While I enjoyed the wines of Portugal, there wasn’t any special wine I needed to order a case of. Which in retrospect means we don’t have to buy a new house in Sacramento to expand our wine storage.
Gift from the chef at Feitoria Restaurant
This particular tasting menu is called the Journey Tasting Menu at Feitoria Restaurant. The chef, João Rodrigues, offers 3 tasting menus. The Journey seemed to be the most expensive and extensive. It’s an extraordinary cuisine, that promised to explore the best of Portugal, from its glorious regions, with unique twists and presentation. It is what you would expect from this beautiful city of 7 hills, referred to as the oldest city in Europe.
Sautéed Algarve scarlet shrimp (Carabineros in Portuguese) with cucumber salsa at Feitoria Restaurant
What is not to love about shrimp? This Carabineros shrimp comes from the southern most region in Portugal, The Algarve. Every bit as mouth-watering tasty as it looks. In fact, I’d say it’s on par with a lobster, and it’s so sweet there is no need for butter to enhance the flavor. Plus, don’t you love that plate?
Sea bass, veggies and pumpkin at Feitoria
Next up, my favorite course from the tasting menu at Feitoria Restaurant. It’s the sea bass. The skin was crunchy, nutty, flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth delicious that I could take my time getting down to the fleshy part of the fish. The sea foam was delightful. No sea bass in the world compared to this dish. Just fyi: Giant sea bass in California is an endangered fish species and Chilean sea bass is overfished.
Server at Feitoria grinding liver sauce for pigeon.
I include this next photograph because we enjoyed a hilarious time with our server who prepared the liver sauce for the pigeon. She was grinding bones, feet, whatnot. You know, I couldn’t help but ask where the pigeons come from. Like, perhaps they caught the birds in the parking lot outside or lured the pigeons from their resting spots on top of the roof? What makes one pigeon better than another? She assured us the pigeon we were about to eat was not plucked off the property. But its place of residence was still unclear.
Pigeon, black figs, Riscadinha apple from Palmela and liver sauce at Feitoria Restaurant
What was clear was how tender the meat. As long as I did not envision a pigeon clucking about, coo-cooing and making little pigeon sounds, or maybe it’s only mourning doves that coo, I was OK to consume it. I really do not want to know where my meat comes from. If I were stranded in the wilderness, I would become a vegetarian. No way could I skin a squirrel and roast it, for example, but then I do not really know my own capabilities. I never thought I could inject a cat with insulin, either, until I had to. Humans are much stronger than we imagine under dire circumstances.
Beef fillet served rare, vegetables from Quinta do Poilal at Feitoria.
The main course, well, you can see I didn’t stop to take a photograph until I was almost finished. That’s what 6 or 7 wine parings will do to you. I figured if any restaurant could prepare beef rare correctly, it would be a Michelin star restaurant. I’m so tired of ordering beef rare and getting it medium or worse, bloody raw, but I was not displeased. It was perfect. The charred grilled veggies were a perfect accompaniment to this tasting menu at Feitoria.
Beetroots, raspberry, aged balsamic vinegar is dessert at Feitoria.
Then ending to the tasting menu at Feitoria was dessert, of course. This small gesture of sweetness was incredible. Who knew beetroots could be so sugary? I believe this was paired with a port. There might have even been a bit of ice cream before we departed. But not bad photos shot with an iPhone 6 Plus, if I say so myself.
Things to See in Lisbon Portugal
View of Lisbon rooftops from São Jorge Castle
When you’re off to find things to see in Lisbon Portugal on your first day, you begin to wish that maybe you should be living in New York instead of Sacramento, California. Because if you had flown to Lisbon from New York, the time difference between New York City and Lisbon is only 5 hours. People who live on the East Coast probably do not realize how lucky they are that they can travel to Europe without the suffering of extreme jet lag.
Even though my husband and I traveled on Air France first class San Francisco to Paris, we still had to catch a connecting flight in Paris to Lisbon on Air France. We stayed at the Hotel Sofitel in the center of the city, which turned out to be an excellent location. A quick dinner and we were off to slumberland.
Tree-canopied sidewalks of Av. da Liberdade in Lisbon, Portugal
We had given ourselves four days in Lisbon before boarding the Crystal Symphony for a cruise to Spain. That mean bright-eyed or no bright-eyed and bushy tailed, we were getting up in the morning to find things to see in Lisbon Portugal. One of our Must-Sees was São Castle Jorge, which you can spot high on the hill from just about anywhere in town.
To get there, we began with a leisurely stroll down the beautiful boulevards and sidewalks of Av Da Liberdade. It made me feel like we were in San Francisco. But time spent in San Francisco always feels like a European vacation to me; it’s a magical city.
Elizabeth Weintraub at São Jorge Castle, Lisbon, Portugal
Similar to giving birth, I imagine, in that I hear you forget about the pain afterward, otherwise why would you do it again, we climbed many stairs of São Castle Jorge. This is a Moorish castle from medieval times and its Tower of Ulysses offers visitors a 360-degree view of the city, all the way to the Tagus River. We felt the pain in our calves the following day.
Wine Bar do Castelo near São Castle Jorge in Lisbon, Portugal
There was only one thing to do after our visit to São Castle Jorge. We needed to stop at a wine bar. I don’t know why I have not been to a wine bar. Perhaps because I didn’t realize food was involved, but you can definitely enjoy wonderful treats at a wine bar in Lisbon. The jams, cheeses, meats were delicious. Plus, it gave us a chance to try green wine, which is not green, it means it’s a young wine.
Vinho Verde, a green wine, comes from the northern region of Minho in Portugal, a blend of several white grapes. My favorite, though, by far was a Duoro red suggested by the sommelier, who was extremely helpful and kind. Every person we came into contact with in Lisbon was friendly and warm. We discussed taking the train to Porto, just to sample port wines, but the sommelier felt it was too far for a day trip.
Banks of the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal
The following day we decided to take it a bit easier and walked down to the Tagus River to visit a few neighborhoods, including walking around most of Baixa. There were not a lot of shops open except on the water. The Tagus River is billed as the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. Locals refer to it as the sea and call it Tejo. Everywhere we went, though, the most horrible images ever are tourists with selfie sticks poking those things where they don’t belong. For me, selfie sticks impart a strong urge to grab the damn things, snap them over my knee, while screaming get a life, but that what happens to you when you’re almost 65.
In the upper left corner of this photo, you can see a pile of sand. There is a guy whose job is to flat shovel the sand off the steps and deposit the sand where you see it. Then, he shovels the sand into a wheelbarrow and carts it away. The things to see in Lisbon Portugal are really incredible, especially while paying attention to small actions. It’s what my late father-in-law would call being a professional observer, in that way that always made me laugh.
Lobster lunch at Maria Mil Réis Restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal
We were in the sun too long, and it was time for lunch. We wandered down the river banks for a few blocks and then turned back into the city to check out the local restaurants. Just by luck, actually, we stumbled upon Maria Mil Réis, which offered lobster for lunch. I never met a lobster I didn’t like. A cold ceverza paired well. Even with a couple of drinks and choosing expensive lunch items, we could not spend more than 50 euros.
Sailors eating ice cream in Lisbon, Portugal
I leave you with a photograph my husband, Adam, shot of sailors on the street in the Baixa neighborhood in Lisbon. They look so young. It’s hard to realize so many are just kids.
With all of the constant activity and things to see in Lisbon Portugal, I honestly did not spend much time thinking about Sacramento real estate. The end of August is typically a slow time in Sacramento for buying or selling a home, although, in retrospect, I did manage to take 3 listings during this trip, thanks to the help of my wonderful team.
A Summer Rain in Kona is Still a Delightful Hawaiian Vacation
Elizabeth Weintraub at the breezeway of Coast Grille Restaurant in Hawaii.
Living in a paradisiacal state of mind for some people is utopia but not very realistic. I’m more the cup is overflowing sort of person than the cup is half full, but even I know that sometimes you’ve got to deal with a little rain before the sun comes out. I could not believe, however, that my hotel required a $30 deposit on an umbrella. That seems a little bit excessive and makes me wonder about the types of people who visit the island of Hawaii and why they feel compelled to make off with a four-foot instrument that would most certainly break if one clobbered a bellman over the head with it.
We’ve had a little bit of showers yesterday afternoon, a summer rain, in an area of Hawaii that rarely sees rain. If you want to experience a lot of rain, you go to the eastern side of the island of Hawaii, which is OK and lushly beautiful except for those darned singing tree frogs all night long.
There are times in Sacramento when I miss a summer rain because we don’t get rain in the summer either. We make up for it in the winter. During the summer, though, nada. The problem with rain is sometimes you get thunderstorms, and thunderstorms scare the bejesus out of me. If you want me to confess to a crime I did not commit, just strap me to a chair under a bare light bulb and fill the room with sounds of a thunderstorm, lightning rods, cracks in the sky, and I’ll admit to anything to make it stop.
But soft falling rain is delightful. Just not the heavy rain. Probably the most delightful soft misty rainfall I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing was in Ireland. It was so light and silky that it would not have astonished me to spot leprechauns dancing through the square in Dublin.
When I walked to dinner last night, to the restaurant at my hotel, it was a good 10-block hike from my suite. And very complicated, too. Walk 3 blocks to the elevator, and go down to floor two. Walk another 6 blocks and take the elevator to floor 8. Go through the lobby and around the corner to reach a third set of elevators and go down to floor 4, and then take the stairs to the restaurant. I feel like I need a GPS.
Fortunately, this particular restaurant, unlike Brown’s at the Fairmont Orchid, has a breezeway where guests can still dine outside if it’s raining. I enjoyed the theme for this month, which is Dragon Fruit. It comes in a dark cherry, a vanilla and a cotton-candy-pink version. The Dragon Fruit salad contained all 3 versions of this seedy fruit, along with Kamuela tomatoes, watermelon radish, and baby cucumbers, tossed with a garden citrus vinaigrette.
Grilled ono with Dragon Fruit salsa and pumpkin hash
The ono, pictured here, arrived with a Dragon Fruit salsa and pumpkin hash, surrounded by bits of exotic things — I can’t tell you what they were except mouthwatering. In my opinion, the chef glazed the ono a bit too long, and it made the soft, fleshy fish somewhat dry and tough. The waitress was very nice about it, and I almost didn’t even tell her except that she asked what I thought. She offered to take my photo earlier, and I didn’t want her to feel like I did not appreciate the meal, as it was lovely.
As I type this, an agent called to complain that her listing is on my Sacramento real estate website and she wants me to remove it this instant! LOL. As standard service, my website contains every agent’s listing in Sacramento, along with my own listings. Why do these agents not understand how the internet works? Just another day in paradise. I’ll be back home in 8 days.
Hulopo’e Beach Park to Manele Harbor in Lanai, Hawaii
Strolling through Hulopo’e Beach Park, my phone rang, sporting a familiar name of a Sacramento real estate agent popping up on the screen. I was just about to shoot a photograph of the tree you see here, the Gardenia Taitensis, which is the flower of Tahiti, when my phone vibrated in my hand. The reason I was carrying my cellphone in my hand — which might strike some of you odd as you say to yourselves, what kind of nut job carries her cell in Lanai, Hawaii? Who wants to stare at a cell when she can stare at the ocean rolling in and sharks jumping about — well, it is because I spotted an uncaptured portal in Ingress.
There are advantages to playing a cellphone game like Ingress. It can lead you to explore and walk to places you might not otherwise walk to. You could be lying on the beach and reading Judgment of Paris, which I haven’t yet cracked the first chapter, but no, you are up on two feet and walking off that filet mignon from the night before. The journey also led me to another spot that I would not have known was there except for Ingress.
Down the road about 350 meters from the beach is the Manele Bay small boat harbor. It looks like this is where the ferry from Maui 
pulls in to disembark / embark passengers. Gray skies rolled in, raindrops sprayed my face, but I shot a few photos of the boats, docks, framed by a large protective hill in the distance. When it rained a little bit harder, enough to put my electronic equipment in danger, I walked up to the vacant harbor house on the hill and shot a photo of the mailbox in the shape of a fish. On the front it read “fan mail only.” I don’t think the post office comes here, but I could be wrong.
And yes, there was a portal at Manele Bay. I upgraded a few resonators for the owner and created a mind control field. Mostly, though, I sat on a bench and admired the mailbox and the view of the harbor while the skies deployed a little mist.
Back at Hulopo’e Beach Park, I dropped a portal key and hacked the portal. Sure enough, I gained another portal key, so I picked up my original key from the ground. Now I had 2 portal keys and I could probably use one of them back at Four Seasons to generate an even larger mind control field. At that point, I pulled out my Nikon from my camera bag to shoot the Gardenia Taitensis when I recognized the name on my Caller ID buzzing in my other hand. It was a long story about the buyer of a condo and whether the seller, who hasn’t lived there for years and resides out-of-state, would know the specifics of litigation filed against the builder.
Isn’t every condo project in litigation these days or coming out of litigation, I asked? This is a cash transaction. I don’t personally have any information about the HOA — as a Sacramento REALTOR who covers four counties I don’t specialize in units in this particular complex — but I let the agent know that I would be happy to call the seller to see what I could find out. I don’t mind. I’m walking barefoot in the sand at Hulopo’e Beach Park. I’m shooting videos of sharks jumping out of the ocean to do backflips. I’ll do whatever I can to help. No problem.
Guess I threw the buyer’s agent for a loop because he didn’t expect cooperation. Especially not when I told him I’m in Hawaii, but just because I’m in Lanai doesn’t mean I don’t care about my transactions. This is when traveling solo pays off because I can do whatever I want. I don’t have a husband or friend tapping toes, rolling eyes because I’m talking to another agent during vacation. I’m not inconveniencing anybody. I’m enjoying the zen of this trip.
