Quite A Dame

On another blustery Saturday day, I made my way to Dufferin and Dupont to check out something special. No, not Galleria Mall. Though my quick walk through the centre showed that its various businesses were still somehow hanging on. Geary Road seemed to be more industrial than anything else, but there were some retail stores including Porta Nova cafe. This rather spacious restaurant, I guess you got more room inside warehouse-like spaces, served typically meat-heavy Portuguese dishes. But I was here for a specialty from the titular Porto city in Northern Portugal, the Francesinha.

Don't let the translation of "Little French Girl" fool you. There's nothing delicate or dainty about this dish. The name is from its inspiration: the croque-madame. The version here ran $17.70 but you got a huge concoction of bread, steak, cheese, and ham. The whole thing was topped with an over-easy egg and slathered with tomato sauce. And just in case you might be still hungry, it came with a side of fries. All that was missing from the traditional version was some sausage.

What can I say, this dish sticks to your ribs. The strong, salty flavour of the ham and cheese cut through the sauce. It wasn't a great cut of beef but adequate given the price. Amazingly, I did not end up over-stuffed. But I did skip breakfast in anticipation of the calorie hit. I don't know if I'll eat this dish more than once or twice a year, but the other equally cheap dishes here are tempting.