Page 104 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2023 LISBON EDITION

BAHR

Mostly, our travel dining focuses on well-re- Reservations.” Mary shrugged and simply said,
viewed family-owned eateries that serve tradi- “Look it up.” Why didn’t I think of that?
tional fare. Usually once or twice during a long Lusophones, I learned, are peoples and na-
stay, we splurge on a top-notch, exceptional din- tions that recognize Portuguese as an official
ing destination. language. There are a lot more than you might
In Lisbon, we chose a hotel restaurant, BAHR, expect. After all, Spain and Portugal split the
in the barrio Chiado. It ranks high on many best- New World in the 15th century. So now there
of-Lisbon lists for its creative menu by chef are 270 million Lusophones spread across 10
Bruno Rochas and stunning rooftop views of the sovereign states and territories - Angola, Brazil,
city. Their tagline also piqued our interest: “In Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Macau, Mozam-
this space, visitors are treated to a modern and bique, East Timor, the Azores archipelago, the
informal atmosphere, to which the best of Por- island of Madeira, Cochin, and Goa in India, Sin-
tuguese cuisine with Lusophony influences gapore, and Malacca to name a few. What the
added.” good folks at BAHR were saying, I think, is that
I’ve never had Lusophony. Never saw it on a their dishes may have influences from any of the
menu. I wondered if Anthony Bourdain once aforementioned countries in Lisophonia. I think.
swallowed a whole raw Lusophony on “No They welcomed us into the spacious dining

104 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2023