I went to test out a suggested restaurant for the one seafood dish I've been wanting to try since my Portuguese adventures started. The dish is nothing I've ever seen before in my life and I've eaten a lot of fruits from the sea. I will reveal the dish in my "Ode To My Last Night In Portugal", so stay tuned. This lunch includes Ameijoa a Bulhao Pato (rear) and Gamba a la Aguillo (front) with bread soaked in garlic butter. I feel sorry for the people I will be talking to over the next couple of days with so much garlic! This ambience of this restaurant was perfect for an afternoon of indulgence. I walked in to see a portrait of a man, presumably Ramiro, observing the dining room, while coolers and tanks preserved rock lobster, crayfish, clams, tiger prawns, shrimp, crab and many other fruits de mer. I sat down and was quickly served a tea with steamed milk as I decided on my order. The garlic shrimp were still sizzling in the garlic butter when they were placed in front of me. I could smell the garlic roasting as I watched the bubbles settle. As I waited for the shrimp to cool, I observed an elderly couple rub each others' hands between bites of their bread, business partners in suits pouring each other a glass of wine from their second bottle, and waiters rushing quietly and attentively as their patrons cracked into their shells. The slamming behind me was curious enough to warrant a glance revealing a man pounding a mini-conch-looking shell onto a plastic board to access the goods inside. That's when the waiter placed a mallot, a board and a forked skewer in front of the two patrons beside me who were waiting for their crab to arrive. All the pounding, the bustling, the steaming plates of seafood, the overflowing pints of beer, and the hum of the conversation was the perfect atmosphere to enjoy delicious Portuguese seafood dishes. As I started to fork the shrimp, the clams arrived in a cilantro-infused garlic butter. I could smell the cilantro fill my olfactories and feel my tastebuds tingle in anticipation. The food was incredible, the setting was superb and the price, reasonable. I will miss access to such quality.

The rich aroma of red wine surrounds as soon as you enter into a large, open room with dark wood floors and ceiling, cool stone walls, and a partial view into an old equipment room. As much grocery store as it is winery, some 80 food products pack tables, shelves and coolers, including an extensive line of Hop Kiln label mustards, grapeseed oils, vinegars, pestos, dressings and sauces (if you sample products, like a cough-syrup strong Hop Kiln raspberry Pinot Noir chocolate sauce, or sake wasabi mustard, wait until after tasting the wines). Do linger along the long wall of mesmerizing black-and-white circa '50s photos chronicling the property's past; they're worth a visit even for teetotalers. Vineyards total 46 acres of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio; the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are used for the reserve wines. Other grapes are contracted, such as the Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane, Malbec and Cinsault that comprise the juicy 2006 Big Red. On my visit, the bar was also pouring 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, 2006 Chardonnay, Thousand Flowers (a slightly sweet, floral proprietary white blend), 2006 Zinfandel, 2006 Grenache, and 2006 Rushin' River Red.