Oh little french lady...

Recent times have seen the creation of a broad range of arterial-busting dishes.  From the infamous Luther Burger to the cringe worthy KFC double down, we are inundated with companies trying to outdo each other for these nefarious assaults on our national waistline.  To think that these blatant assaults on arterial integrity are groundbreaking and contemporary is to be gravely mistaken.  We of the New World must sit back in awe at Old World Portuguese specialty known as the Francesinha.

In the 1960’s Daniel da Silva, an immigrant from France, decided to share his love of Croque-monsieur with his new countrymen.  Instead of using the typical French ingredients, it came to him to adapt to his new surroundings.  Using specialties from the area such as linguiça, chouriço, port wine, and beef cutlet, Daniel da Silva gave birth to the Francesinha; Portuguese for little French lady.  Francesinhas are far from ubiquitous in Portugal however.  One can only find these harbingers of death in the area around Porto, Portugal; a city 3 hours north of Lisbon.

Upon my arrival in Porto after a 3 hour bus ride from Lisbon, I was eager to find the hostel, drop off my things and take on the Francesinha.  With no map of Porto available at the bus station, I knew finding out hostel would be highly frustrating.  Due to an almost indiscernible local dialect the people on the street were of no help so all we could do was walk in the direction of their various pointing gestures.  The pointing led us to a holiday inn, and while I felt bad to ask them for directions to another place to stay, the receptionist’s Brazilian dialect made life much easier.  Porto is a very hilly city, probably enough to make up for any other dish but the 4500 calorie (on average) Francesinha.  Exhausted and frustrated we arrived in the hostel and got a nice description of things to do around the city.  Locals have a saying: Porto works, Braga Prays, Coimbra studies, and Lisbon gets the money.  Porto has historically been that of the working class, so while devoid of major tourist attractions, the city offers an astonishing aura of realism and normalcy compared to that of major tourist destinations.  Once our guide told us where to go and what to do he asked if we had any questions.  With a hint of excitement in my eyes I asked him “Cadê as Francesinhas” (where are the Francesinhas) and was met with a smirk and a point around the corner.  Quickly my friends and I made way to the restaurant only to be stunned that it was closed!  My heart sank but I would not give up on this Francesinha.  While pondering, my gaze went upwards where an older gentlemen was standing on his balcony enjoying the sights.  Startled by my attempt to get his attention he looked down at me with a puzzled expression, straining to hear what I was saying to him.  “CADÊ AS FRANCESINHAS!?”  His puzzled expression immediately mirrored the hotel receptionist’s smirk and with a light laugh he pointed around the next corner.  Tucked in an ally was a quaint little restaurant that happened to be having a 5 Euro special on Francesinhas with fries.  Yes…we were not only expected to eat a Francesinha but we were given a massive bowl of fried potatoes to go with it.  Eventually we all powered through our Francesinhas and fries only to be immediately overcome by a feeling that epitomizes lethargy.  The world seemed to move in slow motion and all thoughts dwelled upon crawling into the bed that while only 1 block away seemed unreachable unless carried.   

Francesinhas

Now what exactly is in a Francesinha you might ask and to that I answer magic….Anything that can drain Breanna McDonald (pictured below) of energy, deserves no less a designation.  For those looking for more tangible answers, the Francesinha is linguiça, chouriço, butter-fried beef cutlet, and ham stuffed in between two thick pieces of bread, covered in several slices of cheese, topped with a poached egg and covered with a sauce composed of beer, red wine, port wine, piri piri, crushed tomatoes and a partridge in a pear tree. 

Breanna after a Francesinha

While devoid the secrecy and centuries of history of the Pastel de Belém, the Francesinha is a must try culinary experience while in Portugal.  In case you are feeling self-loathing I will include a link to a recipe and before you ask...yes I have already replicated this masterpiece for my friends and no I wasn't mad at them.

FYI: Porto is Portuguese for Port and is the birthplace of Port Wine!