It’s not exactly a pretty sight, but when I entertain, I often go shirtless in the kitchen — with just an apron over — to avoid the inevitable drip and splatter that ends up on my clothes. This has, understandably, resulted in a few terribly unfortunate instances, as when I screamed like a six-year-old girl when a guest wandered in curious about the next course. Normally I hang my dress shirt on the intercom, cook, slip back into it just after plating, and then zip out of our Donna-Reed-style swinging kitchen door. Imagine my surprise when I saw these elegant, heavyweight T-shirts worn by the waiters at Bica do Sapato, in Lisbon. They’d be perfect under an apron in the kitchen, and I could carry the leitmotif of cooking into the dining room without the need to change. So why aren’t I stocking up? Unless I were a prepubescent American boy, none of them would fit me. 

Bica do Sapato | Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, Armazém B | Lisbon, Portugal
Tel: +351 218 810 320
Hours: Open daily, 12:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Closed Mondays for lunch

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