Let’s preface this by admitting that I’m no sandwich savant. I grew up with unapologetically Midwest cooking, and our array of available sandwiches were limited and cheap. My mother was raising four kids close in age and didn’t have money to waste customizing sandwiches unnecessarily! My favorite was fried bologna. I remember my dream bologna sandwich was made with white Wonder bread, two pieces of fried bologna, and a liberal amount of mayo. Of course, we had PB&J, grilled cheese (with American cheese, naturally), tuna, and egg salad occasionally. In the summer, when the garden allowed, we had BLT’s. Growing up near Amish country, we also had access to cheap cold cuts in abundance. Our family would pile into our fifteen-passenger van twice a month and head down to get some good deals on various lunch meats and cheeses.
Having now put forth my experiences with sandwiches, I can state that, unilaterally, Portuguese sandwiches are in a whole different league, compared to their Midwest USA cousins. Some have more ingredients, some less, but I can guarantee there is a sandwich for every mood here.
My husband and I have tried a plethora of sandwiches in the past couple weeks, to make sure we had enough data to properly curate a comprehensive look at the sandwich scene. I know, it was a hard job, but no sacrifice is too great for the blog! I joined the ranks of those who take pictures of their food before they eat, feeling like a heel and taking up more and more of my iphone internal storage, but I finally feel like we have a decently-large feel for the types of sandwiches that have tickled our tastebuds in our area. Just to be clear, our tastings have been limited to our city, Viana do Castelo. Every region and town has their own favorite sammy, and I would have to travel for weeks and gain dozens of pounds to try them all!
Tier 1 – It’s A’right – The Fast-Food Sandwich
We all have memories of going to McD’s or BK when we’re kids. The portions? Huge. The taste? Addicting. The ketchup? Unlimited! And of course, you get to play in the playground or playstation and slide into a ball pit, into which adults were hesitant to join you for some reason. Fast-forward to today, where a pretty basic hamburger costs more than an entire meal did back twenty years ago and still leaves you feeling empty. Where have all the pickles gone? And the playplaces have turned a sickly shade of greige that’s more disturbing than Grimace. Thankfully the ketchup is still unlimited though.
While we’ve placed Portuguese fast-food sandwiches on the bottom of our tier system, I’m pleased to say that the average sandwich gets a substantial upgrade when it crosses the Atlantic ocean. Unfortunately, the price stays largely the same, but the portion sizes are significantly larger. I ordered a Double Arch burger (I think you can guess the restaurant), and it was so large I actually could not finish it! Jack loyally dove into the breach to help. You can get your Big Mac from any McDonalds here, but there are an eclectic mix of other sandwiches to try. One of my favorites is the McPrego, a twist on a classic Portuguese dish (a steak patty served with an egg, rice and chips or french fries). The McPrego has two beef patties on a chewy, fresh-feeling bread roll, with a light mayo sauce. Very simple, very filling, and very tasty. You can also get a McPrego com Ovo, which is all of the above with a runny-yolked egg placed gently atop the beef patties so that your first bite gives you all of that golden egg yolk to soak up with the soft bun. There’s also a McBifana, McVeggie (which is genuinely delicious), and McRoyal, which sounds more exciting than it actually is. There are plenty of healthy options at McDonald’s here in Viana do Castelo, from cabbage soup to feta cheese pasta salad. The food, in general, feels less greasy and ‘heavy’ than it does in the States, and is far less salted.
I have a less glowing report about Burger King. It’s still expensive, and just kind of meh. A Double-Cheese Bacon XXL burger from the King will cost about $13.50 USD. No fries or drinks included. For that price, you can get a nice, complete Portuguese meal from any cafe in the area, with a Super Bock beer thrown in.
The only other fast-food chain from the USA I’ve seen here is KFC, but I’m not a big enough fan of fried chicken to bother going.
In short, the fast-food sandwiches in Portugal are alright. I’d actually go for McDonalds for quality here, which is a shocking thing to say. On to the next tier.
Tier 2 – Keeping It Real – The Simple Sammy
Plenty of cafes serve this basic model of sandwich, which took some getting used to for my American palate, as there’s usually no ‘binding sauce’ like mayo or mustard. Ketchup doesn’t get a look-in. A classic here is the chorizo sandwich. It’s served on a fresh baguette or ciabatta roll, and it’s just bread and sliced chorizo. If I’m lucky, there’s a smidgen of lettuce thrown in for color. Is it a bit dry? Yeah. Is it tasty? Hell yeah! This sandwich doesn’t rely on anything but fresh and real ingredients and it’s a thing of beauty. It doesn’t need a garlic/barbeque/aioli to do the talking for it. It doesn’t often come with sides, but when it’s an actual footlong you don’t need a lot of extra food. Other common simple fillings include ham, cheese, and locally-cured prosciutto. Eating this, you feel like a medieval peasant discovering the concept of putting meat between bread, hundreds of years before some funky Earl came along and claimed he’d invented the thing and named it after himself (like a nob).
Another variant of this type of thing is the Tosta. We’d call it a grilled cheese, but often ham is added to a local farmer’s cheese (a Tosta Mista) to give a zingy, preservative-free crunch that is a definite upgrade on the ones I used to make. The bread is fresh, the cheese is drippy, and the ham has just enough grease to add flavor. There are endless variants of the tosta, with every cafe having their own unique spin on the concept.
Ideally, these sandwiches need a glass of local wine or beer to wash down. While you pour yourself something bubbly, I’ll move on to the next tier.
Tier 3 – The Sandwich Complex – So Many Ingredients
I now present you with my personal favorite kind of Portuguese sandwich – the kind where you feel like the cook just started throwing random ingredients on a fresh roll and added the sauce to his left. Oddly enough, the first one that comes to mind is called The American Sandwich, and I can truthfully say that I’ve never had this in the States once. Ham, hard-boiled eggs, tomato, arugula, pickled onion, and a generous splash of lemony aioli don’t scream USA to me, but hey, I’ll happily demolish two of these any day!
Then there’s the sandwiches that pile on every type of lunchmeat you’ve ever heard of–salami, turkey breast, roast beef, prosciutto, ham, chorizo, and more. Arby’s must have gotten their Meat Mountain Sandwich idea from these Portuguese cafes!
Since we’ve counted fast-food burgers as sandwiches already, I’ll allow the loaded burgers that one can find in a few select restaurants, mostly those that dabble in the craft beer scene. Onion rings? Absolutely! Bacon? You’d better believe it. And let’s not forget those pickled red onions. Most sandwiches aren’t served with a side, but I always order a bowl of crispy, hand-cut batatas fritas (fried potatoes). You never know if you’re getting traditional french fries, wedges, or thick-cut, crispy potato chips, but they’re all delicious, and at least I don’t have to choose between them all.
And, speaking of fried potatoes, they’re the traditional accompaniment for the final, boss-battle tier of sandwiches….
Tier 4 – The King of Sandwiches – The Francesinha
Where to begin with this beast of a sandwich? I think it’s safe to say we don’t have quite the equivalent in the USA. The closest thing might be the Illinois Horseshoe of Springfield, Illinois. Every restaurant has their own tweaked version that is a death-bed confession level of secret, but you start with two fresh, thick slices of bread. Into this bread you put all the meats (salami, ham, and sausage are common), along with a thin steak or a hamburger patty. Don’t forget the cheese! You put this concoction into a fire-safe basin and smother it in a beer-cheese-tomato gravy, then pop the whole thing into the oven. Some folks put a sunny-side-up egg on top as well. Once the sandwich and gravy are molten, you add more gravy, put a mountain of french fries on the side to soak up the gravy, and add an additional pitcher of gravy. Clearly, running out of gravy was nightmare-fuel to generations of Portuguese cooks past. Then you have to try to eat it all. I freely confess that I can’t do it. This is the point in the meal that I invite everyone at the table to dive in because the portion is honestly big enough.
How did anybody think of such a sandwich? The inspiration was, unsurprisingly, French. In the 1950’s, a Portuguese chef named Daniel Silva enjoyed the Croque Monsieur (a toasted cheese and ham sandwich) while in France and thought ‘I can do one better’ (according to legend). He then busted out this behemoth of a sandwich back in his hometown of Porto, Portugal, naming it ‘Little French Women’ or ‘Frenchies’ as an homage to the decadence and assertiveness of the French women he met (https://foodandroad.com/francesinha-porto/).
If ever you come to Portugal, I strongly recommend setting aside some time, energy, money and gastronomic room for the francesinha for the sandwich you’ll never forget.
Before I sign off, there is a gaping hole in my sandwich research, which I fully acknowledge. There’s no review of the bifana, which is a quintessentially-Portuguese sandwich of spiced and simmered pork, slapped on a fresh bun with plenty of gravy to soak up. The best bifanas are in Porto, I’ve been told, and I wanted to give this sandwich the space and respect it deserves. Maybe I’ll do Part Two some other time!
Hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look at the sandwich scene! Let me know which one you’d try!
Ciao-ciao!
5 Comments
Wry informative and entertaining blog, Anna! I love learning things about other people! 🙂
Wry informative and entertaining blog, Anna! I love learning things about other people! 🙂
Thank you, Sonya! I hope to write about a lot of other food experiences soon 🙂
I’m hungry now! I love your writing, my dear ❤️. I also want to know more about the pork sandwich. Pulled pork is a favorite of mine, so I’m curious to hear what the Portuguese do with pork.
Miss you 🤗
Thanks! I really want to get an authentic bifana so I guess I’ll have to go to Porto! Miss you too! Come by sometime