Burgers
Good weather means good burgers! Here's my Top 3 recommendations for juicy meats to enjoy while bathing in the sunlight.
I apologize for the long gap between newsletters. I’m still in Romania and boy do I miss Lisbon. My friends have been sharing photos and videos with me of the great weather and I’ve got major FOMO. Thankfully, I will be returning on February 29th and have got a ton of super exciting new reservations lined up already, so I’ll be back-in-action soon enough! On top of that I’m discussing some super exciting plans with fellow Lisbonites that I’ll loop you all into once we’ve worked out the kinks! I expect 2024 to be the year ImmigrantFoodie goes big and hosts public events!
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Vegan Heaven - O GAMBUZINO
Reminder to use the referral code “FOODIE” when making a reservation to ensure a free dessert when you visit.
O Gambuzino is run by a lovely couple, Vasco and Monica, and cooks up the best vegan food I’ve had in Lisbon. If you’re one of those people who is skeptical about vegan cuisine (I get it, I used to be like you), give O Gambuzino a try; it’s outstanding! This could easily be an upscale restaurant like BouBou’s, but the fact that its accessible and not overpriced makes it absolutely worth a visit.
The offer lasts until the end of February, so get on it!
Three Burgers for the Warm Weather
If you follow my channel you know that I’ve reviews a lot of burger joints throughout Lisbon. In fact, I’ve quickly come to the conclusion that Lisbon is secretly one of the best burger cities in all of Europe, with a huge variety of options. The following three joints happen to be my go-to eats, but this is in no way an exhaustive list. There are a ton of burger spots I really dig that I did not include here. For more, check my Instagram highlight reel!
Burger Champ
Of all the juicy bites in this city, Burger Champ is the crown jewel. The fresh-baked bread is to die for, the cheese they use has just the right amount of sharp bite, the meat is thick and cooked to perfection, and I always swap out the onions for crispy onions. Burger Champ seems to have been the unjustified recipient of contrarian hate ever since The Weeknd called it “the greatest burger in the world”, and while I can’t vouch for that opinion one way or the other, I think a very good case can be made that it is the best in Portugal.
Stack Burger
The only burger I seek out with more excitement than Burger Champ is Stack Burger, and that has less to do with the quality of the food than it does with my own personal obsession for smash burgers. Throw in the fact that Stack Burger is located inside of Mirari, a beautiful quasi-beer-garden, and you’ve got more than one good reason to check it out. This is exactly where I dream of being right now; out in the sun with my best friends, downing my beverage of choice as I await my Stack Special.
A-100 Burger
Although its location is nothing to write home about (on the contrary, the location is probably the biggest thing holding it back), the food at A-100 is so legit that you’d be a fool not to at least have it delivered to a more scenic location. I’ve never considered going to a miradouro and just having the food delivered straight to the park, but writing about A-100 seriously has me considering this option. Of all the bites in Lisbon, this one tastes the most like a great American burger joint.
My Favorite Discovery of Last Week!
I didn’t want to spotlight the Romanian restaurants I reviewed this past week since most of the newsletter subscribers here are Portugal-based, so I decided to mention the last spot I reviewed before leaving the country. I probably don’t need to tell you guys about Ruvida, seeing as my video on the restaurant has now surpassed 175,000 views, but in case you somehow missed it, here’s your reminder!
Ruvida is without a shadow of a doubt the most authentic, flavorful, and charming Italian restaurant in Lisbon. Every dish here is perfectly transportive, flinging you to all of its represented Italian regions. I’ll admit that it’s quite pricey for an Italian restaurant, making this more of a “special occasion” eatery for me, but if I’m purely assessing based on the quality of the culinary talent on display here, this is one of Lisbon’s finest restaurants.
ImmigrantFilm’s movie of the week:
Since I’m a heavyweight cinephile, here’s my favorite film I watched last week.
Director Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s As Bestas (The Beasts) played the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, but only got a wider release in 2023. This brutal farmland thriller about a French husband-and-wife who find themselves at odds with the local Galician hill people is part class-commentary, part thriller. It’s an intense watch that’s beautifully shot and acted, with a star turn from Denis Menochet (who you might recognize as the farmer from the opening scene of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds). One of the best releases of the past year(s). You can rent the film online now.
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You scratch my back and I’ll fill your stomach!
Thank you for reading!