The Best Hotdog in Rio
A couple of days ago I told you about my favourite Brazilian food book, Gastronomia de Rua – a guide to 19 of Rio’s best loved street food vendors. I have only visited one or two of the people featured in the book and I would love to cross a few more off. Sometimes the problem is that they sell their wares in some far-flung neighbourhood (compared to my neck of the woods), in other cases the problem is that you have to get up early to catch them. But neither of these things apply to Oliveira, the man who sells what is commonly held to be The Best Hotdog in Rio.
That's quite hotdog! Here in Brazil the word for hot dog is Cachorro Quente - literally 'hot dog'.
Now before I go any further I should point out that I’m not that much of a hotdog fan. I know people in New York City go on about hotdogs and they go together with some of the US sports that no one else plays, but I don’t have a lot of love for the hotdog. As far as I’m concerned it’s trashy food so being The Best doesn’t impress me much.
BUT Oliveira was featured in the book! In my eyes that practically makes him a celebrity. I asked around and everyone agreed that his hotdogs were the best, and so I decided to set out to find him. Luckily for me, Oliveira sells his hotdogs in Largo do Humaitá, no more than 15 minutes walk from my office. And he sets up his stand at 6pm and stays open until after midnight, so the timing was good for me too.
I arrived rather early, just as Oliveira and his assistant were finishing off their setup for the evening. Oliveira was a really friendly guy and brought me a chair and was happy to sit and chat for a while. Then we went up and I ordered my hotdog.
Linguiça or Salsicha? There's only one correct answer.
There are several notable things about ordering. First of all you will be asked if you want linguica (a sausage) or salsicha (a hotdog). I’m sure you’ll all have your own preference, but I’d just like to tell you that if you prefer salsicha, you’re wrong. Next choose one or more of the 12 sauces on offer. Yes, 12. They have all kinds of different varieties of mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, you name it. If you just ask for plain mustard they look rather disappointed. “Don’t you want to try the sweet honey mustard? How about the smoky ketchup picante?”
12 sauces, 12 accompaniments. You can be greedy.
OK, so moving on, you will next be offered each of the 12 accompaniments – onions, peas, corn, pickles, olives, quail’s eggs, batatas palhas, etc. Now there are a couple of things that might have jumped out at you from that list. Firstly, yes, I did say quail’s eggs. Here in Brazil, quail’s eggs (ovo de codorna) are not particularly fancy or unusual. Secondly, that last item on the list, batatas palhas, is a matchstick-like potato chip. They are sprinkled all over the top of your hotdog and, Oliveira assures me, this was an invention of his way back in the mists of time. It was so popular with his clients that word got round and before long every hotdog seller in Rio had a tub of these salty, crispy potato shards.
I know, I'm not going to win any food photography awards for this one. I only remembered to take a photo when I was half way through eating it and then it looked a bit of a mess. (As you can see, I selected mustard with herbs).
A hotdog with all the trimmings costs just R$6.50 ($3.50 US; £2.30 GB) and although it isn’t remotely sophisticated, it’s a very tasty snack and I’m a sucker for trying anything that is meant to be The Best in Town… (I’m also a sucker for meeting ‘famous’ people, and I’m happy to say that Oliveira is a very nice guy).
Oliveira and his happy helper.
I ended up choosing the stand I cater to due to it offering vinaigrette (one of the few in town that does), plus it is well kept. Mr. Oliveira’s stand look nice as well, and definitely outdoes my Cachorro Quente dude when it comes to toppings.
Anyway my standard hot dog features a run of the mill boiled weiner (salsicha), strands of cheese, and vinaigrette. I often take my own mustard (Kraft Yellow), they don’t mind as it’s the only sauce I like other than the hot molho de tomate which comes with the dog itself and melts the cheese strands in glorious manner. This sauce/molho is very good, the owner’s wife makes it from the tomatoes that are also used for the vinaigrette. Yum.
I don’t get the use of batata palha/potato shards in a hot dog scenario. It just seems like you are putting starch over starch when using those on a dog. It’s kind of like cousins dating each other. Strange. Well, live and let live I guess.
Oh, I pay 3.50 for mine.
Hmmm, maybe I am suffering some cultural culinary confusion here. Isn’t vinaigrette basically the same as salad dressing? You put that on your hotdog?
I think Brazilians have never been averse to serving starch on starch with a little starch on the side – rice, beans, farofa and fries anyone? ;)
3.50 is a good price. I suspect that Oliveira is charging a premium because of his “Best in Rio” reputation…
Wow, hot dogs. I agree with you when you say they are trash foods! I call them cancer sticks, because I once saw a documentary which showed a hoti dogi that had been in a landfill for 5 (FIVE!!!!!) years and still had not decomposed….sounds impossible but obviously not. Ew.
But, like you said, I bet the linguica is much better. It’s actually a real sausage instead of a fake kind of sausage that hot dogs usually are. I like sausage !!! hhehhehee
That came out different than I intended….but I think you get the point. Sausage is a much healthier option than hot dogs.
That being said, I’m eating a greasy hot dog from the convenience store on the corner smothered in ketchup and mustard, as well as sour kraut. Just kidding, I’d die before I did that!
I’ll take some of the smoked picante sauce, poh favoh!
See, I have a problem, because I know it’s wrong and kind of disgusting, but your description of greasy hot dog with mustard and sauerkraut made me a bit hungry…
For sure, all those extras and sauces help mask the fact that you’re actually eating reconstituted meat scrapings. Urgh… :(
Not my kind of stuff. I miss the Brazilian linguiças though. And the Brazilian pizzas. NL doesn’t have good pizzas. Nor picanha. Yep, no polent either. Tapioca ? Forget About it. Tomatoes ? Tasteless.
Oh, by the way… the first time my mother offered my son a “hottydoggy” (and I translated it to him in Dutch as a “warm dog”)… he started crying ! Hahahahah ! (he was less than 3years young then).
Ana, I don’t want to insult your homeland, but Brazilian pizza? I have not yet found a pizza in Brazil that I thought was good (OK, one time in São Paulo). Maybe it depends on what you have from the start.
I think your son’s reaction is pretty much the best response someone could give to be offered a hot dog! :D
i love brazilian pizzas and brazilian hot dogs with “batata palha”
i leave near oliveira… its the best choice, at the beggining or the end the night… at 22:00 pm or 05:00 am.. its always tasty and.. open!
i always ask for: (sorry i dont no how to write all in english), sausage, onions, tomatoe, “pimentão”, cheddar and “rosé” sauces, and… complete, with all and too much potatos and cheese (queijo ralado)!
The best choice always!
Ah yes! Now you made me hungry! ;)