Global Girl

Global Girl Turns Food Critic: The Delicious Things in Rio de Janeiro

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” ~George Bernard Shaw, “The Revolutionist’s Handbook,” Man and Superman

One of my first experiences traveling in Brazil was through a voluntourism organization called, Iko Poran. After I finished the program, Iko Poran asked me several times to help give advice and information to people who were also thinking about participating in voluntourism with the organization. One of those girls was Nicole Zimmerman.  Nicole ended up coming to Brazil at the same time that I was returning, and so I ended up meeting her personally.

Nicole recently saw my Global Girl Blog and some of my posts about Brazil. She sent me a link to a blog post that she wrote for another blog, Zaji: A Girl’s Guide to Travel, Culture, and Style. The post describes all about the wonderful food in Brazil; it is called, “Day in the Life of a Foodie in Brazil,” and you all can, and should, read the post here. Nicole also has her own great blog about Brazil, Beijos do Brasil, which gives a lot of information about traveling, art, markets, and things to do. She is a great writer and you can check out her blog here!

In honor of her post about Brazil’s food customs, I decided to write a post about my favorite things in Rio that have to do with food. These are things that when in the United States, I really crave; or, as said in Portuguese, in the US I really feel saudades of these carioca “delicious-nesses.”

Top Ten Delicious Foods/Drinks I Can’t Live Without in Rio:

These are the top ten food things that I adore, although they are not necessarily in any order. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

1. Bolinhos de Bacalhau -

The translation of this is literally, “little balls of dried salted cod,” although I’m aware this translation does not make this delight sound very appealing. Bolinhos de Bacalhau are best enjoyed at a boteco or bar as a “petisco,” or appetizer portion of food. Another essential partner to this food is a cold cold cold draught beer, which in Brazil is called chopp.  I love to have a little olive oil, azeite, and hot chile sauce, or pimenta. Yummy, I might have to go to the bar downstairs after this post just to get some!

2. Água de Coco -

My friend Jessica and I on the beach, Prainha after Recreio in Rio de Janeiro.

This is coconut water, not to be confused with coconut milk. It is clear like water but sweet and it comes from cracking open a fresh green coconut. I have been told that it is one of the most hydrating liquids, and thus a very good hang-over cure.  In Rio, Coconut water can be served on the beach or in a lanchonete directly out of the coconut, or on the street where sellers have a machine that tunnels the water into cups or bottles.

AVISO: Just as a little warning to us non-native Portuguese speakers: Be careful how you ask for coconut water, or anything with coconut for that matter. In Portuguese, the word for coconut is “Coco” and so the natural emphasis goes on the FIRST SYLLABLE. If you accidentally put the emphasis on the second syllable, you will end up asking for something not so appetizing and might get some snickers.

3. Miam Miam -

This is a picture inside. There is also a small outside area.

My favorite restaurant, or rather botequim chique, in Rio, is Miam Miam. It has everything: excellent drinks, tasty and interesting food, and a great atmosphere for a date or a group of friends. The restaurant is kind of hidden on a rather dark street in Botafogo, which in Rio means that you need to know where you are going before getting there so you don’t end up walking around lost in the dark streets. (Once arriving the restaurant is lit up and there is a guard/host that will get you a taxi upon leaving.) It is on Rua da Passagem near Rio Sul in one of the antique (almost decrepit looking) small houses. Don’t judge the book by the cover, once you walk into the door you will be greeted by a swank and modern atmosphere. Try to make a reservation beforehand, from experience, if they are too busy they will turn you away.

My favorite dishes here are the appetizers: The fried curried chicken salad balls prepped with a cashew nut shell and served with a coconut banana chutney is absolutely to die for. The grilled squid with herbs is made with the perfect amount of flavor and cooked to be the perfect consistency, not too chewy. Then there is fresh salmon with a vegetable marinade and lime cream served with crunchy pita chips.

My favorite drinks: Abacaxi com pimenta: Absolute vodka, pineapple juice, peppermint, and a little chile pepper, and Vanilla Clementine: Absolute vanilla, sugar, and fresh tangerine juice.

4. Unique “drinques“

This is the original caiprinha

Speaking of alcoholic drinks, which in Brazilian Portuguese turned into drinques pronounced drink-ees. Brazil has tons. Of course one of the first things that any tourist does upon arriving in Brazil is try the famous Caipirinha. A caipirinha is made with Cachaça, an alcohol made of sugar cane, a whole lime, two teaspoons of sugar and ice. Make sure you shake the caipirinha really well to get it nice and cold and to break up the ice to let water into the drink a little.

Generally, if a wealthier Brazilian wants a caipirinha, they will more than likely drink a caipivodka or caipiroska, which is a caipirinha with vodka instead of cachaça. Cachaça is a very cheap alcohol, and sometimes carries the stereotype of not being “chique” enough for the upper classes, especially the upper class snobby girls, or patricinhas.

But once you get past the normal caipirinha with lime, there are many other fruits to enjoy as well in your alcoholic drinks. Some fruits include passion fruit, pineapple, strawberries and other berries, tangerine, and more. One of my personal favorites is tangerine with ginger.

5.  Churrasco -

This is a picture of a large churrascaria

Churrasco means a barbecue in Portuguese, but this barbecue is not like the American barbecue with saucy ribs, chicken or steak. Generally the typical Brazilian churrascos grill steak, chicken, little sausage links, garlic bread, and chicken hearts. (Yes, I did say chicken hearts, this is one of Leandro’s favorites!) No sweet BBQ sauce here, the selection of meat and kosher salt makes the meat very tasty itself. If looking for an extra burst of flavor, there is a sauce, molho à campanha, made with vinegar, and very small cubes of onion, tomato, and green bell pepper. Also, the meat can be dipped in a buttery fried manioc flour concoction called farofa, which gives not only a crunchy texture but a extra salty taste. (I like farofa so much, that it will receive its own section in my top ten.)

Churrasco can be found in many places in Brazil. My personal favorite is when Leandro’s grandfather is at the churrasqueira in Cabo Frio with his family. There are plenty of churrascarias in Brazil, and in the US now. The most famous probably is Porcão. Little grills cooking meat can be seen all over the streets, but be careful; the nicknames for these little street churrasqueiras, are churrasqueirinha de gato, or little grill grilling cat!

6. Farofinha Crocantezinha -

Farofa, farofa, farofa: Fried manioc flour. It seems like such an odd addition to any food, but once tasted it will make sense why this interesting side accompaniment can be seen at any Brazilian table. A good farofa makes the beans thicker, the rice crunchier and the meat tastier. Although a bad farofa is really bad. Farofa needs to be crunchy and salty. When dipping the serving spoon into the pot of farofa it should make the same sound that sand makes as it crunches together under one’s feet.

Farofa can be made with eggs and onions, banana and onions, onions olives and sausage or bacon, or a mixture of the above. Farofa re-heated in the pot the day after is generally the best, because it gets a little more crunchy!

7. Carpaccio de Tiramisú no Botafogo Praia Shopping -

My picture of the carpaccio isn't working, for now see the beautiful view from the restaurant!

Tiramisú is actually a great little pizza restaurant in the food court of the shopping mall on the beach in Botafogo. If you don’t want to feel like you are eating in a shopping mall food court, there is a little closed off veranda that has lots of windows that show off Botafogo Praia Shopping’s wonderful view of the Guanabara bay and the Pão de Açucar.

There are many options for pizza that are delicious with a really thin crust and tasty cheese, but the best thing about Tiramisú is their carpaccio. Carpaccio is thin slices of raw beef. At Tiramisú they serve a plate covered with the meat and on top put very fresh thickly grated parmesan cheese, capers, and arugula, and surrounding the meat is slices of lime and a really light brown mustard. They serve a hot “white pizza,” which means a crunchy thin crust with kosher salt and rosemary. It is the perfect appetizer or small meal. Plus, the view cannot be beat!

8. Big Bi -

They display their fruit at the counter. Give them a tip and they will yell/sing "Obrigado e tem um bo(m)(a) dia/tarde/noite."

Pronounced: Biggy Bee. This is a lanchonete that you can find at various corners all over Rio de Janeiro. Generally, they don’t close, or at least I have never seen a closed Big Bi. It serves all kinds of juices imaginable and even some that are not imaginable. Once a friend and fellow gringa decided that before returning to London she was going to drink every juice possible. At the end she was having to spend days drinking four or five juices at once just to be able to taste them all.

Some of my favorite juices are:

Pineapple/  Pineapple and peppermint juice/ Pineapple and cashew juice (Leandro made this up, but it is so tasty) / Orange and carrot juice/ Orange and acerola juice/ Cashew juice /Strawberry with milk juice/ Mango juice/ Mango with milk juice.

Another thing that one needs to taste while in Rio that is available at Big Bi is açaí, pronounced ahs-eye-ee and not akai. It is a fruit in the amazon that makes this sorbet consistency juice/smoothie/ice cream deep purple dish. Açaí is especially good mixed with banana and granola. Be careful though, although açaí is a very energetic fruit often eaten before/after workouts, it is also one of the most caloric fruits. Don’t eat too much, or your workouts might give you a reverse result.

Big Bi also has tons of burgers and sandwiches.

9. Rodizio de Sushi -

Can't beat all you can eat!

There are a lot of Japanese descendants in Brazil, by far the most common Asian descendant. (In the United States I have to remind some Brazilians that not all Asians are Japanese.) São Paulo even has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. So you have to believe that there is REALLY good sushi in Brazil, actually some of the best that I have ever had.

Something that I love to do at night when I really want to splurge is go to a sushi restaurant and eat “rodizio de sushi.” Basically it is a flat rate that one pays, and allows all-you-can-eat sushi. This isn’t the same as a buffet, however, because the sushi is cooked to order–nice and fresh. Something that is more popular here than in the United States is sashimi, or fresh slices of plain raw fish. After trying it, I cannot get enough.

One of my favorite restaurants is Manekineko in the Cobal de Humaitá. There is also another sushi restaurant on the lake, the Lagoa, in Ipanema that serves a mean rodizio.

10. Brazilian Food Made by Leandro’s Family-

I had to dedicate the last spot to the wonderful food of Leandro’s family. Whether it is made by Leandro’s mom when we head to Cabo Frio for a weekend, or Leandro’s grandmother, who so nicely makes me lunch whenever possible, the food is so delicious. Leandro’s grandmother makes delicious bife ao molho, and even churrasco on her George Foreman grill. She also makes really tastey linguiça calabresa. I would say that Leandro’s grandmother’s speciality is fried sardines; this is one of my and Leandro’s favorites.

Leandro’s mom makes the best farofa ever. She also makes a really good fish dish in a light cream sauce with lots of bell peppers and onions. Although, something that is so weird to me about Brazilian cuisine is that Brazilians might make a meat dish with lots of vegetables, but for most Brazilians, these vegetables are just to give flavor to the meat and are left uneaten. I, being a gringa, love the vegetables and end up eating them anyway.

Leandro’s mom is also famous for her Pudim de Chocolate.