Beyond the Barrel: From Decadent to Down-home in Porto

Dig a little deeper into the backstreets and we find the complexities and contrasts of city life and all of the culinary diversity that comes with it. Porto is a place where century-old opulent Parisian-style cafes, sometimes staffed by tuxedoed waiters, can be found not far from rustic cheese-and-sausage shops run by the descendants of poor migrants from Northern Portugal. More contrasts abound: Walk around Porto and you will encounter octogenarian Portuguese shoe cobblers sharing the street with Bangladeshi grocers, while hidden behind former palaces are neat and tidy shanties. And, while this is the city that gave the world the refinement of Port wine, it is also the home of the gutbuster Francesinha, a working-man’s sandwich we’d only eat to win a bet.
On our walk, we'll head out into a classic residential neighborhood for a close look at how this city lives, and eats. At the local neighborhood tasca, we’ll be among all levels of Porto society who crowd the dining room for Senhor Dionísio’s daily specials. His cod fritters know no boundaries. Along the way we’ll visit an historic grocery for a taste of the seminal cheeses of the north along with a tawny port. We’ll also visit a newly opened grocery, to crack open a few of the finest locally produced tinned fish, a local delicacy.