From Lisbon with Love 92 South Bay Accent REVIEW B y S u s a n H a t h a w a y Spanish food has been having a long moment, but the cuisine from its neighbor Portugal might as well be from Liberia when it comes to awareness among American diners. However, gifted young chefs David Costa and Jessica Carreira are changing this oversight; reservations at their Portuguese restaurant Adega are now the hottest ticket in the South Bay. Of course, it didn’t hurt when Adega was awarded a Michelin star in the fall of 2016 even though it had only opened the previous year, just the second such honor for a Portuguese dining spot in the country and, remarkably, the very first star from Michelin for a San Jose restaurant. Visitors are swooning over the modern, carefully crafted dishes at this smallish, comfortably contemporary dinner house located on a sketchy part of Alum Rock Avenue in what’s called Little Portugal. This is the neighborhood where pastry chef Carreira grew up before culinary school and major success at a Michelin one-star in Lisbon. There she met partner Costa, now Adega’s executive chef, and they later realized their restaurant dreams in partnership with Carreira’s parents, local importers of Portuguese wines. Admittedly, classic Portuguese cuisine isn’t sophisticated, leaning toward seafood, sausages and stews, but in the hands of a talented pair like Costa and Carreira, these traditionally based dishes show off pristine ingredients and modern creativity. Plus, many visitors consider Adega to be very well priced among its Michelin brethren. Consider the delightfully tender, slightly smoky octopus salad, just $10, with its tangy red pepper sauce lightened up by accompanying greens. Those who avoid octopus due to the ease with which the meat turns rubbery are finding anything but at Adega. A bedrock of Portuguese cuisine is salted cod, bacalhau, and Adega’s fluffy, creamy-center bacalhau fritters with greens are airy and utterly addictive. But the rib-sticking nature of Portuguese food proudly emerges in another starter that features braised, shredded oxtail suffused with rich bone marrow matched with mushrooms and creamy potatoes. Par- T h e D i s h o n H o t L o c a l E a t e r i e s COURTESY OF ADEGA Michelin-starred Adega delights diners with Iberian comfort food.
South Bay Accent - June/July 2017
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