my tasting memory is quickly fading, so it’s time to do one of these food recaps again!
the gastronomic pride and joy of the island is alcatra, a beef stew that is slowly cooked in a clay pot for hours. some prefer the top bits of the pot (which are drier) and some prefer to grab their meat from the depths of it, where the pieces are moist, drenched in sauce and falling off the bone. they tasted equally great to me, and we ended up having it several times around the island.
i’m a fan of charcuterie, and the island’s chouriço (smoked sausage) and morcela (blood sausage) were divine. especially the morcela…
…goodness!
friends invited us for lapas (limpets), a type of sea snails found in azores. we gave them a go, and they were surprisingly delicious! drenched in garlic and lemon, they pop right off their shell.
quinta dos açores is a meat & dairy business (there are more cows than inhabitants in terceira!), with a side gig of restaurant & ice-cream parlor. the design of the place is refreshingly modern and the dishes are great too. :)
more charcuterie and the island’s inhame (taro), a sort of sweet potato that is served steamed.
now and then you could sense the influence of the american base looming nearby — pizza and fried chicken were never very far, as well as mountain dew and other drinks. we even saw fanta grape in a supermarket!
in between hikes, we took a detour to queijo vaquinha to try their cheese platter. the cheeses were good, but the bread was amazing! and of course, we drowned it all with kima, the fizzy drink from azores that comes in pineapple or passionfruit flavors.
what about dessert? sadly, i forgot to take some proper photos of all the delicious d. amélias we had, a mini cake quite similar to broas de mel, but somehow better and more delicate, as the regal name would imply.
but i did take a photo of the island’s cornucópias. these almond cones filled with egg cream were were amazing… but i’m glad we tasted them only on the last day because boy, that was heavy. they’re small, but probably pack enough calories in them for the whole day! :D
and i think that covers it! it was a good trip all around, filled with awe and discovery, and i only wish we could have stayed a bit longer to go on exploring. i guess that’s our cue to come back again soon!
