Even though I’ve been running my own culinary tours in Rio for almost a year, I had never been on a food tour as a guest until just a few days ago. Mrs Eat Rio and I put ourselves in the hands of the good people at Eat Mexico Culinary Tours and we did not regret it!
Here are a few of the highlights:
This was our guide, Anais. First stop: a street stall for seafood tostadas.
A hand-cranked slicing machine to give you perfectly shredded couve for your feijoada. If you don’t have one of your own (sadly I don’t), find someone at the market to do it for you.
Photo: Rodrigo Moreira
If you’re visiting Rio for a few days and you’re interested in eating some typical dishes, one of the items that should be near the top of your list is feijoada (pictured above). It’s a rich, heavy stew of black beans, carne seca, linguiça (sausuage) and various cuts of pork, not unlike the French dish cassoulet. Traditionally, it is served with rice, torresmo (pork scratchings/pork rind), farofa, orange slices and couve.
Couve is that shredded, green vegetable you can see at the top of the plate above. In the US they call it Collard Greens which is basically the same as what the British called Spring Greens – basically it’s a thick, slightly bitter green leaf from the Brassica family, not a million miles from Kale.
Photo: I Hate Flash (Filipe Marques)
Hi everyone. Well, it’s Friday and I’m running very late on about 3 jobs, so I only really have time to quickly tell you about something fun happening in Rio this weekend. Babilônia Feira Hype is a huge market that was first held back in 1996. Back then it was a smaller affair and was held on Aterro da Flamengo. Over the years it has grown, changed and switched locations so that what we have today is more than just a simple market.
Photo: I Hate Flash (Filipe Marques)
Much as I love many Brazilian cuisine, I think very few people would described it as ‘sophisticated’. That’s not meant as an insult, but I think it’s fair to say that most Brazilian dishes fit into the category ‘comfort food’ rather than, say, ‘delicate and complex’. And although Brazil has 7,500km of coastline (more than twice that of Peru), many visitors are surprised at how little seafood finds its way onto Brazilian menus – meat usually takes pride of place.
Brazilian eating culture also places a lot of emphasis on dishes that are bem servido (served in generous portions) – restaurant menus often include suggestions for how many people main dishes will serve, but unless you’re a powerlifter you can safely multiply the suggestion by 2.
Well a couple of years ago I heard talk of a bar/restaurant way up in Zona Norte that took the Brazilian predilection for huge portions and roast meats to extreme levels and last weekend I finally got to visit.
Feeling lazy and hungry?
OK I’ll hold my hand up – from time to time I succumb to the temptations of exaggeration and hyperbole. When you’re trying to write about something in an entertaining way, it can feel a bit flat to say something is “nice” or “fine” or “pleasant”. That’s when I come out with phrases like “this is my favourite Brazilian dish ever!!!“. So, today I’m going to try to stay calm and keep the exclamation marks to a minimum.
About a month or so ago, Mrs Eat Rio and I were feeling both hungry and lazy, so we decided to wander up into Santa Teresa and find somewhere to eat out. We didn’t really have a plan, but we found ourselves in a low-key kind of place called Bar do Arnaudo. Well it might look low-key, but it turns out this place is amazing!!! good.
We ordered a nice cold beer and perused the menu. Arnaudo’s specialises in comida nordestina (dishes from the north-east of Brazil). One classic dish from the north-east is Carne de Sol and I love it, but Mrs Eat Rio has had just about enough of it as I went through a bit of a phase where it’s all I wanted to eat. So instead we went for a rather special chicken dish.