22Oct / 2014

Love and Hate, 88.

Route 88 runs right down the heart of most of Westport. A harsh concrete slab in the midst of a narrow whisp of a town. Its hard to claim it beautiful, hard to find what is lovable about a straight line in a willowy landscape. It is very much a piece of the Fifties in the middle of our timelessness. It was started and finished in the fifties and sixties, as a connector from 195 to Horseneck. It is the longest state road to be contained all in one town, topping eleven miles. There is a lot of history here, even in our highways… http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/MA-88/…, and it is clearly with a mix of chagrin and common sense that we all both love and hate our 88.

There it is, all the time, sitting smack dab in the middle of everything. Our path to the beach,(everyone‘s path to the beach!) a shortcut to the schools, the library, the grocery, the churches, and to the/by the end of it all, the ‘Point’. It most definitely has its uses; it is a means to leave town for work, to move about in the fastest way possible…(I’m positive the Fire and Police Departments are mildly in love with it..) … it is an everpresent and reliable shortcut- a way to avoid the country roads, and their treachery as the plows move into season.

God knows, when there is a problem on 88, an accident, a breakdown, it is felt in a town-wide fashion. But we are blessed with our fine country roads, and circumventing the straight and narrow is always possible.

Tell me… is it love or hate you feel for the Magnificent 88?

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06Oct / 2014

Doors Open, Baby.

On a rainy cold day in October, while most of the kids were in school, the husband and I took the littlest out for lunch. Portas de Cidade is a surprising stop in Westport, I have to say… if your vision of Westport is limited to summertime and waterfront. . . and it would be a sad thing if you left it at that, it really would.

We both have been in this area on and off for most of our lives, and there is no telling how much Portuguese culture has influenced our lives. I am deeply chagrined to say there is not a drop of Portuguese blood in my veins and I’ve already heard my earnest young fourth grader blame me for his same lack. That lifelong sadness aside, I can’t tell you how much I love the area I grew up in, and the touches of Portugal that have always been nearby. All my first cursewords were Portuguese, and my neighbor Mrs. Rego didn’t speak any English at all, spent the entire lifetime I shared with her, dressed head-to-toe in black, and I still loved her and talked to all her chickens, and grew up just fine with all of her grandchildren, who also lived next door, but across the street.

Anyhow, you don’t live in this area without a deep interaction and impression of the Portuguese culture. Portas de Cidade is a textured, slightly formal establishment on Route 6, near to Sanford Road. The food is warm, the clientele is a mix of couples on datenights, families and it would be a wonderful place to bring the in-laws for that first meeting. 🙂

John had the Pork Aletejana and I had a plate of calamari, both excellent and done delicately, with more time spent on flavor and presentation than salt and heavy batters, so we were thrilled. John even said it beat ‘Antonio’s’ in New Bedford, and for him, that is almost a slight to family history with Antonio’s. ( I won’t tell anyone he said it though.)
Try it out. I think it may be yet another draw to this crazy town of Westport.