This restaurant in Greenwood is like nowhere else in the city. Credit: Jessica Stein

This restaurant in Greenwood is like nowhere else in the city.

This restaurant in Greenwood is like nowhere else in the city. Jessica Stein

The first time I went to Luso, my boyfriend and I bumbled in off the street, following the sound of bossa nova guitar. Owner/chef Fatima Eremite Hemmons welcomed us in out of the rain and asked if we liked wine.

She handed us glasses of rich, inky Douro red. When she asked if we were hungry, we said yes. But instead of giving us menus, Fatima just brought us plates of foodโ€”spiced gambas (prawns) with bell pepper, grilled chicken kebabs, Brazilian beans, rice, and other stuff.

Meg van Huygen has been writing for The Stranger for half of her damn life, usually about food or local history. She was born on the Hill, grew up on Queen Anne, went to school in the CD, and presently...