Rio’s food oasis
In Zona Norte, just to the east of Maracanã and just to the south of São Cristóvão lies the unremarkable neighbourhood of Praça da Bandeira. In the middle of of this neighbourhood is a street that in passing looks just like any other in the area, Rua Barão de Iguatemi. However, to foodophile Cariocas, this street is a bit special.
First of all you have Aconchego Carioca, a restaurant that was catapulted to fame (and fortune, no doubt) after it was championed by Rio’s resident French uber-chef, Claude Troisgros. It’s a cosy place (aconchego actually means ‘cosiness’ or ‘cuddle’ in Portuguese) and sells dozens of fancy beers and delicious main courses such as moqueca, but top of the list has to be the bolinhos de feijoada.
A meal in a bolinho – Black beans surround thinly cut couve and little pork/carne seca pieces. These were actually invented by the owner and are now imitated all over Brazil.
Some might say that Aconchego’s success has become a bit of a problem – the last few times I’ve wanted to go, there has been a 40-60 minute wait for a table. Luckily there are some other great options nearby!
Directly opposite Aconchego is Bar da Frente (‘Bar in front’ – a reference to the fact that it is located right in front of its famous neighbour). For those who can’t wait for Aconchego, Bar da Frente offers excellent bolinhos de feijoada of their own as well as a lot of other innovative and delicious treats.
Bolinhos de aipim (remember aipim is another name for manioc/cassava) served up with shredded carne seca. Yum!
Just around the corner from Aconchego is the colourful Forneria Santa Filomena [no longer with us], which offers pizzas, gnocchi and a wide selection of bruschettas. And still on Rua Barão de Iguatemi, just a block away, is Botto Bar [2024: Botto Bar now seems to be more of a sporadic opener], a place with a huge selection of beers from all over the world and a rowdy crowd with a taste for ‘hock and holly’ (rock and roll!).
Good beer doesn’t come cheap in Rio, but there’s only so much Antarctica a man can take…
So you can see that this apparently nondescript street is actually a rich hunting ground for those with an appetite! And it seems that the spirit of inventive food is picking up pace. Last month I visited an excellent event in which a selection of different groups and establishments collaborated. The event was held on the roof terrace of Forneria Santa Filomena and featured food and drink stalls and some very cool bunting!
Through the crowd you see the stall run by Ogrostronomia, a rather good hybrid word which mixes “ogre” with “gastronomy”. These 5 ‘ogres’ share a passion for “Rock n’ Roll, beer, Jack Daniel’s and food, lots of food!”.
As well as the ogres, Eat Rio’s friends Eat Girls were there, offering up some tasty treats at a very digestible price! By the time we left, the afternoon had become evening, but the draught beers were still flowing and everyone seemed happy and satisfied.
Not only was it a great event, but I found the whole thing rather inspiring. Sure there were stalls run by people from bars and restaurants, but there were other people who simply had a strong enthusiasm for food and drink. In fact, between you and me, I’m considering holding a similar (though much smaller) event at Eat Rio HQ sometime. If it goes ahead, you’re all invited!
Smiles all round! Next stop Santa Teresa?
Happy and satisfied and BROKE! Holy crap, basically 13 dollars for a pint of Guinness? I know a place in the USA where you can get that same pint of Guinness for $3.50 during happy hour. I think Rio is peeing in it’s own pool, with the prices many vendors put on things. A couple months ago I was at the “hippie market” in Ipanema looking for a visor. 30 reals was the best price I could find. I bought a better one from a beach vendor the next day for 13 reals; he wanted 15, but I got him down to 13. Rio is becoming internationally notorious as a place of high prices, often accompanied by poor quality.
Ha ha! Yeah, those prices on the board are nuts aren’t they? That blackboard is from Botto Bar which is all about the beer, but at that price I had just the one before deciding to go somewhere else. It’s interesting – I’ve noticed quite a few beer/ale specialist places in Rio that and there seem to be people queueing up to pay exorbitant prices for beers that would cost a fraction of the price in most other countries. Brazilian beer enthusiasts must lose their minds when they go to Europe/America and see how much more affordable beer is in those places.
I’ve found similar crazy prices for other imported goods such as kitchenware in Zona Sul, but there are places where things aren’t so bad – SAARA in Centro can be pretty good for kitchen stuff.
I’m pleased to say that the beers on offer at the food event on the roof of Forneria Santa Filomena were R$5 which doesn’t seem so bad does it? :)
“In fact, between you and me, I’m considering holding a similar (though much smaller) event at Eat Rio HQ sometime. If it goes ahead, you’re all invited!”
What would be on the menu of said event, and should I deliver my speech at the beggining or more towards the end?
Man those beer prices are obscene. I’ll stick to the better mass produced Brazilian beers like Bohemia and Original. They couldn’t even sell Eisenbahn, a southern Brazilian beer, at a decent price but perhaps that is also due to interstate ICMS sales tax (yes, I know, an aberration).
Ha ha! I would definitely advise waiting to give your speech at the end. Crowds are always more forgiving after they’ve had a few drinks! :-P
The exact menu may have to remain a secret for now (still perfecting my recipes), but I’ve come up with a name for my category of fusion food – Britiscos™. With a name like that it can’t fail right?
“The exact menu may have to remain a secret for now (still perfecting my recipes), but I’ve come up with a name for my category of fusion food – Britiscos™. With a name like that it can’t fail right?”
Yeah, maybe I should deliver my speech at the beginning, just to make sure I have an audience :-)
I promise it will be a Marmite-free zone. Brazilians aren’t ready yet…
Btw, friends of yours?
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/08/11/magazine/Look_Brazil.html?_r=0
Ah yes, I thought I’d seen that recently – Isabella shared that on the Eat Rio facebook page. 2 & 6 are my favourites – very cool.