Thoughtful Eating: Birthday Dinner at Casa Portugal

Last year Carlos took me out to dinner for my birthday. My choice restaurant was Casa Portugal in Inman Square (Cambridge, MA). This year? It was Casa Portugal again. The difference? This year he also gave me a new camera as a birthday present (along with a fabulous mini photo studio, more on that to come). So the pictures I took of our dinner came out far better than last year!

To start off, Casa Portugal always serves black olives, in a traditional Portuguese Olive Dish complete with a section for the pits, as well as a basket of broa, Portuguese corn bread, and bread rolls. Always so delicious! Carlos went straight for the bread rolls until I reminded him that he should be eating the Broa instead. Broa is very common in Portugal but is a rare treat here in the states.

Of course I had to have some Vinho Branco da Casa (House White Wine) with my Broa.

There were only two other couples when we arrived but when we left the place was packed!

We had some romantic moments of course.

Carlos asked me what he got last time he was there. I reminded him it was the Febras Grehladas (Grilled Pork). It comes in a spicy garlic sauce and is served with traditional Portuguese potatoes, rice and vegetables.

He was so hungry he couldn't wait to dive in!

My absolute favorite dish to get at Casa Portugal is Arroz Mariscada (Seafood Rice). It's a pot of rice with a tomato-wine broth which is topped with a half lobster, clams, mussels, shrimp, squid and scallops and served with a side of potatoes. OH MY GOD it is so delicious. My parents and I used to go to a seaside restaurant in Aveiro, Portugal and we would always get a family sized order of Arroz Mariscada. I have fond memories of this dish. This particular pot, although for one person, was too much food for me but I tried to eat as much as I could.

I tried not to let anything go to waste!

We couldn't finish dinner without ordering some traditional Portuguese chocolate mousse. The Portuguese have some secret talent for making chocolate mousse. It's so delicious.