Mainland Portugal has 586 miles of coastline, so it hardly is surprising that seafood is an integral part of Portuguese cuisine.
Seafood also is a mainstay of Marisqueira Mediterranean Bistro, which opened last July in a former Italian restaurant in Aspinwall. "Marisqueira" means "seafood house."
Co-owners of the 80-seat restaurant are Francisco Buxareo, a native of Uruguay who lives in McCandless, and Claudio Pereira, who, although born in New York, was raised partly in Portugal and lives on the South Side. His father, Antonio, owns Mallorca and Ibiza on the South Side, where Buxareo worked for several years.
Buxareo's native country, while Spanish-speaking, borders Brazil, which was colonized by the Portuguese. Buxareo says it is common for Uruguayans to speak Portunol, an unsystematic combination of Portuguese and Spanish. He describes the culture of his native land as "half Spanish, half Portuguese, with an Italian accent" courtesy of an influx of Italian immigrants in the early-20th century.
Buxareo's ethnic background is evenly split in quarters: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and French; the restaurant he co-owns with Pereira features a variety of Mediterranean dishes as diverse as his heritage.
"We like to have a bit of everything," says Pereira, 28. The menu, in Portuguese and English, includes an extensive array of seafood, beef, pork, lamb, veal, poultry and vegetarian entrees from Portugal and other Mediterranean cultures.
Among them are Vitela a Madeirense, veal in a madiera sauce; Frango a Lisboeta, chicken with prosciutto, asparagus and fresh mozzarella cheese; and Bife a Portuguesa, a pan-seared New York strip steak with ham, fried egg and fresh-cut, round fried potatoes.
Executive chef Jose Belasco, who has had 10 years experience, presides over the kitchen, which also produces an array of appetizers, soups, salads and desserts. Pereira has worked with Belasco for years.
"I trust them enough with the kitchen," Pereira says of the kitchen staff. "Unless an emergency comes up, I like to let them have their space."
Pereira worked as a bartender for about three years in Portugal, then moved back to the United States to work for his father at Mallorca. There, he worked at everything from washing dishes to cooking. With his bartending experience, he helped set up the bar at Ibiza and was manager there.
Buxareo, 59, came to this country in 1985 from Uruguay, and has spent 36 years in the restaurant business, mostly at the front of the house, including stints at restaurants in Pittsburgh, Toronto and San Francisco. While he has cooked at tables for customers in the past, he cooks at home "for pleasure" for his wife and teen daughter. Two older children are grown.
He met Pereira at Mallorca, and says he joined forces with the younger man to open their own restaurant, because "no one wanted to hire me. I can't retire, so someone said, 'Open your own restaurant.' "
Buxareo notes that "bistro" might have once meant "hurry" in Russian. Urban legend has it that Russian soldiers occupying France in the 19th century might have yelled "bystro" to Parisian restaurateurs. While Marisqueira is not a fast-food restaurant, its owners uphold the European bistro tradition in some menu items and in the decor of warm coral and yellow walls, cozy dark woods and wrought-iron accents of wine racks and candlesticks.
Mariscada a Bulhao Pato (Seafood a la Bulhao Pato)
Marisqueira Mediterranean Bistro pays homage to its Portuguese theme with a variety of seafood and other dishes. One of its most popular entrees is Mariscada a Bulhao Pato, a seafood dish named after 19th-century Portuguese poet Bulhao Pato.
The owners say it is common for Europeans to name dishes after writers, because Europeans revere them. European writers have had a relationship with restaurants, where they would write, eat, meet with each other and discuss literature and news of the day.
So, when Pato tasted a dish of clams and rhapsodized over it more than 100 years ago at the Rua da Prata restaurant, the restaurateur decided to name the clams dish after him, and a tradition was born.
"Now, we do the same, but with all kinds of seafood," Marisqueira co-owner Francisco Buxareo says of Mariscada a Bulhao Pato, or Seafood a al Bulhao Pato. The restaurant staff prepares this signature dish with a variety of seafood. "It's pretty popular," he says.
Flavored with cilantro, this classic rendering of seafood results in a fresh-tasting dish that is quick to prepare.
In sharing the recipe, Buxareo says it is important not to overcook the seafood, although he says Americans like their seafood cooked longer.
"When the clams open up, it's ready," he says.
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 2 ounces olive oil 6 ounces beer 5 ounces clam juice Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 2 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 9 mussels 3 clams 2 small lobster tails 2 large bay scallops 3/4 cup tiny shrimp Hot cooked rice, for serving Fresh cooked peas, for serving White wine, for serving
Saute the garlic in the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the beer and clam juice; season with salt and pepper.
When the mixture comes to a boil, add the butter and cilantro. Then, add the mussels, clams, lobster and bay scallops.
Bring the mixture to a boil again, and let boil until the shellfish open.
Then, add the shrimp and cook for about 1 minute or slightly longer if desired, being careful not to overcook the shrimp.
Place the mixture in a covered dish to place at the table. At the table, remove the seafood from the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon. Serve with the rice and peas and a white wine. Buxereo suggests a chardonnay or a Montevelho, a Portuguese white wine made from three grape varieties.
Makes 2 servings.
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Marisqueira Mediterranean Bistro blends ethnicities in Aspinwall eatery