The swirling tile work, the stone face, the lanterns, and the date: I have no idea what these things signify. But the whole arrangement looks vaguely Portuguese, don’t you think? (And there used to be a lovely Portuguese restaurant right around the corner, but I’m not sure that means anything.)
There are reasons why Alfama closed. 1) It was overpriced: Portuguese food is often best when it is simple. It's not like there were some special expensive quality ingredients: the bacalao is ultra-cheap, it comes from Newark. 2) It was too stuffy for the neighborhood. They should have tried the UES, where you can charge for overbearing service. 3) It was impossible to pick a good wine at a good price.
ReplyDeletePão on Spring St. lives on. Same food pretty much, probably the same wine, but it comes together "right."
Oh, no: I really liked Alfama and always had a fun time there!
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