Post date: Apr 19, 2010 3:33:19 AM
breakfast and lunch: acai at the juicebars, sometimes with guarana. late nite samba: bolinhos de bacalhau (fried codfish and potato balls) and cachaca (cane sugar alcohol) shots at at Rio Scenarium. really late: choppe (drafts) at the botequins (sidewalk tables)
dinners: over time, my 4 favorite dinners in rio, with some 2010 notes. In no particular order except how I came to dine them:
Siri Mole - Bahia cuisine (siri = tiny crab) Cocktails and light bossa nova on the 4th floor bar of the Sofitel around the corner is a good start.
app? some type of moqueqa (slow cooed soup) with garlic, SIRI, octopus and such.mmm!!!
BOBO de CAMERON (shrimp in yucca root preparation) - local yucca root which is cut, boiled for an hour and strained of poison milk, then reboiled for 10+ hrs to soften, then mashed and cooked a third time with garlic onion, tomato and spices to make a yellow concoction of a color and consistency like cheap macaroni and cheese. Incredible (no cheese mind you.) also keep in mind that this is still not nearly as good as home made - which I have had - but, first you have to know a chef from Bahia and then they must make it fresh for you. Siri mole is as close as it gets. Go there (in Copababana near Aproador) The chef visited and shared the recipe - simple, but even if you could get the dende oil and the right yucca its till a long an painful crapshoot I have failed at least once at - just go there.
Grilled Cavaquina (small Brazilian lobsters) brushed with garlic oil - mmm, but, they were out this night. get there early
Marius Crustaceus - The seafood version of Porcao (Churrascarria meatfest -see below).At the very southern end of Copabana (Leme) on the ocean. We went at night after watching Flamengo beat Vasco 2 to 1 at Maracana stadium for the right to play Botofogu in the finals to determine who would represent Rio in the upcoming Brazilian National Season. Very expensive Prixe Fixe. Worth a trip for the decor and bathrooms alone. You can still get all the meats here too, but, you can get that at any truck stop in Brasil. Some notes:
Go for an afternoon, maybe a whole afternoon on Friday. Don't eat breakfast. Spend 3 or 4 hours. Take your time. Don't eat anything that's not seafood. Earlier, there will be a wider selection - beyond your dreams. There's nothing to eat after this, or even do that requires any activity for the rest of the day. This is an all day event. There is simply not enough love to go around if you dilute the experience wth anything but an early acai and a late-0nite choppe. Its still a must do, although given the time and pace of the day, this one was a little late for me.
Gero- An Italian classic in Sao Paolo in the early-mid 20th century cloned in Rio several decades ago. Once listed in the top 40 restaurants in the world. The thin osso buco and its risottos milanese has gotten bigger all around but the quality of the food is not what it was. Maybe the early week chef wass more into visuals than the absolutely perfect completion of the dish - a very high standard - but created at Gero by Gero. Amazing Service. Incredible atmosphere.I would still now pay the asking price and look forward to going. But once I know what is possible...
Porcao - The national restaurant of Brasil, so to speak. Churrascarria Meat Fest - Of 2 in Rio, on this trip we visited one with a private room in Barra de Tijuca. All kinds of specially spiced meat with rock salt and spices grilled over open wood. All manners of drinks and appetizers. The small room? The small place? I got almost all beef (no chicken, pork or anything else for me on this trip.) Recommend the other location in Rio.