Lisbon article in NY Times
 

There is an article on a weekend in Lisbon in the Sunday Times this week:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/12/14...tml?ref=travel

Yes, really good tips!

I would just give some suggestions that might help to enjoy better Lisbon's nightlife.

- Lux Disco
- Fado concert at Chapito
- Sunset at Adamastor
- Jazz at Ondajazz
- a night in Bairro Alto
- concert or dance night at Music Box
- spend a night in CCB (Centro Cultural Belem)

Have fun!!!

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Lisbon events guide and travel tips
www.tipsguidelisboa.com
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Today's NYTimes carries an article on how dried out cod that Portuguese love so much is giving way to frozen cod

apparently with the dried stuff you have to soak and resoak it in water, etc.

Speaking of dried cod, we Italians call it Baccala. It's really good. It's true that you have to soak it for a long time so that you can cook it and eat it. I remember when I was a kid in Brooklyn, my mother used to buy it and then soak it for a couple of days in the bathtub to rehydrate it. The only problem was that it was hard as hell taking a bath with that big fish in the bathtub!

Yesterday's Times had another article on Portugal, this one relating to the growing popularity of buying frozen cod that has already been dried and then properly soaked and rehydrated. I have some Portuguese friends who are pretty serious cooks, and they admit (though sheepishly) that they usually use the frozen variety and have given up on the soaking.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/wo...cod&st=cse

We have quite a unique area in Pittsburgh called the "Strip District".

Originally, local stores were supplied with produce for their markets here and it was generally open most of the night until about 2:00pm.

It then morphed into a wonderful area to shop and buy things from all over the world, but a greater selection from Italy. It is like buying great gourmet food without the high prices of specialty stores.

Yesterday, my mother and I were there shopping for baccala and other things that are traditional for Italian Christmas celebrations.

There were mounds of it everywhere. I didn't see any frozen, though, only the dried (bone in and boned varieties). This time of year, unlike the Portuguese, is just about the only time my family enjoys it.

I gotta write this. I'm sitting here with my eyes tearing up, recalling my youth in relation to baccala. As I previously wrote, my mother bought the baccala and soaked it. The grocer selling the baccala had it propped up in front of the store, facing the sun, drying it even further, if possible. The story was that dogs sauntered along and raised their hind legs and did what they usually do. I don't believe this, but that's the story. The upshot is that people said that the fish tasted better because of this. I haven't thought of this in over 50 years, but my mind is now recalling that the grocer, on Avenue U, in Brooklyn was Sol Kanare. He was the kindest and most gentle person imaginable. He was a Polish Jew. I say this because it was strange to my friends and me, that he spoke perfect Italian. Most of the people in the neighborhood owed him money. He ran a tab on people, and trusted them. They paid him when they had the money. That's the kind of person he was. The only guy I knew that didn't owe Old Sol was Mr. Russo, the undertaker, who drove a big silver 1938 LaSalle auto. In any event, when things got better, the A&P Supermarker chain opened a large supermarket directly across the street from Mr. Kanare's hole in the wall grocery. Old Sol was worried that he couldn't compete with A&P, but he was dead wrong. I remember Mr. Kanare's little grocery packed with customers, while the big A&P across the street was virtually empty. People showed their allegiance to Old Sol. Before long, the A&P closed down and Mr. Kanare bought the store and reopened his own supermarket. Another sidelight to this is that Herbie Kanare, Mr. Kanare's son, who was my friend, and attended Lafayette High School with me, won the Italian medal upon graduation. I was second. Imagine that! Herbie also used to march with us in the Columbus Day Parades on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. I'm all teary now. How's that for a story about Lisbon!!!