For a fado weekend, navigate the winding streets of the Alfama district, the spiritual home of the genre, to find the best venues.

BBC: Nine culture-filled weekends in Europe

That attention to customer service is not the reason why Alfama is my favorite Portuguese restaurant in New York City, but it is one reason.

FORBES: New York's Best Portuguese Restaurant is Back!

One other unique attraction: Alfama has always offered live Fado performances, often by big names straight from Lisbon, and this is not an easy music for fans to find in New York venues.

FORBES: New York's Best Portuguese Restaurant is Back!

When I was growing up in New York City my family would regularly make the haul out to Newark, New Jersey, where there was an actual Portuguese neighborhood, a real enclave of good restaurants, but until Alfama, I never found anything up to snuff in the city.

FORBES: New York's Best Portuguese Restaurant is Back!