Given my late night, I made no apologies of sleeping in until the sun peeking through the curtains finally woke me up. I guess it was time for lunch.

I was in no condition to go very far but literally a block from me was an intriguing looking to go spot that claimed to be the only place in Porto that did pasta talegio style. I was instructed to pick a pasta type – tagliatelle sounded good along with a sauce – Alfredo with mushrooms. She then placed the fresh pasta in boiling water for about 4 minutes. When it was done, she put the pasta in the hollow center of the massive cheese wheel, added first the Alfredo sauce and then mixed the pasta with the sauce, scraping the sides for more cheese. Finally, she put the mushrooms in and combined it all. It was then boxed up and ready to go.

I took it back to my place and finally used my dining table. The pasta was nicely cooked and the sauce was very flavorful. Not too shabby for 10 Euros.

After resting and blogging, it was dinner time and my final meet up with Ray. He came to my place, and we walked down the hill, past the Rua de Flores and eventually to our destination – Mistu, one of Ray’s favorites. As a gesture of thanks for his hospitality, I had brought with me a bottle of the rose I had quite enjoyed at Quinta de Beijos. I asked our server if there was a corkage fee, and he explained there was a city tax of 15 Euro. Nao problema I said.

Our server set up the wine and presented us with their couvert – cheese puff with herbs. It was nice and creamy, assisted greatly by the punch of the herbs.

One of the advantages of having a dinner companion is the ability to share a few different things so we started with a Chinese duck salad with green apples in a hoisin dressing. The duck meat was actually at the bottom of the layers of arugula and thinly sliced apples. When all properly mixed together, the rich duck was nicely balanced with the slightly sweet dressing and the acid of the green apples.

Next up was my selection – Seabass with grilled asparagus and carrots in a truffle Hollandaise sauce along with mushroom tortellini. At last, actual filet, which had been nicely cooked and very tender. It turned out Ray was not a fan of asparagus or mushrooms so I ended up eating all of those portions. I told Ray he didn’t know what he was missing with these expertly cooked asparagus and the surprisingly light tortellini.

Next up was Ray’s pick of the NY strip with parsnip puree and vegetables. I had been initially taken back by him ordering it medium but both he and pie served assured me it was like the medium rare I was used to in the States. They were right, of course, and medium turned out to be just the right balance. The steak was nicely seasoned and went great with the parsnip puree.

I was actually pretty full by this point so I told Ray to order whatever dessert he wanted, and I would just try a couple of bites. He settled on a peanut butter cake with a Brazilian vanilla ice cream. It was way more peanut butter than either of us expected. I was glad to only have my couple of bites but they were very tasty.

After finally asking for a picture of the two of us, we said our goodbyes. It was still fairly early so I wandered down the street a bit for cocktail. This place’s main thing was a series of cocktails based on the 7 continents. All of them were pretty creative but the Oceania one intrigued me the most – tequila, mezcal, pineapple and BBQ sauce cordial with eucalyptus foam. The foam actually was the most interesting part and helped cut from some of the sweetness of the cordial. It was a bit too cold for it but would be a real winner during the summer.

The bar itself felt more like a college hangout with the young crowd to match. There was a DJ who was, quite frankly, terrible – James Taylor into Pitbull is a hate crime – so I quickly finished my drink and went in search of something a bit adult.

Fortunately, a couple of blocks up the hill, was the inviting Provesa wine bar. I chatted with one of the servers about trying something a bit more bold and robust. After a couple of missteps, I finally landed on one that was off menu he liked from a region I hadn’t tried yet. It was more like a Malbec and a nice change of pace from the mostly fruit-forward reds I had been imbibing.

I sank into a comfy couch, sipping my wine and chatting with some fellow travelers. I decided to stop at a single glass as I wanted to do a final one back at the bar next to my place I had previously visited.

The streets were filled with mostly younger partygoers and as I walked up the hill, my eye caught a large and very fancy looking McDonalds which had a steady flow of traffic. I realized some fries might be just the thing to sop up the various alcohols swishing in my stomach so I used the touchscreen and soon had my prize.

I continued walking up the hill, munching on my fries and eventually approached the bar, which had been transformed into a club complete with a stern looking security guard who explained that guys had to pay a 20 Euro cover which would give me 3 tickets for beer or wine. So much for my nightcap. I declined and went back to my place. Considering the almost 100 percent certainty of a hangover even before adding more, it was the right decision.