Rei Da Manivela Churrasqueira Bar

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

The more time you spend underneath flights taking off and landing at Newark International Airport, the better you eat. The areas directly surrounding the runways are full of interesting foods from around the world. North of the airport is the well-known Ironbound neighborhood, hosting many Portuguese and Brazilian restaurants and businesses. Just to the west are some communities with many West African establishments catering to a fast-growing population. Even to the east at Port Newark there are good lunch trucks including a dynamite Chilean vendor.

Just south of EWR is Elizabeth, New Jersey's fourth largest city and home to so many Latin American communities. In addition, like the Ironbound, the area is also home to quite a few Portuguese and Portuguese-Americans, and all the barbecue that typically goes with them in New Jersey. Just south of the sprawling cemetery in the far reaches of Weequahic Park is one of the best, on the first floor of a long building. Besides the sign in front, the business is given away by a tall smoke stack connected to the side of what otherwise just seems like an apartment building.

The smells of cooking meat are of course noticeable, but that stack is doing great work because for a place that cooks over charcoal indoors, the smoke and smell is well under control. Taking a sneak peek in the back is recommended to check out the automated rotating traps that spin quickly over the fire as not to burn anything.

Orders come in fast and furious once the Elizabeth lunch rush starts from tables of course but also from walk-in customers taking big bags for takeout, and from a phone that seemed to be ringing nonstop. The skilled chefs in the back were constantly removing and returning the traps to fill orders, never missing a beat and always knowing the proper times everything needs.

While our neighbors at other tables were clearing plates on their own, ours decided to share a $21 order of beef ribs and chicken (above). With so much happening over the fire, it is a testament that all of the meat is cooked so well.

Served without fuss on metal plates, but somehow with great care, the feast also procured a side of beans and rice for $3, red beans that almost came out as soup but go very nicely with the ridiculous amount of rice. To give variety to the meat-heavy meal, return for bites of these frequently.

The marinades are simple yet tasty, the cuts and cooking is really where the beef ribs shine. The skin of the chicken is brightened by its rub, the intensity of each bite quite a bit sharper. The first touch on the tongue gives a slight reminder of the tangy vinegar of Buffalo wings. Underneath, even the thick white meats are miraculously juicy and full of flavor.

They truly know what they are doing here when they cook an animal.

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ELIZABETH New Jersey
1452 Lower Road

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Roc's Café

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

It would be easy to drive past this little Portuguese bakery without noticing the delicious goods they have inside. The building looks like many others in the neighborhood, with one small change to the ground floor to make room for commercial space. This building has actually been home to a small shop with groceries and coffee and sandwiches for many years, but a 2017 renovation expanded the footprint of the ground floor and even added a small third floor.

The new space is home to Roc's Café, a small bakery offering the famous sweets of Portugal and a dozen sandwiches.

The pastéis de nata ($1.25 each, above) are great here, a little more charred than usual on the day we came but I actually prefer them this way. The flaky, buttery dough "cup" is heaven, holding within it the egg custard with plenty of cinnamon.

Also worth a try are these pastéis de tentugal ($1.50 each, below), wrapped dough so thin its browned edges almost appear to be paper. Inside again is a spiced custard, and as you can imagine by looking at it, this might be best eaten outside or with plenty of napkins at least.

I would love to come back here for lunch to try some of their creations like the feiras novas dog, a hot dog wrapped in ham and cheese and topped with a fried egg and potato sticks, or the most famous of Portuguese sandwiches called the bifana.

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ELIZABETH New Jersey

1020 North Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

O Teimoso

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

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PORTUGAL 🇵🇹 Dispatch from Elizabeth, New Jersey: This corner bar and restaurant is just the sort of establishment to piss off whiney Yelp users, hence its current 1.5 star rating on that website. But if you go to a place that translates as "stubborn" it's on you when you're displeased with service enough not to enjoy your food. Sitting at the bar area is a delight, right in the center of the neighborhood's Portuguese community. Beer and wine flows steadily, and all the food is delicious. ° O Teimoso, 854 2nd Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey. Instagram exclusive post, added to full map on website. ° (1) Grilled sardines at the bar (2) 2nd Avenue facade. ° ° #EattheWorldNYC #eattheworld #worldfood #worldfoods #instayum #instafood #instaeat #foodlovers #foodlover #forkyeah #nyc #nyceats #nycfood #nycdining #newforkcity #eatingnyc #eatingnewyork #nj #njeats #njfood #newforkjersey #eatingnj #elizabeth #elizabethnj #portugal #portuguese #portuguesefood #sardines #grilledsardines #oteimoso

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ELIZABETH New Jersey

854 2nd Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

O Lavrador

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

Since the beginning of time, I have used O Lavrador as a way station. It has broken up many long walks through Queens and served as a great place to kill time when waiting for friends to arrive at JFK. The establishment is split into two parts, and until this day I have only been in the left half, the bar that is dedicated to Portuguese football. Scarves from Benfica, Sporting, and Porto hang on the ceiling and plaster the walls, while national team gear is everywhere. When not in New Jersey, this is the place to come for Portuguese football and will once again feature for the country in our World Cup piece later this year.

The restaurant on the other half is a white table cloth affair, but all the food is also available on this side.

Unfortunately Sagres is no longer exported here in the states.

There are different happy hour specials on every day of the week, sometimes including half-off appetizers. Cheap drinks and tons of regulars have been a staple of every visit. Whether speaking Portuguese, Spanish, or English, the people working here know everyone and treat them all as family.

Bolos de bacalhau, rissois de camarão, and croquetes de carne ($0.75 each, below) are a good bar order in any situation. In order of deliciousness, start with the shrimp, followed by the meat.

The first time I decided to do more than drink here, I was pointed to the francesinha ($14, below), which is described in the menu as a "classic Portuguese sandwich." In reality, the sandwich is enjoyed all over the country, but it was invented in Porto and remains very popular in the north.

Meaning "Little Frenchie," it shares somewhat of a resemblance to the croque monsieur but is strongly adapted for Portuguese tastes. Stacked beef, Spanish chorizo, and ham are topped with mozzarella cheese and an egg then doused with a spicy sauce. It is big and delicious.

Recently I was feeling even more comfortable than normal, and snow started falling heavily outside making my plans for onward meals a bit more difficult. This led to an examination of what else was on the bar menu beyond these snacks.

Adapted from Portugal's former African colonies, piri piri sauce is very popular all throughout the Lusophone world. O Lavrador offers camarão piri-piri ($10, below), shrimp swimming in a very good and spicy sauce made from crushed red peppers.

One dish that is not worth ordering even when half-priced during happy hour is the picadilho ($12, below). Oh well.

Just... don't.

I am very much looking forward to coming back here in June for the World Cup, if not before if I find myself in Jamaica again. A seat at the bar is never a bad decision.

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JAMAICA Queens

138-40 101st Street

Cafe Arcuense

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

Cafe Arcuense is a hidden gem. Offering only a small sign on the corner of Walnut and McWhorter, the door is simple and it is impossible to understand what is happening inside. The space ends up being much larger than it appears, a bar and dining room hosting all manner of conversations in Portuguese. Football jerseys and scarves line almost every wall surface, and the beautiful game plays on multiple televisions as well.

Since the jukebox has likely come to a screeching halt when you entered, especially if you are a woman, just walk in with confidence and smile at all the people currently watching you. Take a seat, and order a drink. Our Portuguese Super Bock bottles and glasses of house red wine were both $3. The blue collar men's club atmosphere will return to normal and everyone will continue their card games and sports arguments.

After a bit of research, it is ascertained that "Arcuense" describes someone from the small municipality of Arcos de Valdevez in the far northwest of Portugal bordering Spain's Galicia region (which also has a considerable number of immigrants in Newark). The sign outside carries the coat of arms of this municipality on one side, the other being almost completely faded by the sun. The original founders of the cafe must have been from this photogenic frontier.

Inside, a permanent-looking board displays the foods that seem to be around everyday like sandwiches and steaks, while a whiteboard has the daily specials. These go fast, as three of the six items were erased by the time our meal was over around 18:30 on a Monday evening.

Anytime you start drinking here, a nice plate of olives seems to appear, as well as good bread with food orders. The place runs like clockwork, starting with the two ladies that know how to keep a smile while cutting through the chatter of a rowdy all-male after work crowd.

One of the specials on this day was picanha na chapa ($16, below), four sumptuous slices of beef sirloin cap, the most famous cut in Brazilian and Portuguese barbecues, served with fries or rice and a salad. The cut of meat is so delicious that it rarely gets seasoned more than a brush stroke or two.

During our meal the table beside us ordered a plate of sliced up Spanish jamón serrano ($9, below). Our jealousy was irrational when we saw the origin of the ham, as behind the counter they have two stations for the manual slicing of cured meats.

Seen below, the whole leg is attached to a medieval-looking device ready for slicing. As orders come in, fresh plates are knifed off the leg and served. It may be the greatest bar snack of all time.

On another day without a Red Bulls match to attend, I could have hung out here for much longer, catching up with friends over cheap drinks and good atmosphere and trying to get hungry enough to eat more.

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NEWARK New Jersey

157 Walnut Street

Portugalia Cervejaria e Restaurante

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

Like many Portuguese bar/restaurants in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood, Portugalia seems to serve as somewhat of a community center, where all the locals come for lunch on weekdays, and bring their families for dinner at other times. The old men working the place were probably born in the back room. English is definitely not the language of choice, and the TVs are turned to other stations just to back that up. On this day, "O Preço Certo" was playing, the Portuguese version of the The Price is Right, with a MUCH larger man than Drew Carey if you can imagine.

As we ordered a couple Sagres (above), the only conversation I could follow was some clown at the bar who insisted to use an f-bomb in every sentence. This bar area is very casual and serves massive (albeit meant for one person) portions, while the other room is a more formal family-style affair.

Most meat orders come with a side of rice and fries, including our veal marsala ($18, below), the Iberian peninsula's rendition of the Italian dish. The sauce is plenty, and so are the mushrooms, but we tasted very little of the wine it gets its name from. For the price, this is good veal.

Preparing for a big day of eating, we split the dish right down the middle, but both ended up fairly stuffed anyways. The portions here, and at most Portuguese restaurants are simply not fair. If nothing else, I would just like to try more since it is all very good.

Make sure you and your friends bring a big appetite. But hang around a while and enjoy the spectacle of it all as well.

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NEWARK New Jersey

280 Ferry Street

McWhorter B.B.Q.

PORTUGAL 🇵🇹

It is no secret that the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, NJ is the go to destination for Portuguese and Brazilian food in the New York City area. There are many churrasquerias of both countries scattered throughout the streets. One such place is the workaday McWhorter B.B.Q., named for the sleepy street it lives on. This Portuguese mainstay is a complete throwback once you step inside, full of local regulars who work in the area and have probably been coming here for a quick lunch or takeout for years.

The bar is packed at lunch and the dining area gets full during dinner hours, but you can always find a place to sit down if that's what you are looking for. People are constantly coming in, placing their orders in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and leaving happy, with their massive bags full of meat-laden platters.

It only sits about a six or eight minute walk from Newark's Penn Station, so anyone can get here in pretty good time. Even if it took longer, it's still worth it.

For some reason, the restaurant only serves wine, so leave your beer cravings at the door. While I was slightly disappointed with this news before my food came, it really only surfaced as a memory when I read it in my notes, as the delicious food here really leaves no room in your brain for negative thoughts.

The sheer size of the portions here are amazing. One of the $11-13 "full portions" is big enough for two without a problem. Three people could probably fill themselves up sufficiently. A $12 pork ribs platter (above) is an overwhelming site when it arrives in front of you and was not planned for sharing. You are given the options of salad, fries, rice, and beans for your selection of two sides, and I thoroughly recommend the rice and beans.

A close up photo of the skin of these pork ribs is probably enough to make your mouth water, but I will describe them anyways. They made me want to hit things and people because they were so good. The moist meat inside this crispy dry skin was a revelation, some of the best I have ever had, and very different from saucy barbecue. The tastes emerging from this meat were so complex.

Order any plate with fries as your side and it will look like the photo below no matter what your entree is. What you can't see is the beef steak with onions and peppers ($12), a dish with juicy sirloin that will even bring a diner from Uruguay closer to home. It does have that feeling of steak you might find there or Argentina, it definitely reminded me of some of the better parrilla I had.

McWhorter is the type of place that will probably remain exactly the same for decades, and because of this will remain just as loved as it is today and has been for years. Take some time and walk around the quiet side streets of Ironbound while you are there, it is a thoroughly pleasant place to take a stroll.

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NEWARK New Jersey
104 McWhorter Street

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