Hot Dish Review

Hours after arriving in Rio, AD and I were at a sidewalk cafe on the corner called Churrasco Vila Rica. Neither of us speak any Portugese so even requesting a menu was a task! She had her phrase book which came in handy but it was Deborah, seated at the table next to us, who gave us loads of advice….about Carnival, food, and watching our backs in Brazil.

She helped us order something to share. We wanted authentic Brazilian food, the everyday fare that the neighborhood folks love. Churrasco is a thin skirt steak, not the most tender or high quality cut, especially since it was cooked well-done. But we couldn’t complain, it’s grilled flavor hit the spot. Served with black beans, rice, and batata frita, a.k.a. fries.

There was also a mystery dish. We noticed other diners sprinkled it on their meat or beans so we followed suit. No one, not even Deborah in her relatively decent English, could tell us what is was exactly. Turns out it is called farofa, a traditional dish of the region. Made of toasted manioc flour it usually contains bits of bacon. I still don’t get why they use it, but I was compelled to do the same….hell, there was bacon in it!

We washed it all down with lots of cold cerveja!

Street food is everywhere in Rio. You can count on skewered and grilled steak, sausage, and chicken. AD got a steak skewer one afternoon that was really delicious, dipped in farofa of course.

Vendors sold fruit, mostly bananas and mangoes, but also agua de coco, or coconut water. They literally slice the top off a coconut and insert a straw. Ironically, my Mom told me about coconut water recently due to it’s extremely high levels of potassium. It was 95 degrees most days during our visit in Rio. People get sweaty! Which as we all know depletes one’s potassium. And what is full of potassium? Bananas and coconut water. Just goes to show that folks are naturally drawn to what their body’s need.

It was Morocco that introduced me to the frango frita, a pear shaped fried dough filled with minced chicken. M would get one every day after the beach and soon, I too was in the habit. He would get the sugar cane juice with it, both for a mere 2.70 Reals (about $1.50).

Lots of juice bars and snack shops in our neighborhood, like Hobby and Chan, sold them. I preferred the ones from Chan. Although they were drier, they had an awesome green hot sauce that we drizzled on the fritters after each bite.

Our hostel was right around the corner. Time for cerveja! There was a cooler right there in the lobby so I would run down and get a beer and go back upstairs to the deck where me and AD would check emails, smoke cigarettes, hang with the gang, and make plans for the next day, all in the sweltering heat of Brazil. Um cerveja por favor! Obrigado!