Postcard from Braga, Portugal: Regional Minho dishes and imported flavors

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A Portuguese postage stamp featuring a wheel of São Jorge cheese with a wedge cut out, labeled 'Queijos Portugueses' and priced at €0.80.

Above: Shrimp pinxtos with passion fruit and nuts at O Filho da Mae

The majority of visitors to Braga are day-trippers based in Porto or on cruise ships, as the city is located a mere 30 miles north of the bustling port city. We stayed a bit longer, as we tend to do. Here is a brief look into dishes we sampled in restaurants listed in alphabetical order, plus a bonus from nearby Guimaraes where we were the day-trippers,

When we stumbled into Casa de Pasto das Carvalheiras, we must have looked somewhat bedraggled. Braga was the first place we were staying overnight on land since leaving Austin. The staff welcomed us warmly into the pub-like environment. An easy first stop. Shaved melon brought out the flavor of tuna carpaccio with pistachios; and mussels arrived in a spicy broth. Barley risotto was flavored by paprika and pork sausage, as one expects in this Minho region of Portugal.

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Road trip to art-walk in San Antonio

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Above: Looking northward to downtown from San Pedro Culture Park pathways

If you follow the ruta of San Pedro Creek, you are on a pilgrimage rooted in the past, destined for the future. As in some ancient legend, a city emerged out of these waters. A city bubbled forth out of this spring-fed stream, running from long before there was anyone here to witness it – or drink from it…. If this creek could speak, in whispers of song, or poetry, it might tell the story of the city that it birthed, brought to the light of history, its most extraordinary, and perhaps unexpected, progeny. Whispers of memories, echoes of song, rhythms of poesy, drumbeats and bugles, punctuated by cannonades – and long intervals of peace.”

“A Creek Tells Its Story: The Mythic Narrative of San Pedro Creek,” John Phillip Santos

Our rare quick trips to San Antonio tend to involve friends and family, so exploring the two miles of improvements along San Pedro Creek is taking a while. In December, we walked a small segment of the former degraded ditch that has been transformed into San Pedro Cultural Park.

Rather than repeat the background, here are links to my earlier blogs: first post, 2018; second post, 2024. Below, find images taken along a newer stretch.

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2025 excuse: My dog ate 2,000 pages?

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A vintage stamp featuring two individuals, one adult and one child, reading together, with the text 'A Nation of Readers' and 'USA 20c' below.

Wait, that won’t fly. I have no dog.

My annual summary from Goodreads reveals I completed 2,000 fewer pages this past year than the previous one. Sliding from 49 books in 2024 to 40 in 2025 does not represent a good report card.

Who’s to blame? Not a dog nor I.

It’s the fault of the San Antonio Spurs. A subscription to FanDuel makes most games available for watching in the comfort of my living room in Austin. This loyal fan has not enjoyed access to this many basketball games in years. But the schedule’s heavy, consuming my normal evening reading hours.

Below are books I completed in 2025. I left my personal ratings and reviews for most on Goodreads. Among the ones that rang the five-star bell for me were: The Mystery of the Crooked Man by Tom Spencer (no relation); The Silence of the Choir by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr; How to Read a Book by Monica Wood; Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty; The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins; and A Small War at Close Quarters by a close friend, Vic Hinterlang.

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