Depending on how much TV you watch (as in: if you watch any TV at all), we're guessing that you've seen this ad for Apple with John Malkovich. The actor asks his iPhone some commonplace questions, then throws a meaty curveball: "Linguica?"
Siri handles the query with aplomb, and Malkovich continues the conversation with her. But that single question has unleashed a flurry of publicity (and Google searches) for the little-known sausage. Linguica is a Portuguese link that's something like a milder version of its better-known cousin, chourico (or chorizo, if you're in Spain).
In the US, the biggest hub of linguica production is along the southern coast of Massachusetts, where a large Portuguese immigrant population settled in New Bedford, Dartmouth, and Fall River in the 19th century. And while the biggest linguica makers are happy for the press, according to a South Coast Today article, they say that chourico is still the sausage that's gaining in the market.
Either way, Malkovich is probably happy--he's a fan of Portuguese cuisine, and is part-owner of a restaurant in Lisbon. That's some next-level guerrilla marketing, Malk!
[via New York, South Coast Today]