MEALHADA, PORTUGAL Pedro dos Leitoes

We told Ricci and Amy about the suckling pigs we had in Coimbra, and this really peaked Ricci's interests. Thanh did some research and discovered that a little town called Mealhada, located between Lisbon and Porto, was known for its suckling pigs.

Since the 18th century, Mealhada has been serving these piglets, basted with garlic and roasted until crispy, to the truck drivers between Lisbon and Porto. Soon this became a magnet for locals and tourists.

As we approached Mealhada, neon signs of Leitoes appeared on roadside buildings. We continued our drive to Pedro dos Leitoes, the best-known and said to be the first Leitoes restaurant in Mealhada.

Despite being a very large restaurant with 400 seatings, we arrived at 1PM and waited until 2PM for our table. We were famished and excited for the piglets. There were other things on the menu that we ignored. The piglets were sold by the weight, and we trusted our waiter to order enough for four famished people.

The sides we chose were homemade chips, orange salad, and rice.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Highly recommended! The suckling pigs were delicious, with such tender and juicy meat and such crispy skin. A worthy stop when traveling between Lisbon and Porto, or visiting Coimbra (the town was less 30 minutes from Coimbra.)