If I left Ferrugem lost, it was lost in love for what I learned that I liked even more than I suspected.

On my debut, my risk was small to start with, because the friendly hands that took me there were vastly experienced in the excellence of Ferrugem and also because I had already made my first acquaintance with Ferrugem in Público’s magazine Fugas, by the pen-and-ink of José Augusto Moreira, to whom I have the great joy of calling a colleague in this newspaper.

At Ferrugem, they have a menu, but there is no point in wasting time trying to choose an option that is better than what chef Renato suggests us, after we told him what we like and what we absolutely do not like.

I must confess that I liked everything I have tasted and eaten at Ferrugem, but their own take on “caldo verde” with cornbread, a version that you can drink, their codfish salad that is a feast for the eyes and an anthem for the palate, and their “Cabidela” rice made the podium for me.

Whoever doesn’t know this Ferrugem will discover that it may not be easy to find, but it is all too easy to love and to return.