Tavira

Tavira Restaurant Review:

By far and away the most under-represented cuisine in the metro area is that of Portugal. Maybe folks are too used to the kick of Thai or the heft of Tex-Mex to demand something that is both unusual and yet familiar. That's what makes a destination like Tavira so comforting and desirable. Once you're settled into one of its three intimate dining areas (try the one with the fireplace on chilly evenings), you need not jump over culinary hurdles to walk away well satisfied. Don't skip over the caldo verde, a typical Portuguese soup of potatoes and sausage that will warm you down to your toes. And the grilled chicken, tender as a cloud, has a spicy pepper sauce rub and a mountainous side of divine freshly-made potato chips. Other entrées skip from beef to seafood to pasta to arroz valenciana (like paella) and all lead to a grand finale: dessert. Only one really merits the calories: the bread pudding, as dense as cheesecake and laden with custardy orange tenderness.