New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
3. Food
One of the greatest features of the feast is the delicious Portuguese fare. There are many food stands located throughout Madeira Field that serve your favorites from the simple delights of linguica and cacoila sandwiches to full on Portuguese cuisine plates of chicken, beef, goat or tuna with potatoes, rice and vegetables.
Another major culinary draw is the Carne de Espeto, a massive, 40-foot barbecue pit where beef sirloin cubes can be cooked over an open flame on massive skewers. This is hard to miss since the aroma is absolutely mouth watering. Visitors are able to buy the meat for eight tickets a pound and a delicious aromatic salt is provided to cook with.
Visitors are then able to roast their own dinner over the gas-fired lava rock grill. Mr. Camara, (who has been a part of the organization since 1982) advised me that if someone tells you to pour Madeira wine on the meat it is not advisable (it does not help the flavor and causes the meat to burn faster!)
New items that will be featured at the feast include Milho Frito, fried cornmeal, garlic and finely shredded kale make this the perfect treat to go with Carne de Espeto. There will also be ice-cold fresh fruit cups, the perfect way to cool down for health conscious attendees.
In case you are not accustomed to the flavorful cooking style of Portuguese cuisine, go to the Food & Drink page of the Portuguese Feast website for definitions of some of the food you might expect to see.
4. Drink
One of the draws of the feast is the consumption of Madeira wine, which is a central part of the festivities as it is part of a long tradition. Madeira wine is a sweet, fortified red wine. Genuine Madeira wine is made on the island of Madeira, and exportation of actual barrels are restricted due to regulations. However, thanks to a special agreement made between feast officials and the President of Madeira, casks are able to be delivered to New Bedford and served for the weekend, making this a very rare treat for those who attend.
For those who don’t find that the taste of Madeira wine suits their pallet, there are a great variety of additional options including a full liquor bar for mix drinks and frozen drinks. Alcohol stands also serve sangria and white wine and Budweiser beer is on tap.
If you wish to partake in the consumption of alcoholic beverages, you will need to have your ID scanned when you enter the feast grounds in order to receive a wristband that proves you are legally old enough to be served.
There will be additional ID stations at this year’s feast due to the anticipated increase in numbers of attendees.
