CombatCritic's TravelValue™: Alvor

Showing posts with label Alvor. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Alvor (Algarve) Portugal: Pizza, Pasta, Meat, Fish, Or Salad, You Cannot Go Wrong At Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli

Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli

EM531 1 5a

8500-013

Alvor Portugal

Phone: 937 696 093

Prices: €€€€

Our doggy has cancer, so he needs a CT scan in Portimáo every 3 months, so we stop by Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli for lunch while he has the procedure and wakes up.

I found out that their 'winter' hours (likely October through April) are different from my last visit in August, so we had to wait an hour until 12pm when they now open for lunch. No biggy!

I brought my wife this time as she recently returned from Napoli, the city in Italy, where she has been taking care of her mom. Gianluca greeted us once again and the two of them chatted in Italian about Napoli, his hometown, while I sat there and picked up some of the conversation ... Italians talk too fast for me to catch everything.

As it was one of the rare warm, sunny days in the Algarve, NOT, we sat on the patio. The service was fast and friendly and the food, once again, delicioso ... Mama Mia ... HOOAH!

I knew how big the portions were, so we did not go nuts with the antipasti, ordering one Bruschetta (€5) and sharing the four pieces, one with tomato, two with marinated, grilled melanzane (eggplant), and the other with melted gorgonzola and parmigiano. Very nice.

My wife had the Fettuccine (€14) in a gorgonzola and rucola pesto with pancetta, mushrooms, onion, and walnuts. It was superb!

It is not easy finding weal dishes anymore, so I got the Veal Parmigiano (€11) with a side of spaghetti tossed with their wonderful ragù instead of the chips (aka fries) and side salad, which was huge. The large cutlet was coated with breadcrumbs and perfectly fried, then topped with ragù, grated parmigiano, and fresh mozzarella (upon my request) before being baked until melted. I was in heaven.

One of the great things about Napoli, beside the excellent food and fair prices, is the fact that they are very willing to work with you on substitutions. My wife hates tomatoes - yes, she was born in Sicily and grew up in Naples - so they altered the normal bruschetta toppings. The veal parmigiana comes topped with parmigiano, not mozzarella as I became accustomed to in the US, but Gianluca did not flinch when I asked him if could add it and did not even charge extra.

Gianluca's dad came out after our meal and reminded me about my promise to bring him some Antico Toscano cigars, made famous by Clint Eastwood in his 'spaghetti' westerns like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which were actually filmed in Italy. I promised to bring some cigars from Ayamonte, Spain (much closer to where we live than Alvor) where I buy my Toscano cigars and much cheaper than in Portugal, but I forgot ... OOPS! I will try to remember next time.

In a nutshell, excellent, authentic food at very reasonable prices with great, friendly service, that's amore, I mean Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli ... OOH-RAH!

CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli A Very Rare 10 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Spot On My 'WALL OF FAME' ... More Bombs Are Better!

Ten Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians:

HOOAH!: "Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique like "ROO-YAH" or "HAL-A-LOO-YAH", we said 'screw it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH!" - CombatCritic

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Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Alvor, Algarve, Portugal: Mama Mia, That's A Spicy, Delicious Ragu!

Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli

EM531 1 5a 8500-013 Alvor Portugal

Phone: 937 696 093

Facebook:

Prices: €€€€

Real Neapolitans, making delicious Italian food in a comfortable setting, what more can you ask for?

They open at 11:00 for lunch, but, when I arrived, there was someone inside, but the door was locked, so I called to double check on their hours. Gianluca, the owner, answered the phone and apologized profusely for being late because he had to take his mother to the hospital, a very valid reason.

My wife is Sicilian, but grew up in Napoli, where I was assigned to the NATO HQ and where we met, so Gianluca and I had much to talk about. They were ready to serve me by 11:30 and Gianluca personally explained the menu and took my order.

Starting with a l'insalata Caprese (€6), it was tastefully presented with six thick slices of tomato topped with fresh mozzarella, dried, not fresh, basil and a stylish drizzle of balsamic vinegar on the side. It was very good, but fresh basil leaves would have been more traditional and the small amount of vinegar mixed with the EVO was not only untraditional, but unnecessary.

I know that restaurants have to cater to mostly British tastes, especially in Alvor and other tourist areas, so I will not ding them for the faux paus. I also noticed that they prepare their spaghetti carbonara with cream, a big no-no in Italia, but you find the same thing in the UK, so no biggie.

For my main, the Cotoletta alla Caprese (€12) looked intriguing, but I did not expect another room-temperature caprese salad on top of the veal cutlet, I thought the tomatoes would be crushed and cooked with melted fresh mozzarella on top. Much to my surprise, it was delicious and a fresh choice on a warm May day. The cutlet normally comes with fries and salad, but I asked if I could have a side of spaghetti with ragu sauce and Gianluca was happy to oblige. The side of pasta was very generous and the sauce was absolutely delicious, one of the best I have ever had with a smidgen of peperoncino, giving it a nice bite with every bite ... YUMMY!

The total came to €22, including the basket of bread and a large bottle of cold, bubbly San Pellegrino water, maybe a tad high for lunch, considering you can get a three-course lunch in a Portuguese cantina for €8 - €10, but I have to assume that the menu is used for both lunch and dinner.

I have to say that it was one of the best, fairly authentic Italian meals I have had in Portugal and we will not hesitate to make the hour drive from Olhão to return very soon ... Mama Mia!

CombatCritic Gives Ristorante & Pizzeria Napoli A Stellar 9 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

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