The Fire Down Below

Today may be a day burned into my gastronomic memory. I have plans to make Portuguese Peas. The recipe is simple. Soffrito is made first. Then peas, pimentos, asparagus, ham, (here comes the fire) and chorizo are added. Several eggs are cracked whole on top and the whole thing is baked in the oven until the eggs are poached. Parsley is added at the end as a garnish. Dig in, here comes the fire and the frantic search for baking soda to extinguish the fire down below. The chorizo is not imported but it is Gaspar's from New Bedford and should be very good as all things from New Bedford are. Oh, to once more have a chance to eat at Antonios on Coggleshall Street in New Bedford and have the Shrimp Antonio. Imagine shrimp and Manila clams cooked in a very garlicy marinara sauce with all of the Portuguese pops you can eat to mop up the gravy. There is no better place in the world to order fish and shellfish than New Bedford. Margaret's in Fairhaven is a close second and just across the river. Turk's on route 6 in Fairhaven is best for a mixed fried scallop and clam plate.
The history of New Bedford and Fairhaven is interesting. Fairhaven is almost all Nowegian and New Bedford is Portuguese and French. The French were in New Bedford first, then the Portuguese and Norwegians arrived and couldn't decide who would have to live with the French and their unique tolerance of things not French. So the tossed a coin. The Portuguese lost.
The Portuguese may have won out after all. When it comes to food, it is good to live near the French. I have seen a fat Frenchman. I have seen a fat Portuguese. I have never seen a fat Nowegian. That may be because of the Scandinavian attitude towards food which is:
1. The Danes live to eat.
2. The Norwegians eat to live.
3. The Swedes eat to drink.

As a side note, the reason Antonios has no apostrophy is that it is not owned by someone named Antonio. It is simply that all of the cooks are named Antonio. The restaurant also has a cappuchino machine as big as a Volkswagen Beetle. They also have draft beer in one quart mugs and the Portuguese beer Cristal is as good as Heineken's. If you feel like skipping the food and simply sipping your way through town, there is the Irish Immigrant Bar. It is a good place to go if you have lost your fistfight and looking for a new one.