Similar to Madeira, regional cuisine in the Azores is characterized by its freshness. Virtually everything on the table is grown in the islands, including fresh meat and dairy produce, fresh vegetables and fruit, and most of all fish, the staple item on the menu. And again like Madeira, the typical local dishes are very simply prepared, relying on good plain cooking rather than elaborate recipes. Sadly it cannot be claimed that the Azores Islands are a gastronomic delight. If you are gourmet that wants fancy surroundings, you have come to the wrong place.
The restaurants, such as there are, tend to be very unpretentious places, friendly and casual – yes, formal – no. You can strike lucky in the most expensive places and be served a sophisticated and well-presented dish, but you will soon see it is rather a lottery. Some of the best restaurants are those in the hotels. As yet they do not have that bland flavour that comes with having to cater for tourists of all nationalities and tastes. What they put in front of you is basically what can be found in other restaurants, only better presented. Even if the menu is in French, the dishes will be Azorean-Portuguese, which means pretty much that even the best can include some of the routine cook unimaginatively.
Two exceptions are that the Azores have an excellent variety of shellfish (mariscos) and cheeses (queijos) made from goats’ milk, ewes’ milk and cows’ milk. Breakfast is commonly served with a little round white pat of moist creamy cheese called queijinho – slightly salty but delicious. It is a great way to wake up one’s palate. Queijadas, by the way, are cheesecakes or tartlets filled with rich sweet cream cheese and flavoured with almonds or spices. Queijadas de Vila Franca in São Miguel are famous throughout the archipelago.
