Madeira Beef and Bay Leaf Kebabs

Grilled beef is beloved throughout Portugal, but nowhere as much as on the island of Madeira. Restaurants on this hilly island have a unique accoutrement: an inverted L-shaped metal pole attached to one end of each table. The beef is grilled on special metal skewers with eyelets at the end, which are then brought to the table and hung with great ceremony from the L-shaped pole, over a bowl piled with Portuguese bread. As the kebabs hang, the meat juices drip onto the bread, which becomes as