21.09.08: Out to GBK

We can't resist a two-fer coupon, and this time we took note of the Sun-Thu limitation (unlike a previous occasion we'd rather forget). At ye olde GBK, She plumped for the 'New!' organic lamb burger simply dressed with mayo, tomato and lettuce, plus the 'New!' coleslaw of celeriac, spring onion, carrot and cabbage in vinaigrette. Going for bust, He spec'd out a blue cheese burger and chips.

HE SAYS: Hmmm, the blue cheese was actually blue cheese dressing (read: mayo overload) and not that great tasting. The actual burger was cooked medium and wasn't bad overall, but I much preferred the chips, which were hot and fluffy inside, crunchy-ish on the outside. The 'slaw was vinegar-based with no added mayo, which was a good thing, and I definitely tasted a hint of apple (perhaps cider vinegar or added juice). Anyway, the coleslaw may have tasted a little too sweet but was still tangy and tasty.

SHE SAYS: My med-rare organic lamb was tender and selectively charred for my pleasure, with judiciously light application of mayo (unlike some poshburger imposters that will drown a poor patty in not-so-special sauce). However, it was not worth £9.50 - nothing special in seasoning, size or obvious quality. Next time I'd go for the non-org Greek burger and ask for the hummus on the side. Coleslaw was apple-y fresh and sharp, but too sweet for my taste. I left feeling a little peckish still, and downed a small serving of Hula-Hoops once back home.

07.09.08: Fine Burger takeaway

After completing a family errand at His mum's place, We happily anticipated a dinner treat from Fine Burger Co. Above: She ordered the Greek lamb burger, which arrived with a wedge of feta and scoops of a rather white hummus, while His BBQ burger (below) presented a neat stack of tomato, red onion, and the eponymous sauce. Hand-cut chips for Him and some chopped salad for Both sealed the deal.


HE SAYS: I think I enjoyed mine a little more then She liked hers but it still wasn't "fine" by anyone's standards. The bun was droopy and the sauce was excessive; if you like your burgers on the damp side then this is the place to get 'em. Truth be told, I was more then a tad bit hungry and so my critical eye was half-closed but managed to open up for the fries, which were not bad: hot, crunchy, salty and not soggy. I barely even remember eating the salad it was that good.

SHE SAYS: It's very rare that I can unequivocally diss an entire meal, but the day has arrived. My burger was drowning in suspiciously mayonnaisey hummus, and the wedge of crumbly salt they were calling feta didn't help. But it was the burger itself that was downright disgusting: it was pinky, barely warm, and densely damp. I like pinky lamb if it's nice and hot, but this was like eating the cushiony part of a Band-aid after you've sweated through it a bit. Really. The salad was nothing to speak of, with a bland, thin 'ranch' dressing coating a few rocket leaves, radishes, cucumber chunks, and chilled-to-transparency tomato slices. Ick. Yeh, I ate what was on my plate - hungry, and didn't want to be rude - but the ironically named Fine Burger doesn't even rate basic linkage.

02.08.08: Out to Nando's

Um. We were hungry. And so our Sat evening stroll to Nando's ended with the whole-chicken feast, including two grilled corn portions and large chips. Bwaaak!

HE SAYS: It's the fast food that's a little better then the average chicken joint and if you're hungry it will fill you up and not make you feel sick afterwards. The chicken was spicy and I enjoyed splattering my chips with malt vinegar and dunking them into the extra peri-peri sauce on hand. The corn although nice was suspiciously sweet, do they glaze it with sugar water before grilling? Will have to ask next time.

SHE SAYS: I don't think I ate much more than my usual order, but I did manage enough to feel like I offset the walk to and from. Roasty corn went first, then a few perfectly crispy and pillowy chips. Chicken was tender and nicely charcoaled, as always, though the white meat does get a bit dry and required dipping in peri-peri sauce, which I find too vinegary. All in all, a good Sat. nite stuffin'.

20.07.08: Back to Rio Coura

We know, we know, it seems lame to go to the same place twice on such a short trip, but here's a top tip you may not have known about Lisbon (We certainly didn't): it shuts down completely on Sunday and Monday, shops, restos and all. Except the blatant tourist traps, and, thankfully, our new old pal the Rio Coura.

We gazed at that whopping tray of fat crabs and wondered desperately how to order one, as they're not on the menu and the word 'crab' doesn't appear in the guidebook. (Pooey guidebook!) Reader, we just couldn't do it. We'd had enough embarrassment trying to go swimming the day before and being heckled by teenage locals. But we were in luck of a different kind anyway.

Tonite's house starter was salt cod fritters...hot and tasty!

He had the sopa do mariscos (seafood soup) to start some more, which turned out to be thoroughy liquefied.

She ordered bacalhau, or salt cod, the preparation of which was a little mysterious on the menu, but arrived in a simmering bath of olive oil, onion and lemon, accompanied by chips, olives, and a dab or two of mayonnaise.

For mains, he ordered the grilled sole She had the other nite. Hey where' e the greens?

And you knew there was some salad coming, right?

HE SAYS: For starters I got the soup with a spoon, would you believe it? I was expecting more pieces of seafood then the fish smoothie consistency that arrived, but it tasted fresh, salty and subtlety bisque-like.

The fritters were tasty and the breadcrumb covering and odd-shaped appearance reminded me of sort of an onion bhaji - without, obviously, the spice. I plumped for the sole because She got it last time and it looked up my street. I was not disappointed. Light and flaky and delicate in flavour. I quickly devoured it and moved on to the potatoes, then wished I had ordered the chips instead (plain fresh food cooked well is amazing but boiled potatoes loaded and coated with nothing, not even their skin, is too much like prison food for my palate). Although the salad was a rerun, the giant tomatoes were tasty as ever and helped fill me up second time round.

SHE SAYS: Loved the spicy, crispy fritters, and now I think about it, that may be where some of the crab ended up - some of them were a little softer inside, not all firm cod. I was probably too tired to fully recognise it at the time. My generous portion of bacalhau was perfect, and had a decadent feel to it, though I'm quite certain it was only olive oil, not butter, in the broth. The dab of mayo helped the somewhat dry top of the cod slip down nicely. No complex seasonings here, just some mild lemony flavour, salt, and fat. Delighted, I'm sure.

18.07.08: Restaurante Rio Coura

Who knew that having to abandon one of Lisbon's cool-breeze, thrill-ride trams and head back on foot (a car broke down on track in front) would lead us to the exact dining experience we were hoping our first nite would bring?

The Rio Coura's window display o' fish and the apparently local clientele attracted us, though the strong fishy aroma inside did not. Still, it was getting on to dinnertime after a long, hot day of trekking, so in we went.

First, they brought us a generous basket of crusty bread, a round of soft Nisa cheese, and a plate of cold, deep-fried sardines.

Soon after, our small bottle of vinho verde arrived, along with the mixed salad...

...and We were more than halfway to full when the mains arrived: His grilled sea bass with greens and chips...
...and Her grilled sole with same.

HE SAYS: I think we lucked out on this one. I spied more than a couple of aging regulars to give it an authentic feel as soon as we walked in, and the waiter was run off his feet and sweating profusely, a sign of being understaffed or popular? I chose to believe the latter.

The starters appeared swiftly. The mini sardines appeared to be shallow fried, a little crunchy but tasty, and the cheese was pretty stinky-gooey good too. My main was good but not fantastic, in fact I was more then a little jealous of Her plate. I was not expecting my fish to be a chunk of giant sea bass, it tasted more like swordfish, which I also like but was not expecting. The salad I found to be rustic and simple but with a few additionally glugs of olive oil as dressing served as a great complement to the grilled portion of the plate.

Walked away from the table a little tipsy from the sparkling bubblelicious vinho verde, not too sweet and pleasantly citrusy (like a high-class Blue Nun if there is such a thing).

SHE SAYS: The biggest surprise had to be how much I enjoyed the sardines, which at first I didn't even want to look at. (They just brought them to the table - these little favours aren't free, but it's kind of nice to have something unexpected to start you off.)

He made the first move, then assured me 'it isn't what you think, you'll like them.' I tentatively bit into one, crunching tiny bones and all - and indeed, I liked! It was a little like eating bony shrimp, the flavour was subtle and mostly tasted of the thin fried flour coating the sardines.

The cheese was v. camembert-ish, gluey and pungent, eminently spreadable. When our vinho came, it proved eminently gulpable - hugely refreshing, not too tart, and slightly carbonated.

And my main plate, though v. simple, was well-prepared: succulent, lightly seasoned sole perfectly grilled, tender, bitter greens, and piping-hot if rather lardy chips, all balanced by the salad liberally dressed with white vinegar, which was unusually moreish, maybe b/c of the bright contrast in flavour.

26.04.08: Nando's takeaway

His 'n' Hers chicken dinners: He feasted on 1/2 a medium-spice chicken with grilled corn and chips, while she delved into a 1/4 medium-spice chicken with matching grilled corn. Aw!

HE SAYS: Chicken was tender, smoky and still hot when I got it to our plates. The corn was very sweet and makes me suspect they coat it with sugar. Ate too many chips that were just okay, not too greasy but overprocessed and a little tasteless. Overall not a bad solution for fast food.

SHE SAYS: Perfectly satisfying, with tender chicken spiced just right and full of that chargrilled flavour. The corn proved good, juicy filler, and overall I didn't have to feel as guilty or woozy as when I indulge in dat Popeye's famous fried chicken.

04.04.08: Out to GBK

A Friday night jaunt to our local burger joint rewarded us with a regular classic sans cheese for him, a Greek lamb one for her, and fries and simple house salad to share.

HE SAYS: A very busy, packed restaurant with a long wait for our food, and my continuously growling tummy didn't bode well for a pleasant eating experience. But apart from my burger being a little too well done, the food hit the spot: burger not too dry or bready and the fries were hot, crispy and fluffy in the centre. The "Gourmet" in their name may be a slight exaggeration; perhaps a more accurate label would be "cheapish, fresh and not too greasy"? I think our last visit was a little more satisfing (plus then we had the free wine coupons, who doesn't like a coupon, eh?).

SHE SAYS: Think I enjoyed the GB outing more then Him. My Greek lamb burger once again proved satisfying and delish, although there was a bit too much hummus and I had to eat the ensemble with knife and fork. Salad was extremely fresh as before with only the necessary amount of creamy-lemony dressing, which restraint I greatly appreciate. Agree with Him that the service was ridiculously slow, as the house was bzzy but not overflowing. All in all, a relaxing evening to offset another stressful work week.

15.03.08: Out to Nando's

When you're feeling cheap, easy and kinda hot on a Saturday night, there's only one place to go: chicken czar Nando's.

SHE SAYS: I find it hard to believe this is our first time at Nando's this year; it's just too easy. My usual medium-spice 1/4 chick with grilled corn (and its little pat of butter) hit the spot. Gotta love that flame-grilled flava-flav. Well, it's healthier, than say, Popeyes...

HE SAYS: Enjoyed my hot-spiced 1/2 chicken with chips and corn. Chicken was tender; chips were ok, nothing special; and the corn was juicy, too. But the real reason to love Nando's is that they brought the word 'spatchcocked' into the general lexcion of Britain.

28.02.08: Out to GBK

A bit of a break at the late end of a long Thursday: burgers, salad and chunky chips at Gourmet Burger Kitchen.

HE SAYS: I had a cheeseburger, which was cooked nicely. A pretty tasty meal, in a pinch - definitely a step up from fast food, and GBK is not pretentious like some other, overpriced nouveau burger joints. The chips were pretty good, not sure if they're frozen or not, though. Made good use of free wine coupon!

SHE SAYS: Quite pleased with the Greek Lamb burger topped with hummus, cucumber raita, fresh chilli sauce & salad - it was med-rare and tasty. I wouldn't have minded having something more simply dressed, but the 'plain' GBK burger (and lots of their offerings) come with a sugary relish that tends to overwhlem. Another thing in GBK's favour: their mixed leaf salad is always incredibly fresh, with generous variations of rocket, baby spinach and other baby leaves. And like Him, I rather enjoyed the free glass of vino.