Rio de Janeiro RJ

I had taken a trip to Rio de Janeiro back in 2013 and didn't have anything worth sharing after it rained for most of my stay and some of my eating was disappointing. This March I had planned a trip to Northeastern Brazil and I was sure it was going to be great. But then I decided to change my plans at the last minute and just spend time around Rio. I knew a little more Portuguese this time around and had a few better ideas of places to go and what to get and took my camera to every place I went during the day.

Rio is a city where a person can visit the symbols and icons of an entire country in a 48 hour stay. But then there are countless neighborhoods to explore and side trips to islands and towns in the mountains or beside the ocean. I wanted to get to some places I hadn't been before and get just a little deeper into the food scene this time around.

Part 1: Centro


The downtown area, Centro, is not exactly a destination foreigners can picture in their imaginations like the beaches and the hills. I like the downtown of Rio. Its got tall buildings and a mix of old and new architecture with beautiful buildings right next to absurd concrete construction like the giant ugly cathedral that could only look good from the inside. The urban canyons have sun breaking through and the sidewalks are packed with vendors hawking everything you want. Centro has energy during the day while the other parts where visitors go don't wake up until noon or later.



Confeitaria Colombo

Since it was built in 1894, Confeitaria Colombo has been up there with Corcovado and Cristo Redentor, or Pão de Açúcar and Ipanema beach as one of the biggest attractions in Rio. Its absolutely packed in the middle of the day with screaming teenage girls who want their luxury desserts in the nineteenth century baroque dining room.


Some tartalettes I took photos but the low light made my camera stop working, this trip isn't going well so far.



Lemon Tarts


Colombo



Impression from the Museu Internacional de Arte Naif in Cosme Velho in Rio. Confeitaria Colombo has two more locations and several books and the upper floor has a super luxurious restaurant that serves a feijoada on weekends.




Just up the street from Confeitaria Colombo is Opus, a snack spot diner or lanchonete open since 1968. Its specialty is sandwiches of carne assada beef or pernil ham with big hunks of slow cooked meats taken from their ovens and put on a bun with juicy onions. This humble lanchonete has been open since 1968.


The pernil from the oven


The pernil sandwich with juicy onions on top




Across the street and around the corner from the last two places is a pastelaria in operation since 1970 serving pastels and laranjada or orange-ade. Pastelaria Chics has a cashier system where you pay and they give you a plastic coin for a big orange-ade, small orange-ade or a pastel.


The pastel being rolled out and filled.


Finished pastel, filled with melted cheese. This was flaky and warm.


The orange-ade or laranjada. Did I mention that tiles are a big deal in Brazil, and certain places have the tilework and certain places don't. The orange tiles here really make the difference. I mean the orange ade is good and the pastel was good, but its the tiles that really set the tone.


I had planned to hit the old Portuguese seafood place Rio Minho in this area but I couldn't make it when the place was open then at the end of my trip I didn't have the money left over to eat there. Maybe next time I will get to eat their Sopa Leão Veloso.

Confeitaria Colombo
R. Gonçalves Dias, 32
Centro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ,
http://www.confeitariacolombo.com.br/

Opus
R. Gonçalves Dias, 80
Centro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Pastelaria Chics
R. dos Andradas, 46, Lj. A,
Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Coming up: Just three places then another I wanted to go to but didn't get around to, and my camera malfunctioned in the low light at the one landmark dessert place, this wasn't a very impressive report. I hope it gets better from here.

Part Two: Feira de São Cristóvão and the Centro Municipal Luiz Gonzaga de Tradições Nordestinas



The Feira de São Cristóvão is a big building near the bus station that has a long name that translates to the St. Christopher Market and Luiz Gonzaga Municipal Center of Northeastern Traditions. This is a part of town where migrants from Northeastern Brazil had been meeting since the forties for an informal market. The edifice was built in the sixties for an exhibition and is a huge space turned into the Cultural Center and Market after a renovation in 2003. While Northeast Brazil, or the Nordeste usually refers to the States between Maranhão and Bahia, its important to note that the cultural descriptions and identities often overlap or have contradicting meanings. The Northeastern Traditions here are references to the interior region known as the Sertão. Its an arid region populated by migrants who left the coastal zone and sugar plantation society for the desert badlands. The foods like dried beef or goat stews or stuffed baked pumpkins reflect the limited agricultural bounty. Every so many years the poor Sertão region is hit by a drought that causes huge portions of its people to leave for the cities on the coast in the North, or the industrial and economic centers in the South. The Northeast identifies with a desert region of ranchers and farmers and banditos wearing pointy hats with stars on them and the music is here is mostly forró instead of samba.



This is Luiz Gonzaga, icon of northeastern Brazilian music. His biggest song was Asa Branca, about a bird that flies over the northeast and sees the land devastated by fire and decides to fly south but promises to return again.



Then there is a museum of Luiz Gonzaga



This guy was in full Luiz Gonzaga impersonator costume and he walked around selling cds and having his picture taken.



Behind that guy was O Globo reporter Dadá Coelho who hosts segments asking fans about Big Brother Brasil.


There are two large stages for live music and more smaller ones and a couple more dance hall bars playing forró music at night.


Berimbaus.



We have handmade baskets.



This clown needs a drink



Cordel literature, stylized wood cut printing books held together by string with short stories and folklore.


The attraction of the market is the food and the music, so now I can get to the food.



Guaraná Jesus is a guarana soda with hints of cinnamon and close only distributed in Maranhão. This is a must get while visiting the market and goes for R5.00 a can.



This is what you need, giant stacks of Guaraná Jesus



Carne de Sol or dried beef is a staple of Northeastern cooking.



Cashew fruit flavored soda from Ceará state.


Corn cachaça



Aipim from the ground.



Some soft sugary things I don't know what


This was codorna, or quail on a stick. There wasn't much meat on the bones and getting it off without a knife and fork was difficult.


Corn pamonhas in the pot, tapioca and queijo coalho on the pans.



The queijo coalho on a stick, with oregano



This is how much queijo coalho you need for a backyard bbq.



Cheese tapioca warming up.



Dried beef and cheese on top getting ready.


Finished tapioca for me to eat.



I decided to grab a quick bite at one of the restaurants by the musical stage, Roots of Maranhão


This is Arroz de Cuxá, rice cooked with the green cuxá plant and shrimp. The shrimp fell apart and heads and antennae were mixed in with the rice.

I was planning on going to the Northeast and had my whole route planned and wanted to try so many of these things up there instead of down in Rio. I was going to visit the beaches with the giant sand dunes, the town surrounded by dunes that is only approachable by jeeps, and had even read a whole book about eating in Recife. The music and the atmosphere at the Feira de São Cristóvão were nice but I left thinking maybe I should have gone to the Nordeste after all.

Feira de São Cristóvão
Centro Municipal Luiz Gonzaga de Tradições Nordestinas
Campo de São Cristóvão S/N
Pavilhão de São Cristóvão
Bairro de São Cristóvão
Rio de Janeiro - RJ
http://www.feiradesaocristovao.org.br/

Coming up: I might have to go back to downtown and get some snacks in the market neighborhood known for cheap clothes, electronics, and magic carpets.

Tyrgyzistan - gorgeous! I look forward to following the rest of your journey.

Part 3: Middle Eastern snacks in the Saara



What is the Saara? Saara is the Sociedade de Amigos das Adjacências da Rua da Alfândega, The friends and neighbors of Alfandega St. Saara is a market area that was once filled with shops owned by former residents of the Ottoman Empire who had emigrated to Rio since around the year 1900. The neighborhood was once dominated by Muslims, Jews, and Maronite Christians from modern day Lebanon and Syria, Rua da Alfândega was once known as "Rua dos Turcos" or Turk Street. Subsequent generations have seen Chinese and other vendors move in. This is an area known for shopping for cheap deals, not just cheap food. The buildings are old with historical facades that are obscured by the ugly signage and dense electrical wires The close quarters of the narrow streets and loud noises of tinny soundsystems announcing today's "special offers" make this a unique pedestrian neighborhood.



Just outside Saara, they are selling Cuscuz in the street street. This is tapioca couscous that is like a dessert.


This is where you get your tobacco.


My first stop was Rei do Quibe, King of Kibe. This is a bakery with a diner counter in front, they do special rates for resellers buying in bulk from the bakery.


This is a foldover known as a folhado, with ham and cheese inside.


Down the street on Rua Dos Passos is Restaurante Cedro do Libano


Esfiha aberta, or open faced esfiha with beef inside.


Historical plaque inside Cedro do Libano, open since 1948


Just a couple doors down is Padaria Bassil. This is another bakery with a giant "fabrica" or factory of dough being turned into esfihas behind the door. Lots of places all over Rio sell esfihas from counter displays next to other salgados or salty snacks. But the bakeries have fresh batches coming out regularly and a regular rotation of customers standing and eating fast.


esfiha de espinafre, spinach esfiha.


this was manuche, sometimes spelled like Man’oushe it was flatbread with zaatar for R3.00


Fresh bread and hot and fresh esfiha since 1913. This place has brisk wholesale business with people coming to pick up big boxes with a triangular esfiha logo.


This sign points to Casas Pedro a grocery shop with hot snacks and 18 locations around Rio. They have more than one shop in Saara and maybe the chain started here.


This is Pedro.


Pedro likes his bacalhau.


I grabbed this doce, sweet from the snack counter in front. It had chestnuts inside.

My research and prep work found stories of Syrian refugees selling food on the streets in Rio because of bureaucratic obstacles to getting work permits. There were vendors selling packaged arabic snacks all over the place but it didn't look tasty enough to try out and the people selling on the tables didn't look very happy.

Rei do Quibe
R. Sr. dos Passos, 129 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Restaurante Cedro do Libano
R. Sr. dos Passos, 231 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Padaria Bassil
R. Sr. dos Passos, 235 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Coming up: I will try to hit one more of the markets before leaving Rio.

Part 4: A Short Walk Through Feira Livre da Glória


I spent one morning walking through the Santa Teresa neighborhood and everything was closed so I continued down the hill and found the Feira Livre da Glória taking up a long stretch of road. Every Sunday morning the wide boulevard of Avenida Augosto Severo in the Glória neighborhood just south of the downtown area is closed for an open air market. The tall trees make a natural canopy that helps in the heat, and the live music was nice.



Live music.



If you like big stacks of fruit in an outdoor setting, this is your kind of place.



The most photogenic stall was the pepper stall.



Sold by the "lot", here two plates for R5.00


I think this guy is sifting the tapioca flour for the tapioca stand.


Big orange gourds


One end of the market had the peixarias, or fish sellers. This lady in front was gutting the fish.


This guy was shucking oysters, or ostras.



Another mystery fruit


This guy had a cart filled with honey.


Green stuff.


Meat vendor with very yellow chickens


Banana man.


Red garlic was popular


The most popular stall at the market was Pastel do Bigode with pastels and caldo de cana or sugar water. The line for that one was like a hundred people long and I didn't want to stand for half an hour for one more pastel. Another thing was that many of the stands moved to other neighborhood markets around the city during the week. On the edge of the market were people selling garage sale items spread out on a rug on the sidewalk with everything from used clothes to old toys.


Feira Livre da Glória
Glória
Av. Augusto Severo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Coming up: Its time for me to get out of the city and get some fresh air somewhere else.

These are great. Thank you.

The mystery fruit looks like the "strawberry" variety of papaya.

Jeff

Part 5: Beach Food in Búzios


The sculpture of Brigitte Bardot on Orla Bardot between two beaches in Armação dos Búzios. Búzios has a reputation as the beach resort town for the international tourists visiting Rio, the lodging and restaurants are aimed at the high end of the market compared to neighboring beach towns Arraial do Cabo and Cabo Frio. Búzios was once a remote getaway for famous people but now it is a stop for cruise ships passing along the coast. The central area of Armação dos Búzios is a small area of pedestrian stone streets around Rua das Pedras. The streets and walkways get jammed with tables as each cafe and restaurant opens up and arranges their outdoor seating into any open area. There are places serving Colombian Arepas, a Chiliean bar and restaurant, Mexican food and other options only open later at night.




The milho vendors were all over Praia de Geriba when I stopped by. Like one every fifty meters all with push carts that had big steamy pots filled with boiling water and sweet corn.


Milho verde, the high energy vegetable.




At the other end of the peninsula, beside the boat ramp with guys hammering away repairing boats, was a man with a humble cart that crushes sugar cane into sugary juice. Caldo de Cana Manhães was cranking out the sugary liquid for guys working on the boats and tourists passing by.



The frothy caldo de cana, this was sweet.



The main intersection of the old town has the main fast food joints of McDonalds and Bob's Burgers, and right next to them is a lanchonete O Pão com Linguiça with a menu that looks exactly like Bob's Burgers with the exception of their title sandwich of bread with Linguiça sausage starting at R10.00



This was the toasted roll with cheap orange cheddar cheese and three long links of the sausage.


Accurate sign is accurate.


Sucos, or juice places are close to every beach in Brazil and many have Polynesian themes like Haka Sucos here next to Praia dos Ossos.


This was the batatas, or potatoes at Haka. Topped with melted cheese and bacon and served with a green mayo sauce. I don't remember what I was thinking when I ate this.


The old town area of Búzios has a bunch of ice cream places serving gelato and sorvete and Mexican paletas. I even found a one post blog dedicated to a few of them, one post blogs are a passion of mine, http://sorveteriasembuzios.blogspot.com/ came up when I was searching for addresses for the places I visited.



First up was Sorvete Finlandês, a small chain that originated from the area near the Finland colony of Penedo in Itatiaia far in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro State. This sorveteria also had a cafe serving beer and sandwiches or breakfast.



The sorvete de milho verde is always one of my first choices.



At the busy end of the old town was Gelato Trento with Italian gelato.


This was the Italian cherry, cereja.



Gelato de passas ao rum, rum raisin gelato with chewy raisins inside.






I decided to stop into this little cafe, Maria Maria after looking at the menu that was mostly chocolate cakes.



Bolo de maracujá, passionfruit cake.


Caldo de Cana Manhães
Beside boat ramp on Orla Bardot

Pão com Linguiça
Avenida José Bento Ribeiro Dantas, 14
Armação Dos Búzios - RJ

Haka Sucos
Praça dos Ossos
Armação Dos Búzios - RJ

Sorvete Finlandês
Rua Manoel Turibio de Farias n°127
Armação dos Búzios RJ
http://www.sorvetefinlandes.com.br/index.html

Trento Gelateria Artesanal
Rua das Pedras, 70 - Loja 14
Armação Dos Búzios - RJ
http://www.trentobuzios.com.br/

Maria Maria Café
Rua das Pedras n° 151
Armação Dos Búzios - RJ
http://mariamariacafe.com.br/

Coming up: These little snacks are nice but I need something a little bit bigger and I need to search for some seafood.

Tyrgyzistan wrote:Milho verde, the high energy vegetable.

That corn is so beautiful it makes me a little weepy.............................

I'm with Gary: that corn is so *gorgeous*!! I wonder if it's a 'modern' sugar-enhanced corn--which basically doesn't taste much like corn--or an ol' fashioned corn that tastes like corn.

(I'm going to try growing Golden Bantam, a really really old variety, this year, just to see if my memories of corn taste are accurate or simply romantic.)

Geo

Part 6 Searching for Seafood and Turning Argentine


The sculpture of the fishermen of Búzios next to the boats for fishing and diving and tourist taxis. Búzios was once a fishing village without electricity before the celebrities started visiting and the cruise ships began stopping here. But that was a long time ago and now the fishermen live elsewhere and bring their catch to the peixarias and restaurants that are everywhere.




The current peixaria in Manguinhos in the central area of the peninsula. This had a handful of caixas or boxes with people selling the catch of the day. Its worth noting that right next to this peixaria is the upscale "polo gastronomico" of Porta de Barra. Its a development of high end restaurants build over a marsh next to the beach. The restaurants here charged a super premium to be able to eat in spacious setting right next to the ocean. I just didn't feel like splurging when I visited.


The Fishermen association, next to the dock in Manguinhos.


On one of the pedestrian paths that fills with people I found a petisco bar, or a bar that serves snacks and food portions. I looked at their menu and settled on something that sounded good while my craving for fish was driving me to find something.


The Iscas de Peixe, fish fingers. At R73.00 and change this big portion was the most expensive thing I ate on my trip. I wish I had found something else or tried something better because this was just more fried fish.




This lady at Praia Dos Ossos had wheeled out her grill that had the word Choripan on the side and I thought it would be worth trying. the oven toasted the bun and the meat was taken off of a stick and slid onto the sandwich.



This wasn't real exciting stuff. But when I left the beach and grabbed the local minibus to get to another part of town, the bus was filled with Argentine people. I don't understand the Argentines. They speak a dialect of Spanish that is very had to difficult to decipher, I only get the last word GRACIAS. They carry around giant tea pots with metal straws that make a slurping or bubbling noise everywhere they go, and they wear slightly different clothes. The environment around Armação Dos Búzios attracts the Argentines with its warm weather and picturesque beaches. The number of Argentines and their presence here goes beyond just holiday makers and includes full time residents, retirees, and restaurant owners, managers, and wait staff from Argentina. These places don't even open until two in the afternoon or later.



My first stop for some Argentine food was Empanaderia Real which serves empanadas and pizza late into the night.



This was the stuff, filled with creamed corn, lightly spiced picante beef, and then shrimp. The creamed corn is known as Humita, why did I not know about these things before, creamed corn in empanadas just works.



I had to make another stop for a cheap snack at another Argentine place, Puro Sabor.


The same empanadas, creamed corn, spicy beef, and shrimp. Once you start eating creamed corn empanadas then you can't stop, they are that good.


I had seen some butcher shops around town advertising Argentine beef, and all the Argentine people seemed to be eating giant hunks of beef for lunch. So I thought I would join the crowd and eat some steak.


The Bife de Chorizo, served with fries, a fried egg, and salad.

Kave Bar Drink's
Travessa Turibio de Farias
Armação Dos Búzios - RJ

Empanaderia Real
R. Manoel Turíbio de Farias, 100
Armação Dos Búzios - RJ

Puro Sabor
Travessa Oscar Lopes Campos 63 Lj 7
Armação Dos Búzios - RJ


Coming up: I had some fun in Búzios but its time to get back to Rio before heading back home.

Part 7: Niterói


The view of Pão de Acucar and the MAC Niterói, the symbol of the city of Niterói. Niterói is best known for its oscar Niemeyer buildings, endless beaches, old colonial fortresses and views of Rio de Janeiro across the bay. Its just a short ferry ride from the central area of Rio.



The guide books only have one real food recommendation for Niterói and just north of the central area is the Mercado de Peixes São Pedro. The Fish Market has been here since before the turn of the last century as a place for fishermen to sell their catch. But in that time the land around it has been filled in and the structure has been rebuilt into the ugly building here now.


The statue of St Peter meets visitors just inside the door.


The shrine to St Peter with aquarium tanks beside.


A guide of what to look for in your fish, but I don't know much about shopping for fish. I found a website with some good translations of fish names from English to Portuguese
http://home.clara.net/rabarker/PEIXE-RE.htm



The Market has 39 boxes on the first floor and restaurants and shops on the second floor.


These were cut open to let you see inside.


I think this is Namorado


Red fish


Little Lagostas

The restaurants on the second floor didn't seem tempting to me after looking at the menus and the cramped space, nothing seemed special enough to make me want to eat here. I just don't know enough about seafood to know what is good and what isn't.



Just a block from the busy bus and ferry stations is the old Portuguese restaurant and bar Caneco Gelado do Mario, which translates to Mario's Icy Mug. The exterior looks like the sun has been pretty harsh on the awning and paint. There is a proper restaurant area but people in a hurry can go to a walk-up counter that serves snacks and drinks.


The star of the show is the bolinhos de bacalhau, cod fish balls. These were cod and potatoes formed with a spoon against a plate in the open kitchen right when you order.


Pastels with crab, shrimp, and cheese. The seafood pastels were hot and the cheese pastel burst open. These were fried up to order and were very tasty.




Brazilians love their rotisserie chicken places, or galetos. I had tried to find a good one before I left the country. In the high end suburb of Icaraí is a location of O Galeto.


This was the Churrasco Misto plate that came in at just under R55.00 It had two big hunks of sausage, a cut of pork loin, then a quarter of a chicken, and two more cuts of beef behind everything. This was way too much food for one person, but you could get side dishes of beans, rice, and french fries for just a little more.

Mercado de Peixes São Pedro
Rua Visconde do Rio Branco, 55,
Centro, Niterói - RJ

Caneco Gelado do Mario
R. Visc. do Uruguai, 288 - Lojas 5,6
Centro, Niterói - RJ

O Galeto Icaraí
Rua Coronel Moreira César, 282 - Loja 105 - Icaraí



Coming up: Niterói was nice but I need to catch the ferry back to Rio and get to some places in the South Zone that I missed out before.

Part 8: Looking for some coffee shops



There is a dog on the famous tile staircase.

Coffee from Brazil is famous around the world and has been one of the country's biggest exports for over a century. But beyond the cafezinhos sold at street corners the beans mostly get exported. Espresso machines are more common at little neighborood cafes with small menus and lunch and breakfasts. Places dedicated to coffee and espresso are relatively new. Its important to note that Starbucks is expanding quickly in Rio and São Paulo and reaching the one store every block level of saturation in the busy areas.



One of the first places listed in the online lists is Cafecito in the very heavily touristed Santa Teresa.


This neighborhood is filled with old mansions built by European diplomats, and Cafecito had a deck area to drink the espresso served with a little bit of a brownie.



I was walking through Ipanema one morning and saw a location of the local chain Armazém do Café.


The espresso with a candied orange slice.



On the other side of Ipanema is a new place named Kraft Cafe, opened by an Australian who wanted to bring the short blacks and long whites to Brazil. The press pieces claimed there was nothing like it here.


The latte from Kraft.



Back in Centro, the Rubro Cafe was filled with professionals and busy people.


This was the Espresso Carioca, suave or smooth espresso.




My favorite place for coffee was Café Épico which gets its beans from the highlands of Minas Gerais. This place had the best interior with art and photography on the wall that actually added to the atmosphere.


This was the macchiato in an American sized glass, with a side of a pão de queijo.


I stopped in again on a very hot day after walking for miles, and the cold affogato sounded too good to pass up.

After trying some of the espressos and the coffee shops I think that Starbucks will continue to grow in Brazil. Every year more people here can afford the same four dollar comfort food latte. There just isn't anything like it here. You would think that some Brazilian people would try to make a local version, like how Bob's Burgers is such a copy of McDonalds.


Cafecito
Rua Paschoal Carlos Magno, 121 - Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Armazém do Café
Rua Visconde de Pirajá, 261 A - Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro - RJ
http://www.armazemdocafe.com.br/

Kraft Café
R. Aníbal de Mendonça, 55 - Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Rubro Café
R. da Quitanda, 191 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Café Épico
Av. Mem de Sá, 144 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Coming up: I will eat some River Food in Rio.

Part 9: Amazônia flow



The Largo do Boticario in Cosme Velho. The old houses reflect the architecture that used to be everywhere in Rio in the time before high rise condominium buildings.


Its a little bit hard to find Amazonian food back home in the states. There are açaí places here and there and the berries and juices are available. But Rio has a handful of places dedicated to the far north of Brazil. Each of these small eateries has a menu of not just açaí and tacacá but other foods and regional sodas, ice creams, groceries, beer, and even some artwork.



Amazônia Soul has a real convenient location close to all the tourist spots in Ipanema. Its on the same block as the coffee shop from the last post. This place has a sign claiming the best Açaí in the world, and the hand painted signs resemble the huts serving açaí in the small towns of the Amazon River basin.



The Açaí here comes with toppings and accompaniments, and I decided to try the flocos de tapioca or little balls of tapioca. These were light and crunchy the the breeze blew some of them across the table.



Then the purple stuff arrived, Açaí deeply purple in a big bowl.



Now I could mix my concoction of the tapioca balls and the Açaí and mix it around before eating. It was like cereal.




Tacacá do Norte in Flamengo was my next stop, it serves food and drinks at a small counter with tacacá the specialty.



This place had a selection of small plates, and the casquinha de siri looked good. This was a huge portion of crab meat served in a shell, with a huge helping of farofa that covered half of the mound of seafood.



I had to grab a cup of sorvete de castanha-do-pará for dessert. Brazil nuts in ice cream.




My last stop for Amazonian food was back down in Ipanema at what might be the oldest tacacazeira in Rio at Arataca,



I had to get some tacacá soup in the special bowl before leaving town. The jambu leaves, the shrimp, the weird clear pasty stuff, the numbing sensation at the taste. It was all here.


Amazônia Soul
R. Teixeira de Melo, 37 - Loja B - Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Tacacá do Norte
R. Barão do Flamengo, 35 R - Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Arataca
R. Domingos Ferreira, 41 - Loja B - Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Coming up: even more from Zona Sul.

Part 10: Botanical Gardens and desserts in Zona Sul


The tall palms and fountain of the Jardim Botanico.

You can't visit Rio without getting to some of its parks, and two in the Jardim Botanico are among the biggest attractions for visitors to the city. Parque Lage and the Jardim Botanico and a short bus ride apart, just north of Ipanema and Leblon.



The Plage Cafe in the Mansion of Parque Lage and the green pool and open view of Corcovado Mountain. The mansion and park were built by a businessman in 1920 and the paths up the side of the mountain to the Corcovado peak start here.


The espresso from Plage Cafe.



Outside the cafe is the food bike, food bikes are all over Rio. Like you go to a bar and there is a food bike, or any open area with people will have a few. Most only come out and night. But this one was on a path in the park, Plage Cafe Le Pic-Nick.



This little sandwich of queijo minas, cheese from Minas Gerais on french bread.



There is more than one place to grab a bite to eat in the Jardim Botanico. The breakfast spot is known as La Bicyclette and serves luxurious breakfasts just outside the entrance gate.



The espresso with a little corn muffin.



The croque monsieur, they brought a salad even thought I didn't want one.




There is another French Bakery in the Copacabana neighborhood with a window to watch the bakers making the desserts and breads, Boulangerie Guerin.



The eclair de morango, strawberry eclair with a macaron and strawberry mousse and fruits.



the tarteletta de mousse de chocolate, tart with chocolate mousse and fruits.



This place is a landmark for the busy Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana.



Further down the Avenida I found several more sweet spots to check into and decided to treat myself to some gelato.



This was a gelato with a simple milk flavor with just a little sugar added, i think its fior de latte.



The last place I stopped on Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana was Officina del Gelato which had granitas on the menu in addition to gelato.



This was Lime Gelato, very strong flavor here.

Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana had another super luxurious French chocolate spot, then some more coffee shops, there was too much to try in a short period of time.

Plage Cafe
Parque Lage - Rua Jardim Botânico, 414 - Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

La Bicyclette
Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro- RJ

Boulangerie Guerin
Av. Nossa Sra. de Copacabana, 178 - Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Gelato Mio
Av. Nossa Sra. de Copacabana, 314 A - Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Officina Del Gelato
Av. Nossa Sra. de Copacabana, 903 - Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - RJ


Coming up: this food was too rich I need to get some more cheap stuff now.

Part 11: Middle Eastern Snacks from Largo de Machado and beyond



This is Largo de Machado, its a public square in the Catete neighborhood with a subway station. Its best known to foreigners as the place to catch a bus to Corcocado train station. Its open area is filled with vendors selling snacks or drinks or souveniers day and night. But right next to Largo do Machado is a scrubby shopping center with a couple long running Middle Eastern snack spots. The bus drivers stopping at the square will run into the shopping center and grab their esfihas as fast as possible, and things move fast at these little places.



Pizzaria Oriental says it has been open since 1966 on its sign, but it also calls itself "pizzaria", and the esfihas are often called middle eastern pizzas. But these are closed esfihas that don't resemble pizzas. The menu of meals and snacks includes ready made batches of esfihas and meals of lentils with fried onions or hummus plates.



This was the kafta portion served with a plate full of onions.



This was the esfiha de carne.



Do you see that? In the letter O in Oriental is the word Pizzaria. This is a pizzeria without pizza on the menu.



The big success story of Galeria Condor shopping center is Rotisseria Sírio Libanesa, which takes up about six spaces and has two storefronts. The central kitchen in between might be cranking out a thousand esfihas a day, then there is a large menu of middle eastern meals and fresh juices.



I ordered the Misto Arabe expecting something like the Misto Quente grilled cheese sandwich served on the streets. This was ham and cheese inside of a pita bread lightly toasted.



This was the esfiha that makes this place famous, the cheese filled are the most popular.



I was walking to the subway station in Copacabana when I found Esfirrateria Rias Damasco, with a display case filled with esfihas.



These ones were rolled out a little longer, a little flakier. They also had a basket filled with Turkish Jujubas candies that looked like giant jujubee gummy treats.



In the trendy Ipanema district there are a lot of fast casual concepts and the option here for Middle Eastern food is a place called Laffa Kebab Store.



The kebab de cordeiro, lamb shawarma kebab. The deal here is that they make the bread fresh in a press when you order then they roll out the long kebab with the veggies and sauces. Laffa has some other locations around Zona Sul



Last Stop was at a shopping center in the Icaraí neighborhood of Niterói, in a building name Trade Center that is home to The American Coffe Cake Co., but I was there for Kamilu's Comida Árabe.



This was the esfiha aberta Goiabada com Queijo, made of guava paste over melted cheese in an open esfiha. This is a classic flavor combination found in pastels and desserts.



One more esfiha aberta, this time queijo e oregano or cheese with oregano.



Pizzaria Oriental
Galeria do Condor - Largo do Machado, 29 - Loja 15 - Catete, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Rotisseria Sírio Libanesa
Galeria do Condor - Largo do Machado, 29 - Loja 32 - Catete, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Esfirrateria Rias Damasco
R. Barata Ribeiro, 698 - Loja C - Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Laffa Kebab Store
Rua Visconde de Pirajá 175 - Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro - RJ
http://www.laffa.com.br/

Kamilu's Comida Árabe
Trade Center - Rua Coronel Moreira César, 26 - Loja 141 - Icaraí, Niterói - RJ

Coming up: The end is finally in sight just one more post and its over.

Tyrgyzistan wrote:Coming up: The end is finally in sight just one more post and its over.

Nooooo! This has been spec-frigging-tacular. I was hoping it'd never end.

A million thanks.

=R=

Part 12: Big meals and bar food


The Statue of Cristo Redentor on Corcovado Mountain.

I usually check out the local websites before deciding where to go, then I leave myself time to try anything that looks good. The online magazines with food sections are mostly aimed at the upper and middle classes and they concentrate their coverage to certain neighborhoods or tastes. A lot of places look great before you get there and turn out to be not so great but that is part of the fun. There are a couple English language websites dedicated to food in Rio, Eatrio and Culinary Backstreets. They offer tours that would have cost two days of my expenses to attend, and I think I could put together where they would go. I had some trouble with my banks and multiple atm cards quit working for me, this might have cost me a trip or two to a seafood restaurant, but I spent too much money at restaurants anyway and I don't get any enjoyment from spending more money. I had a bar named Bar do David high on my list, but never made it to that part of town. I don't take any notes on what I ate and its tough to remember all the details and putting the photos together takes longer than the trip did.

This last post is just stuff that didn't fit into previous entries.




I had started my trip and had wanted to visit the far North and Northeast before deciding to visit Rio, so I had some Northeastern bars and restaurants on my list of places to check out. Botafogo is a high traffic neighborhood that people have to go through to get from Centro to the trendier places in Zona Sul. Just around the corner from the Metro station is an old Northeastern bar specializing in carne de sol.


This was the carne de sol com aipim, dried beef cooked in onions served with fried aipim and farofa. The bottle of melted butter was for extra moisture on the dry parts of the dish. Carne de sol is chewy and dry but simple and tasty food that Nordestinos cannot get enough of.





I had seen Adega Portugália in the guidebooks and the maps and figured it was a portuguese bar and restaurant. The other patrons were having those giant plates of bacalhau fillets. But the specialties of the house had some Northeastern Brazilian dished and my eyes were drawn to the stewed goat known as cabrito.



The guarnições, side dishes of green rice and fried aipim.



The Cabrito, stewed goat in a mint sauce. This had a deep bowl of brown minty sauce and chunks of the goat. I had to spoon out the hunks and mix them on my plate with the rice and the aipim. This meal was just enormous and surprisingly tasty.



Just a few blocks away from Largo de Machado and Adega Portugália is a boteco that calls itself "The King of Petiscos" or small plates. Baixo Gago has an inside dining area and some open air spaces, and serves food and drinks late into the night, they also enter the Comida de Boteco contest every year.



I looked at their menu of petiscos and was planning on getting a baked pumpkin dish, but they told me it would take a long time to cook and I should try something else instead. So I went with this Doritos and sausage thing, with a big pile of farofa in the middle. Whoever thought of dipping doritos into farofa was a bit mad.



Its not a secret that many parts of Copacabana are a little bit run down. There are touristy areas but many places passed their prime a long time ago as the jet set moved on to Ipanema, Leblon, or over the hill in Barra de Tijuca. But Copacabana has no shortage of pé-sujos, or dive bars with cheap food.



The calabresa and fries. After eating this I felt like I had achieved everything I had set out to for my trip. I had eaten at one of the three locations of Bar Bunda de Fora.





Adega da Velha O Bar do Chico
R. Paulo Barreto, 25 - Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Adega Portugália
Largo do Machado, 30 - Loja A - Catete, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Baixa Gago
R. Gago Coutinho, 51 - Laranjeiras, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Bar Bunda de Fora
R. Barata Ribeiro 360 - Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - RJ

I sent a link to this thread to a Brazilian co-worker who hasn't been back home in many years and he told me it made him homesick and stirred up childhood memories long since forgotten. You've impacted countless people with this Herculean effort and it is very much appreciated.

=R=

Tyrgyzistan,
What a great post. Loved your photos. Just shared your adventure with my brother-in-law who is from Brazil and my co-worker's husband who is there on business. Each segment of your trip provided me with a great lunch escape. Thank you!

Thanks again for this wonderful post. I wanted to share responses from my sister and her husband Joao, who is from Brazil.

"I had no idea how long it was, so perfect for a cozy Saturday read. Really great descriptions and excellent photography. I feel like I went on vacation. I hear Joao talk about these kinds of dishes but have never tried any of them...But no mention of crime in these articles. (they wondered if you had encountered any?)"

Joao mentioned, "these fotos bring a lot of memories. That Confeitaria Colombo is really something else. One of the things I really miss from Rio."

Just wanted you to know how much your post was appreciated.

Rio’s Carnival for the Senses Ends at the Food Line

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/sport ... share&_r=0

Tyrgyzistan, I had skimmed your posts when you first posted them, but with more time today fully read all of them. Just brilliant - thanks for sharing . . . wonderful stuff and fantastic photos!