A gloppy, meaty, cheesy brick of a sandwich served in a pool of sauce and with a mountain of fries: please meet the francesinha, the culinary pride and joy of Porto. Today, restaurants proclaim in many languages that they serve the best version in the world, revealing the genuine power of this artery-clogging combination that, incredibly, was originally conceived as a snack. We have to say it though: eating a francesinha is worth every last calorie, especially at its original spot, A Regaleira.

The dense francesinha is often considered the lusophone version of the croque monsieur. Regardless of the origin, the makeup of the sandwich always follows a similar formula. Between two slices of bread are layers of meat including linguiça sausage, chipolata, ham and beef or pork loin. The whole thing is covered with melted cheese then doused with the famous and mysterious orange sauce of which every restaurant has its own secret recipe. We enjoy those served at casual spots like Café Santiago.

The iconic snack of Portugal, bifanas (pork steak sandwiches) are also special in Porto: the strip steaks are cut way thinner than in Lisbon and cooked in a spicy sauce that you won’t find anywhere in the capital. It’s a simple but addictive dish. Pork, cooked all day in that mysterious spicy sauce and stuffed into a piece of bread that looks a bit like a roll. At first glance, it does not seem to impress, but one bite and you’ll be a goner.

One of the best sandwiches in Porto – arguably in the country – can be found in a little 1970s tile-lined eatery; the unremarkable interior belies the iconic status of its most celebrated dish. One by one, pork legs are slowly roasted in the huge oven behind the bar of Casa Guedes. Then the owner, Mr. Cesar, expertly slices the meat before placing it on the bread and moistening it with its own gravy: here is the sumptuous sandes de pernil (roast pork sandwiches).

Close to the São João National Theatre, this tiny snack bar serves up the best cachorrinhos, baby hot dogs in town. You might even see locals queuing up at the small spot for a quick bite of this very special breed of hot dog: crispy bread, two kinds of sausages, melted cheese and a sauce that is just spicy enough to order another beer.

At A Badalhoca, one of the oldest tascas in Porto (open more than 100 years), you’ll find an array of tasty and cheap sandwiches, though it’s particularly known for its smoked ham. Our favorite is the PO (presunto e ovo, ham and egg), the perfect marriage of lightly cured ham from Castelo Branco and a fried egg, blessed by a soft, always fresh, loaf of bread.

Croissants in Porto are in a league of their own. Very different from Parisian croissants made with flaky puff pastry, croissants in Porto are typically sturdier and sweeter, made with soft brioche dough that’s slightly undercooked on the inside. They might be sweet but they’re not a dessert: It is not unusual to find people eating them at spots like Padaria Ribeiro, stuffed with cheese and ham, after being pressed in the sandwich toaster – just enough to melt the cheese.

The francesinha has seemingly always existed in Porto, but its increasing presence can be correlated with the rise in tourism. With that, reinterpretations abound: the vegetarian version, which might seem at first a paradox, is now being served at Lado B, which is located close to the Coliseu Theater and is one of our favorites for enjoying the original version, complete with fried egg on top.

Another bifanas worth its spicy sauce is the one at O Astro, a small snack bar near the train station. It’s reliably crowded every day, and that’s not just because of its strategic location. Thin slices of braised pork shank are simmered in a spicy sauce, tucked into a crusty carcaça roll, then doused in that same sauce. It drips from the bread to the fingers – proof of absolute satisfaction.