Bem Vinda! Dalia’s Place-A Portuguese Restaurant In A Small Town

Luis’ mother passed away 2 years ago, but left him the cooking lessons, and a lesson of “learn to do a little bit of everything, so you always have something to do.” Because of her time in Portugal, before coming to the United States, some of the “old country” flavors can be found in their recipes. {{more}}

“We always dreamed about this,” said Luis. “And we wanted to share [my mother’s] dream with everyone.” Luis’ mother’s picture is prominently displayed up front, reminding him daily that they got to make a dream come true.

“I put heart in whatever I cook,” said Luis. “I enjoy people eating our food, and the flavors are different than anything they’ve ever tasted. I even get up in the middle of the night thinking of new recipes to put out, and [Dalia] yells at me to stop!”

Dalia might yell at Luis to stop adding new items to their inventory list, but that doesn’t stop her from doing it with a smile – which is on her face with every task at hand. On a Wednesday night, in the tiny town of Greenville, each table was filled with patrons, all different types of food on their tables. Dalia takes the time to greet each person, take their orders, and talk with them about things going on in their lives. Luis cooks the orders, and hand delivers them to the tables, making sure he gets to see the first bite.

“I like a home cooked meal,” said Dalia. “So you know when you come to our place, it’s not like you’re getting a [pre-cooked] meal in less than 5 minutes. When you hear us beating the steak in the kitchen, you know it’s fresh, because we’re going to cook that to order and make sure it’s nice and tender.”

And that’s the best part of this restaurant. Everything is fresh and made to order. There is fresh baked bread, pizza, and desserts, and the oven is constantly going.

Dalia is used to the hustle and bustle of keeping up with many peoples’ needs, as before this, she was a stay at home mother to their 12 and 9-year-old children. Luis had made some sound real estate investments when he was younger, allowing them to have the ability to have Dalia at home. However, coming from their New Bedford, MA home life, with growing children, they noticed things needed to change.

“I had turned down a job offer close to here. Turned it down. But then we were outside on the porch, and I heard kids screaming about how they’re going to shoot someone,” Luis recalled. “I said to Dalia let’s just move to New Hampshire, so instead of vacationing there, we’ll be like we’re on vacation every day.” And that’s what they did, settling in the small town of New Ipswich.

They bring a little bit of home with every dish. The night of

the interview, yours truly, and a friend of mine, tried the grilled chorizo sandwich with hand cut French fries, and the Portuguese mac and cheese. There were hearty portions, and fantastic flavors around the table. The biggest hit of the night, though, as far as the other patrons were concerned, was the pizza. They make fresh pizza with pepperoni and chorizo. Some favorites on the menu are the caciola (Portuguese pulled pork), shrimp mocambique, and of course, the chorizo, which is a spicy sausage.

Dalia is also hoping for a move to a better location by November (not very far away – the neighboring New Ipswich!) so that there is much better parking for the guests, and a bigger facility so that Luis can expand the menu with his 3 AM epiphanies!

Come try a local gem, and visit Dalia’s Place at 50 Main Street, Greenville, NH, or online at www.daliasportuguesecuisine.com.