Another Café in Porto? You Bet! Café a Brasileira

Another Café in Porto?  You Bet!  Café a Brasileira

Porto is full of the quaint, the old and the wonderful. Architectural wonders abound.  Walk down any street and feast your eyes on what a city should look like. Many of those stone marvels are hotels and cafés, left over from the gilded age when the upper crust did not eat, they dined.  One of the best is the Café a Brasileira, dating from 1903, but recently refurbished with all attention to every historic detail, with the columns, the fixtures, the walls and colors, all matching the originals.

You might say, even the coffee is original, coming from a farm in Brazil, only 150 kilometers (about 90 miles) from where the pharmacist, Adriano Telles, first served coffee by the cup, although these days, every café in Europe and America and even Japan survives by being a slave to lattes and such.  Café a Brasileira is no exception. So never fear, you faint of hearts who don’t really like coffee, but love the idea of having your java doctored to match your beach tan, nothing to fear at this café.

 But, for those brave souls who are no slave to the latest trend in coffee-juice, and I proudly count myself in that number, forgo the silly frills and tell the very attentive waiter you’d like a snifter of Jameson Irish to go with your morning cup of rich brew.  Sure, you may have to suffer the mild rebuke of your significant other, or you may be surprised to see her lightly lick her lips, wink, and whisper, “I’d like a sip….if you know what I mean.”  Be sure to hold the snifter in both your shaking hands as her perfect lips daintily touch the rim.  Stand ready to applaud if she turns to the waiter and demurely asks him to bring one for herself. Oh, be still my pants heart!

But, more than just a place to sip a cup, the café is a great place to watch the world go by, sample the justly famous Pastel de Nata (custard Tart), and make yourself feel like the masterly traveler that you are.

Porto is a place that makes you feel like dressing for breakfast and taking a leisurely stroll into a bygone era.  Café a Brasileira.  Don’t forget the name. I guarantee you won’t forget the experience.

University Student in her black robe

One of the very attentive waiters

A chair back

Port Wine in Porto

Port Wine in Porto

The first question from my careful and VERY discriminating readers:  Wass up wit like you know, Sherry and Port?  They’re like the same, right?

Before I answer that penetrating question from those addicted to the word “Like,” I offer one comment and some recommendations.  First, the comment:  You may not be old enough to drink and I’m going to have to see at least four forms of ID and a note from your like-mother.

Recommendations:  Such as, Almost, Possibly, Maybe and a blank space as reasonable alternatives.  Remaining deathly silent will be like a crowd pleaser.

But, for those brave souls who marched stoutly through puberty, I offer a thumbnail sketch of Sherry vs Port.  Feel free to ‘like’ like it or not. 

Port and Sherry are both fortified wines.

What is a ‘fortified wine?  Another question already?  Ok, I know it’s impolite to like-ask a question with a like-question.

The answer is quite simple.  Fortified means additional alcohol is added, which stops fermentation, leaving some residual sugar and a sweeter wine.  The further along the fermentation process is, the drier the fortified wine.  The additional alcohol is referred to as aquardente and may come in any form, from brandy to other distilled spirits.  The result is an alcohol content of 18 to 20%, as opposed to unfortified wine’s 11-13%.

Differences between sherry and port:  Sherry comes from Jerez in the extreme southern part of Spain.  Port comes from the Douro Valley in the north of Portugal.  Sherry is usually a blend of various vintages (the Solera Method), while Port is normally a single vintage.  Yes, there are more differences, but instead let’s concentrate on Port.

Port comes in these three varieties:  White, Ruby, and Tawny.   Vintage Ports are mostly of the Tawny variety, although I did acquire a 20 year old white Port.

As a rule, taste-wise, White tastes a bit lighter, Ruby is a bit heavier and sweeter, and Vintage Tawny is as smooth as the unexpected caress of the woman your wife warned you about.

BUT, if you’re eating dark chocolate, skip the caress and pair your indulgence with Ruby Port.  The blend of the two flavors will astonish you.

If you’re in Porto, Portugal and want to sample a variety, do what we did and drop in at Kopke, one of the oldest Port merchants in the city.  Cross the Douro River and  don't forget to read about the famous bridge.  Once you cross, look back for a beautiful view of the port. 

At Kopke, you’ll be seated at an elegant table and introduced to the wonders of Port, presented by an attractive and knowledgeable assistant, who will not only explain everything you’re tasting but supply breads, crackers, and chocolates to allow you to pair all your possible choices with food.

Yes, I could go into the glorious flavors of every variety, but you wouldn’t remember and taste is so personal.  I love a 40 year old Port (yes, we sold our car and gave right of first refusal on our first born), you may very well prefer a more modest vintage.  The pairing with dark chocolate and the applause of our taste buds also ‘forced’ us to a purchase a delightful Ruby Port as well.  The Kopke selections are nearly impossible to say no to.

So now it’s time for the quiz.  But, first… need a refill on that Port?  And another bit of luscious dark chocolate? 

Screw the quiz, you’re already an A student.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Never have I read a book like this one.  Original. Polished to a high shine and the characters live indelibly from page to fascinating page.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.  The very Russian Count Alexander Rostov is an aristocrat by birth, but also by inclination.  A man of high character and impeccable manners. Every inch the gentleman, in his appearance and in his unaffected conversation. He treats everyone with respect and yet is a shrewd judge of personalities. 

Unfortunately, Count Rostov was born in one age and now lives in another.  A time traveler?  In a sense.  He’s in Moscow at an elegant hotel, just as the Russian Revolution destroys the world the Count was born into. In the new Russia, Aristocrats are now by definition enemies of the people. The Count faces the unenviable task of having to adjust and yet maintain what he is.

Called before a tribunal, he answers questions forthrightly, without rancor or hesitation, or prevarication.   One thing he cannot hide, nor deny, is that while being politically neutral, he is an aristocrat.   The tribunal decides not to inflict the ultimate punishment on a man who is clearly of the old nobility, but instead his punishment is for him to be listed as a ‘Former Person,’ and confined to the same hotel forever.

However, there are some differences in his style of living.  He will no longer occupy the elegant suite as he has done for several years. 

A Gentleman in Moscow is the story of what happens while he is confined within the walls of the hotel.

The first question is:  How would you handle that situation?  Would you go whack-o ?  Lose your manners?  Would your life lose all meaning? And were you in the Count’s place, what would you to give yourself reasons to go on living life to the fullest?

The reader’s first inclination is to leap to the conclusion that this must be a very dull book.  One man, in a hotel, while the entire country is in flux, does not present itself as an exciting situation.  Your instinct would be very wrong. Much happens in any hotel and in this one, there is a constant swirl of strong currents as the political change slaps like heavy waves upon the shores of an entire nation.  In the midst of this barrage, the Count tiptoes between who he is and who he must be to survive.  Friendships are forged and rent asunder.  Impossibilities lead to unexpected adventures.  All the while, the denizens of the hotel parade before you in a most extravagant and unlikely circus of activity.

Amor Towles has written an extraordinary book that roils and seethes and forces you to read ‘just one more chapter’ before your eyes close for the night.

This is a close-up glimpse of what communism brought and did not bring in an often brutal exchange of one totalitarian regime for another.

In many ways, life goes on in the hotel and as it does, foreign diplomats and journalists and even tourists dodge in and out of scene after indelible scene.

As a writer, too often when I read a novel I find myself at odds with syntax or a faulty plot, or unlikely situations, driven by not totally believable persona.   A Gentleman in Moscow has no such defects.  In fact it has no defects at all.  Nitpicking reader that I am, I would not change a word or a plot twist or even so much as a mustache on a single character.

In short, this is the most honestly written and enjoyable novel I ever remember reading.

A Gentleman in Moscow is an unforgettable tale that rides high above other modern novels.  I was glued to the pages from beginning to end.  I feel certain you will be too.

Only one word of caution, without fear of contraction, I advise it’s best to read this book in an electronic version.  One simple reason.  Mr. Towles’ vocabulary is larger than yours or mine.  As you may know, an electronic edition allows the reader to simply push the word to get an instant definition. You will appreciate this tip!  But, most of all, you’ll appreciate such an enticing novel.  A Gentleman in Moscow.