It’s July 1st and we’re looking at Canada Day through a much different lens this year.  This day always takes the Toronto Food Blog back to a semi-legendary food memory from the pre-blog days that goes a little something like this…

When my wife and I first moved in together, we lucked into an enormous apartment on Landsowne Ave just south of St. Clair.  Picking up the keys on July 1st, new local Cantanhede O Bairradino Churrasqueira was the site of our very first meal at the new place.  It quickly became our go-to for perfectly-smoky BBQ chickens and delightfully-oily roast potatoes.

And even though we visit less frequently these days (now that we live on the eastside of town), it’s just awesome to see that very little has changed here in our old neck of the woods.  It’s still all business & service with a smile.

These guys are doing amazing things with seafood.  Pexie Grelhado changes daily; the entire fish always finished with olive oil, lemon and garlic.  Mariscada is totally off the hook.  This seafood rice is loaded with shrimp, clams and squid.  The tomato broth is not overly salty despite being de la mer.  Cataplana de Marisco is another must-try; a classic Portuguese seafood stew (minus the rice).  Speaking of stews…

…there are a variety available on the daily.  Porco a Alentejana is one of our of favourites.  A huge serving of pork and clams infused with black olives and lemon.  Coelho a Cacador is a hearty rabbit stew that has a great braise on the meat, served in a peppery red-wine gravy.  They have Feijoada (a bean stew laced with beef & tripe).  And don’t sleep on the Cozido a Portuguesa which is combinacao of boiled meats & veg that goes really well with a sidecar of potatoes.

#lunchunder10bucks is also totally doable if you stick to their sandwich menu.  Grilled pork, steak or chicken comes loaded with sautéed onions and peppers and is served on fresh papo secos.

We strongly recommend adding a serving of Parisienne Potatoes to whatever you order, as they make for great leftovers the next day.  Truth be told, we’ve been trying to recreate these  exact potatoes going on 15 years now and can never get it quite right.  Some things are just best left to the professionals.

Cantanhede is a city in the Coimbra District, in the Centro Region of Portugal