The weather had improved a bit but that was moot for the time being as I planned to spend the next few hours in culinary land – 100 Maneiras. Run by a chef known as “Portugal’s Gordon Ramsey”, including the fact he stars in their versions of “Hell’s Kitchen”, the restaurant is his crown jewel nestled on a side street of the bustling Bairo Alto.

I was warmly greeted by Mico, the sommelier and lucky for me, also my host. I took a seat on a comfy corner table and was soon offered some sparkling water while I decided on wine. My original plan to do the wine pairings no longer seemed as pleasing so I opted instead for a Portuguese sparkling wine Mico liked and said would go great with the first few courses.

Soon after an assortment of items appeared and Mico said “welcome to Bosnia.” He explained that the chef is originally from there and anytime someone enters into a home, they must be fed immediately. He said he wouldn’t tell me what anything was yet. It was meant to be discovered.

I started with the bread and assumed that was to be used as the vessel for the other items. The bread was warm and dense with a slight cheesy taste to it. I took what I assumed was some sort of dried meat, added this red paste (tapenade maybe?) and took in a bite – a lovely combination of flavors and textures. Next I tried scooping up what appeared to be some sort of butter – nice and creamy. I was pretty sure to the far right was a pate (not my favorite) so I only had a small bite of that. The final dish looked like some sort of melted butter – yep.

Mico soon came back and asked me what I thought each was. The meat turned out to be beef (Bosnia is mostly Muslim so no pork) that is dry aged and sliced. The tapenade was fermented red peppers and the butter was a special cream that greatly reduced from the original milk. And the pate was chicken liver.

The next bite was called “Bite a Beet” which consisted of both roasted beet and a beet puree with a dill cream underneath. I popped it in my mouth and the intense beet taste exploded through. A very nice amouse bouche.

Next up was my “cigar” – a favorite of the chef – except in edible form. Inside was dried shavings of pork and cheese wrapped around a cracker like texture. Very clever and delicious.

To this point I had not been given any silverware and this continued with the next dish called “The Mess.” Mico explained that it was to be eaten with my hands – a Caesar salad with truffles and Parmesan cheese. He said there’s no one way to eat and not to worry as they had all of the wet cloths I needed to clean up.

I first cleared away some of the top layer so I had a better sense of what to do. The cheese was light and very flavorful, and revealed what was basically a lettuce boat underneath. Aha that’s how I can do this. I picked up the bottom of the lettuce and bit into the center where now the truffle and anchovies came to the fore. Definitely one of the most interesting salad courses I had ever had.

After I cleaned up, I was presented with this beauty. Mico explained that in their bistro restaurant their most popular dish was the “spicy octopus” which had been distilled down into a couple of bites for this course.

I couldn’t quite get it in a single bite but the octopus was perfectly cooked and the avocado gel with the crispy cracker was nice as well.

On the other side was a “savory octopus mochi” that the chef had fallen in love with while visiting The Azores. The old woman who served it to him refused to give him the recipe so he eventually tried to recreate the best he could. I was finally given some utensils – chopsticks in this case – so I could break open the mochi and see the octopus in the center. The familiar chew of the mochi was offset by the briny octopus flavor. Very unique.

The last savory course was one of the only memories of father when he was a child, when he used to make a dish using the whole head of a cow, slow cooked. For this version, he focused on the tongue, sliced thin into strips and using a Bosnian crepe like shell. The “poison” I had been presented earlier turned out to be a hot sauce from their former sous chef who was from Mexico.

Mico told me to basically pick it up and eat it like a taco. I folded it in half and took a bite. I’ve had a lot of cabeza and lengua tacos but this was on another level. Incredibly rich, bursting with complex spices. I said I’m from the land of damn good tacos, and this was a damn good taco.

Mico asked if I wanted another glass of wine, and I told him to surprise me. He smiled and said “I love when I’m told that.” He soon returned what he called an “old white”, which had become an obsession of his. In this case, it was a Portuguese white wine from 2015 that transformed over time in the bottle. It indeed had and now had almost some tawny-like nuttiness to it but not overly sweet.

To cleanse the palette, I was offered a pineapple sorbet with a lemon membrane over the top and a pineapple sauce. Breaking through the membrane revealed the tart sorbet and the pineapple goodness. A nice transition.

The next dessert was a stunner. Mico explained that during the massive wild fires in Portugal a few years ago, the chef was helping out get some horses to safety and entered a barn where the smell of burnt hay engulfed him. As someone who believes in confronting his traumas through cooking, he worked to create a dish with burnt hay. After failed attempts as a starter or savory course, he landed on a dessert – a burnt hay ice cream with caramel tuile.

The ice cream did indeed have some smoky notes but not overpowering and offset by the candied nuts and the cracked tuile. Very interesting.

Finally I was presented with “The Tree of Life” which were 3 petit fours that represented where the chef had been (the classic Portuguese creme caramel), where he is now (his version of baklava) and where he’s going (miso dark chocolate) All 3 were delicious but the miso dark chocolate was the standout.

I was beyond full at this point so I waved off coffee or an aperitif, thanked Mico and headed out. A couple of blocks away was a cool lookout point where many people were taking pictures so I joined in the fun.

Needing to walk off that epic meal, I wandered down the steep streets and soon made my way to the plaza I had first seen during my tuk tuk tour. The weather had turned a bit so I decided to Uber back to the hotel and rest for a bit. And of course, blog!

It was a good thing I had such a massive meal for lunch as my dinner reservation wasn’t until 10pm at another famous Lisbon chef’s speakeasy concept called Mini Bar. Located in the back of a sprawling restaurant complex behind a faux bookcase, Mini Bar featured both experimental “bites” and more traditional bar food like burgers.

The reason for my late meal was because at 11pm it would become a cabaret so I didn’t want to miss out on that. I was lucky to get a great corner table, close to the raised stage and also able to look across the room.

After initially choosing a cocktail my server said was not a good starter, I opted for his suggestion – Primo Basilico – Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru, lemon, basil and egg white. He was right as this was indeed a perfect starting cocktail, smooth, flavorful and just the right amount of foam.

I wanted to try at least one of the bites so I selected the roasted chicken and avocado. This turned out to be roasted chicken skin with avocado cream and a piri-piri powder, which I mostly brushed off given its heat. It was an interesting bite of food with still a slight kick of the spices. Paired nicely with my cocktail too.

I didn’t really want a burger or any of their mains and having enjoyed a unique Caesar salad earlier, decided to give this one a shot – Caesar mille feuille salad with anchovies and crispy chicken skin topping. I hate to say, dear readers, but this was the superior version. It was so good I even eagerly ate the large anchovy on top. The salad was indeed layered like the famous pastry and the crispy chicken skin added a nice salty note with all of the cheese and anchovy flavor. A masterpiece really.

I ordered another one of the same cocktail as the show started. The two women danced and sang along to slightly jazzed up versions of various pop songs and were quite talented. It was both slightly cheesy but pretty much perfect for the room. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it and stayed for both of their sets.

Soon it was time to head back to the hotel and after battling some late night traffic, crashed into my bed after my requisite Alka Seltzer. Tomorrow would be my last full day to explore Lisbon but at a much slower pace.