Honra-- Lisbon, Portugal

Ola da todos! Still in Lisbon, and this time I ate at a high quality, hip restaurant called Honra, which serves traditional Portugese food. I expected it to be a little old fashioned, but I was shocked when I walked in and saw modern steel walls with giant felt pillows on sofas. The menu was a beautiful sheet of smooth wood with cool graphics. Also there was a cute little buzzer on the table which could call the waiter or bill, or just cancel the call. I started with the grilled lamb chops served with broccoli and parsley fries. The lamb was extremely tender, and perfectly salted. The broccoli was nicely buttered, and the fries were very hot and crispy and tasted great in the homemade ketchup. My dad ordered the grouper, which was very tender and well seasoned.  It came with boiled potatoes, which seems to be really popular around portugal-- and they taste great with salt!  Good to know. Also, my mom had her AMAZING melt-in-your-mouth pork cheeks, which came with a spicy turnip top and a delicious, sweet rice and bean side.  The pork cheeks and rice came in a tomato based broth, which was very comforting.  Unfortunately, they forgot to include the turnip top.  What was cool, is that all her parts of the meal came in little metal pots. To conclude the meal, I ordered a mix of pear and tangerine ice cream.  It was actually sorbet, but the presentation was great-- it came in a tall glass with mint leaves on top.  Both ice creams were very good, and the sweetness of the pear and tanginess of the tangerine clashed together perfectly.  Overall, a very impressive meal and so far my favorite in Portugal. I give Honra 4 pineapples, till next time!

-tdg