Snack Bar Ponte de Pau
“There was a place across the street that looked more inviting. But Snack Bar Ponte de Pau was the one that was full!”
From the outside, it doesn’t look like much but Snack Bar Ponte de Pau is the complete Maderian experience!
Looks can be deceptive! "Oh, it's only a tasca," Elsa said as we drew up. She was clearly under-impressed. But there was a lot of cars lining the street and a big bus to boot. As we surveyed the locality, there was a place across the street that looked more inviting. But Snack Bar Ponte de Pau was the one that was full!
A coach party from the Casa do Povo (Peoples’ House) in Câmara de Lobos, took up two of the three main dining areas.
We couldn’t get a seat at the heart of the proceedings! The bus had taken up three car parking spaces and its passengers took up the two main dining rooms. The remaining tables were all reserved so we accepted a humble bench table in the rustic anteroom.
‘Dobrada’, a typical Maderian starter consisting of pork trip and knuckles, perhaps not for the faint-hearted.
DENTINOES
Putting in our order, the waitress insisted we tried their starter called ‘dobrada’, a typical Maderian ‘dentinho’ mainly consisting of pork tripe (stomach lining), knuckles and pinto beans. It’s perhaps not everyone’s ideal appetiser. If you are sensitive to such rustic delicacies, this is rural Madeira and absolutely nothing goes to waste. Being hungry, I found it quite palatable and not far off being a full meal in itself! That’s another point. If you come to these sorts of places, bring a hearty appetite! Dobrada, I might add, is also the ideal ‘Poncha’ counterbalance! But we did not have that particular beverage today as I’d had enough this week already!
MAIN COURSE
The main course came and it was enough to feed a horse. "You have to eat it all otherwise you do the dishes!" the waitress quipped probably for the umpteenth time that day. As far as I could make out, Elsa and I were splitting one portion between us but the platefuls were copious.
Rural Madeiran dishes are simple but satisfying.
Elsa explained that large platefuls were typical of the countryside up until not so long ago. “As a consequence of WWII and the dictatorship which lasted well into the mid-70s, meat was scarce so Madeiran people tended to eat a lot of vegetables, full plates of it… with not so much meat.”
Now there's plenty of meat and vegetables and locals make the most of both. “I bet the ladies from the Casa do Povo ate it all,” Elsa added.
The pork was topped with a sweet chestnut sauce. That's what I like about Madeiran food, they put in anything that's available and make it part of the dish. Our total bill came to just over €16 and that included 4 glasses of wine and 2 small bottles of water.
Even the wine was delicious… no idea what it was but I didn’t want to cause too much of a fuss by getting ‘picky’ about the vino.
FAMILIAR FACE
There was a guy sitting at a table opposite us and he fascinated me! He had such a distinctive face, a cross between Tom Waites and Humphrey Bogart. Wait a minute! It was Humphrey Bogart!
I knew I knew him! We had met Miguel, (his real name) in the wicker processing factory a couple of years ago just outside Camacha.
Miguel could be a male model!
His real name is Miguel. He was still working at the wicker mill. Even though he doesn’t have much English, I could tell he’s a great guy! We’ll take him for lunch next time! Here’s a link to my article on the wicker processing plant.
Here’s a picture of Miguel from our previous visit to his wicker factory a couple of years ago.
This part of the island is full of characters as is most of the hinterland. An old fellah came cautiously down the stairs to take up his usual spot at the bar. I’d do the same if I lived up here. Snack Bar Ponte de Paul is definitely ‘the’ place to be!
To get to SNACK BAR PONTE de PAU head for the village of Camacha and it’s another 4km to the north. It does get busy so best to phone ahead… Tel. 291 922 066
