by rodney on February 10, 2010
85 Columbia Street
Fall River, MA 02721
(508) 675-0002
Closed Tuesdays
Luis Bettencourt
Proprietor
Portuguese Cuisine
Sometimes you can’t get enough of a good thing. So, I followed up the great Touriga Nacional seminar at the Boston Wine Expo by taking my brother, Robert, to my favorite Portuguese restaurant in Fall River, MA. I make it a point to stop in whenever I am in the area and am overtaken by a craving for Carne de Porco à Alentejana. But since this is “Invitation-Only”, there’ll be no menu and no Alentejana tonight.
Luis happily greets us over the sounds of the Portuguese Futebol Liga match on television (For a moment, I thought it was summer again and I was back in the Algarve). I share the list of Touriga wines that I tasted during the seminar, when Luis pulls out his last bottle of CARM Reserva, 2001, which he says will go nicely with the dish he has planned. He brings over the wine with some olives and crusty Portuguese rolls with butter.
2001 CARM Reserva Touriga Nacional blend, vanilla, smoke, spice, ripe black fruit, medium body, mild tannins, balanced alcohol/acidity
We start with a Portuguese soup of cabbage, kale, chourico, beef, potatoes, carrots, elbow pasta, etc. I have eaten Portuguese soup all of my life and I’m not sure that I have ever had it the same way twice. The soup is a delicious meal served alone and perfect for a cold winter night (properly eaten of course by soaking torn pieces of Portuguese bread). The acidity of the CARM balanced well with the hardy soup. [click to continue…]
by rodney on December 1, 2009
412 Market St
Brighton, MA 02135
(617) 789-4676
Monday – Sunday
5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Nasrullah (Nas) Kahn
Chef & Owner
Mediterranean, Hungarian, French Cuisine
Tonight I had the pleasure of dining with Nasrullah Kahn, chef and owner of Jasmine Bistro in Brighton Center. As always, I was greeted with his patented smile usually only reserved for family and close friends. But at Jasmine’s, you feel part of the place from the moment you arrive. It was the perfect place to launch our Invitation-Only series.
Nas started me off with a glass of 2008 Picton Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to have more similarities with a French Sancerre than a puckering citrus-bomb that we’ve begun to associate with NZ SB’s. I would soon be equally delighted with my appetizer on a this cold New England night.
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by rodney on November 14, 2009
Take a moment to recall your most memorable dining experience.
Did you score a reservation at an exclusive restaurant or did you stumble upon a hidden treasure?
Did you agonize over a plethora of equally appetizing menu options or did you opt for the nightly special out of hand?
For me, it was the latter in both cases. In these instances, I replaced choice for chance and was pleasantly surprised. And shouldn’t life be filled with more surprises?
Every month, I will venture out in search of family/owner operated restaurants that offer the personal experience of being invited into someone’s home for dinner. Menus and reservations are strictly prohibited.
This is Invitation-Only Dining.
I hope you’ll join me on my quest to start a new dining movement where menus and reservations are replaced with carte du jour and invitations. Who knows what special treasures we’ll find and who we’ll meet along the way.
And if you have any suggestions, recommendations or would like to share your personal favorites, please send them along.
Luis happily greets us over the sounds of the Portuguese Futebol Liga match on television (For a moment, I thought it was summer again and I was back in the Algarve). I share the list of Touriga wines that I tasted during the seminar, when Luis pulls out his last bottle of CARM Reserva, 2001, which he says will go nicely with the dish he has planned. He brings over the wine with some olives and crusty Portuguese rolls with butter.