The purveyors of Adega, a fine dining Portuguese restaurant, has brought to us a more casual dining experience. Located at 399 S 1st Street, the bustling atmosphere was accentuated with high ceilings, stylish and sophisticated white walls and a blue and light-gray color scheme. One can expect consistent food quality, options for everyone and a great meal without all the fussiness. I found the service to be helpful and friendly and I greatly enjoyed my meal.
https://petiscosadega.com/
Here are some of the things I've enjoyed.
Shrimp Turnover, outside. The outer dough was thin and coated in a fine crumb. The fry was done perfectly, and it came to the table hot and crispy.
Shrimp Turnover, inside. Filled with fresh pieces of snappy shrimp, the creamy sauce held everything together, and added a nice savory seafood taste to each bite.
Octopus Salad. My guess is this octopus was cooked in an emersion circulator. Each piece had a wonderful, tender but still toothsome texture and was a dream to eat. The seasoning was simple but elegant with fresh parsley, garlic, red bell pepper, olive oil and salt.
Beef Tongue in Tomato Sauce. This was another easy-eating dish. The meat was cooked perfectly. It was tender, juicy and succulent with the savory, rich, very complex tomato sauce. I thought I could use leftovers in a sandwich the next day, but there were no leftovers to take home.
Blood Sausage. This is a difficult to find item, so I was very happy to see it on the menu. I was also pleased with the taste and texture. It was not so minerally that it would put off anyone who is not a fan of blood or liver, but it had enough to keep me satisfied and was balanced with other texture and flavor components like rice, raisin and garlic.
Meat Croquette. These had the same crispy, fine-crumb coating as the shrimp turnovers, but these were filled with finely shredded pork. Not saucy at all, but the meat still had enough fat to feel juicy while chewing. The mustard on the side added a nice tangy balance to these savory croquettes.
Duck Rice. This dish made me think of a paella, of sorts. There were crispy bits of rice that added a very nice texture. The rice absorbed all the flavorful liquid it was cooked in, and the bits of duck, chorizo, onion and fresh herbs turned something that would normally be considered a side, into an entree dish on its own.
Cream Tart. One of my favorite foods is cream. Sounds like a silly thing, but my favorite Asian treats as a kid included whipped cream with fruit. This light and gently sweetened dessert reminded me of that but was in a form I never experienced before. I'm guessing some gelatin was used to create a texture that was creamy but still held together enough to be cleanly sliced. The blueberry syrup was also not cloyingly sweet and added a delicious tartness to balance all that cream. The sugar cookie crumb on the bottom was a nice crunchy base. I enjoyed this dish immensely.
The vast options on the menu have enticed me to plan my next dining adventure. I look forward to trying the other offerings and also repeating the dessert offering.
