You Know, Sometimes The People Are Right

The Pasteis de Belem, which opened in 1837, is widely considered to be the best place to enjoy Portugal's favorite sweet, Pastel de Nata.  And, after having lined up in the rain to take it away (the line for seats were quite long), the people who say that are right.

The company calls it Pasteis de Belem, but that it is the brand name, not the name of the dessert.  It doesn't much matter, as we were in Belem and were definitely having the Pastel de Nata from the place widely considered to be the best.

Carol and I doubled our chances.  She stood in the line for a table, while I went into the pre-order line.  There is no way to pre-order on-line (maybe by phone?), but I took my chances.  It felt a bit like ordering a cheesesteak from Pat's or Geno's -- ya gotta know what you want, and you can't fumble over your order.  If you do, I doubt there is the typical Philly-style verbal abuse, but why take the chance? 

In I went, undeterred.  The woman asked if I had pre-paid.  I said no.  Money is money, so she took my order and my money.  I got six of them (a sleeve).  They are pretty small, so that's the common order for two people.  

The upside of that line is that moves pretty fast, as they had many people working behind the counter (Avis at the Lisbon airport could take a hint, but that's for another blog post, he writes bitterly.)

Carol and I met outside and walked across the street to Vasco da Gama Park.  We found a bench under a tree that shielded us (for the most part) from the light rain.  They were still warm, and the puff pastry shell was quite flaky (in a good way!).

If you ever get to Lisbon, be sure to include a stop at Pasteis de Belem.

For a short time, this box was full

of  warm, tasty custard pastries.