Eat Rio Blog - Page 69 of 106

Filming in Vidigal

27/07/2012/12 Comments/in Food and drink

One of the nice things about blogging is that once in a while some interesting spin-off opportunity comes along. A little while back I was contacted by a British television company who were looking for information about the restaurants and food scene in Rio. They were preparing to make programme in which a celebrity chef would travel through a selection of countries, learning about the local food and taking part in various cooking challenges. We had a couple of meetings, went for some drinks, I offered some suggestions and a few months later we were filming!

Filming took place in the neighbourhood of Lapa and also in Vidigal, a favela next to Leblon. This is a shot of Vidigal taken from the beach in Leblon at sunset.

No one should have to drive past this on their way to work…

24/07/2012/12 Comments/in Musings

Life isn’t all fun and games when you live in Rio you know? Some of us have to work for a living! I mentioned recently that we are planning to move because my new job in Barra means that it can take 2 hours to get to/from work. Without wanting to moan about it too much (because in reality I’m very grateful to have a decent job that pays the bills) I will say that the long journey can be pretty exhausting. If we take the example of my journey home after a long day in the office, it goes something like this:

Leave the office around 7.30pm and walk 10 minutes to the bus stop. Wait up to 30 minutes for the bus to arrive. Depending on traffic, the bus to Ipanema will take 45-60 minutes. Arrive in Ipanema, walk down to the Metro and take the train for 8 stops. Come up from the Metro and walk up a very steep hill. Total journey time: 1.5-2 hours. And that’s why we’re moving!

The journey home in the evening can be especially boring as (at this time of year at least) it is totally dark, so I can’t even see the scenery. But then on days like today, being able to see the scenery isn’t always 100% positive:

São Conrado and Pedra da Gávea, glimpsed from the bus as it whisked me along the spectacular Avenida Niemeyer this morning.

How to avoid looking like a gringo

23/07/2012/32 Comments/in Language, Musings

The word gringo is an interesting one. It exists in both Spanish and Portuguese and generally means foreigner. In some places it refers specifically to someone from the US, but in Brazil it basically means any foreigner. That said, it isn’t an exact science – someone from say, Japan, for instance can be called a gringo (gringa for a female), but in general the term fits better for Europeans and North Americans.

The origins of the word are also open to some discussion. Several Brazilians have told me that the term evolved from the English expression Green Go (this being either a call for foreign armies, generally dressed in green, to leave the country, or an observation that when foreigners arrived in the Amazon, the green (trees and other valuables) was taken away.

The reality is far more likely to be that it came from the Spanish word for Greek, Griego – someone speaking a language that isn’t understood. As in “it’s all Greek to me”.

It’s like you’re walking around with a sign that says gringo…

But what is the real meaning behind this word? Should you be offended if someone calls you a gringo? Is it a sign of falta de respeito (lack of respect)?

The Cheery orange sweepers

20/07/2012/2 Comments/in Musings

One of the first things that struck me when I returned to London at the start of this year was how naked all the trees looked. I don’t miss the cold British winter much, but there is something rather amazing about the way all the leaves drop in autumn and then return in spring.

March 2012, London. Ouch! I always felt sorry for trees in winter. But then they look great when they get a brand new set of leaves when spring comes round.

The fact that Rio doesn’t have winters cold enough to make the leaves drop presents a situation that hadn’t occurred to me before I came here. Instead of the boom-or-bust leaf fall situation of a temperate climate, Rio has a steady rain of leaves throughout the year. And that means that there are always leaves to sweep!

Canjica – exactly what I was looking for!

17/07/2012/25 Comments/in Food and drink

Anyone know what this is?

It looks a bit like a pile of broken teeth doesn’t it? In Brazil they call this Canjica, in other countries it is known as hominy.

To use the official name, this is Nixtamalised maize. Apparently, Nixtamalisation is the process of soaking a grain in alkali solution and then removing its husk. Although that sounds worryingly like messing with food in a bad way, Nixtamalisation was developed by the Aztecs and Mayans more than 3,000 years ago and actually makes maize more nutritious!

If, like me, you had never heard of this stuff, you may be wondering what you do with it. Well, all sorts of things actually!