Francesinha – the sandwich of Porto

The Francesinha is the local speciality sandwich of Porto, Portugal. I'm lucky enough to be in the town and, despite weather that absolutely does not warrant this kind of food, I had to order one.

Mine, from base up, was:
– Bread
– Beef steak
– Ham (something like prosciutto cotto, but not prosciutto cotto)
– Fresh pork sausage
– Cured paprika pork sausage
– …maybe another ham? Or bologne? Or something? It was all kind of falling apart at this point
– Bread
– Mild melted cheese
– Egg

All in a gravey-like sauce strongly featuring beer and tomatoes.

…and then they brought me a side of fries, cackling at me as they set it down. Quite right too. I had no chance of finishing my meal, although I had a lot of fun trying.

I had expected the steak to be the weak point of this dish, but it was perfect. It was cooked well-done (and I'm a rare steak girly) but it was super tender and full of flavour. I guess it had to be or it'd ruin everything else.

I believe Anthony Bourdain tried this dish in Parts Unknown. Probably you can find the episode if you want someone to explain it more eloquently than I can. Anyway, if you find yourself in Porto, go get one.