After a visit to our "fish department", it must be clear to everyone: we have a passion for sardines! Some might call it a bit of an obsession, but the reverence for this fish in other countries is on a whole other level!
Take Lisbon, for example: every year on June 12, the Festa de Santo António is celebrated. This is a holiday in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of Lisbon, during which the whole city is out on its feet and sardines are grilled and eaten in the brightly decorated streets around the clock. A true paradise for us … and it goes without saying that we absolutely had to be there this year!
The background is that Saint Anthony initially didn't have much success with his sermons – no one listened to him. So, frustrated, he wandered to the shore and delivered his sermon to the waves. And lo and behold: his words did not go unheard. A school of sardines listened to him attentively. Since then, these little fish have been closely associated with him as symbols.
The first few days in Lisbon were like a whirlwind of colors, smells, aromas, music, and revelry. All the streets were decorated with colorful garlands, and there were grill stands and set tables everywhere, where cheerful people ate and drank, people wore funny sardine hats, and the winners of this year's sardine design competition were displayed everywhere. We brought back one paper example each, so now you can admire them here too!
This year's winning sardines
We stopped at almost every grill stand and enjoyed this wonderfully simple and rustic delicacy. One to five sardines a day per person was easily doable, and even Rosalie, our youngest, has already taken a liking to grilled sardines!
But sardines are not only found at mobile and temporary facilities: in Lisbon, there are numerous shops, restaurants, and bars that deal exclusively with the sale of canned fish all year round. The Conserveira de Lisboa has long been known, with whom we have already been working together for several years and from whom we source sardines, tuna, mackerel, and the famous Bacalhao. We visited them and took a few funny photos with the heavily pregnant Selma, our original contact person.
We also made a detour to the famous Sol e Pesca, which has now received slightly more sophisticated competition at the noble Praça do Comércio: the Can the Can. Originally "just" a blog about canned fish, it has developed into a real business, which has now found its headquarters in a really beautiful, bright restaurant that opened this year.
After a few days full of sardines, we eventually also felt like something else, and it was lucky that we had already made an appointment in advance with Maria João Brissos, the representative of the Conserveira Santa Catarina, from whom we source the fantastic tuna fillets from the Azores. She and her husband were represented by a small stand in the gourmet food hall at an agricultural fair in Santarem, an hour north of Lisbon. We visited them there, and she presented us with the latest, partly award-winning, variations: Caril (Curry), Pimenta (an Azorean type of paprika), Alecrim (Rosemary), Majericao (Basil), and Poejo (Polei mint). She gave us curry, rosemary, piment, and mint, and we enjoyed them at home that same evening in our beautiful apartment. All of them tasted – as expected – fantastic, and we look forward to presenting them to you soon in our store and online shop. The order has already been placed!
We took a second little trip on the penultimate day of our trip, to the Alentejo, east of Lisbon. There we visited the winemaker Luis Louro and the oenologist Inês Capão at the Adega do Monte Branco. The Adega is located near Estremoz, a small picturesque town near Evora. It is beautifully situated in a slightly hilly area covered with vineyards. The many panoramic windows of the modern facility cleverly utilize this beautiful location, and so we had the great pleasure of tasting all the wines of the Adega (old and new vintages) in front of this breathtaking view.
Luis and Inês let us try the new vintages of the Alento wines and also the red and white Reserva, as well as the red Monte Branco, the highest-ranking wine in the range.
Once again, we are thrilled by the beautiful balance of these wines, their full-bodiedness and freshness. In any case, our cooperation is secured, and we are already looking forward to the next delivery!
At an informal lunch prepared by Luis's mother, we put business aside, chatted excitedly about all sorts of things, invited each other to visit again (maybe Luis will manage to get to Berlin sometime, then we will of course let you know!) and drank a fantastic Baga.
Inspired by great experiences, encounters, and impressions, we returned to Berlin after a full week and already know: we will come back next year!
