Who Knew This Delicious Portuguese Dish Could Smell So Bad?

I think it's safe to say that most of the SouthCoast can all agree on one thing: Portuguese food is delicious.

However, it's preferable that it be consumed at a restaurant or at home if you know how to cook it. It's my go-to for comfort food, but sometimes transporting it as take-out can be somewhat of a challenge.

Over the weekend I attended a wedding that had some of the best shrimp Mozambique I've ever had. There were panfuls of leftovers and the guests were urged to take as many to-go plates as they wanted. Plain and simple, everything must go, and you didn't have to tell me twice.

I piled the shrimp and rice into one of those styrofoam containers and smothered it with sauce you could pretty much drink, it was that tasty. Getting it home, now that's a whole different ballgame for which I was unprepared. I had no plastic bag to contain the juices from overspilling into my car, so I had to take my chances in hopes of making it home without making a mess.

What happened next was out of my control and an absolute nightmare.

The following day, there was a faint smell of food, but I just assumed that it was from the night before, still lingering in the air. Nope – the sauce had leaked into the back crack of the seat and the following day, the temperatures were in the 90s. It only took about four hours in the heat to do the damage and once I opened the door, I was smacked in the face with what can only be described as a combination of low-tide and moldy cheese.

Shrimp Mozambique, as delicious as it is, does not do well when baked into the seats of your car. To make matters worse, I tried disguising the smell with those little tree car fresheners, only to make matters worse.

Now my vehicle smells like a sweaty dude who showed up to the club with too much cologne and hasn't showered in years. This is my reality now, and as bad as spilled milk smells roasting on a hot summer day (I say that because I've experienced it with my last vehicle), this has its own distinctive stench that I'm now going to need detailed out before I add to the aroma with vomit.