Brazilian Barbeque and Other Traditional Food from Rio de Janeiro

The Brazilian barbeque is something almost everyone eats when they visit Rio (unless you don´t eat meat). There are quite a few other dishes of interest that I will describe on this page.

The Brazilian Barbeque
In the so called churrascarias many tourists have their first encounter with the Brazilian way to eat meat. They are really proud of their picanha which in English is "cap of the rump". In these places you pay a fixed price and can then eat as much as you like. It´s not only meat but also salads, vegetables, sushi, grilled fish and much more. Most Brazilians could never afford these places so they barbeque at home. The only spice used is normally salt. A sauce made of spring onions, tomatos, onion, leaf parsley, vinegar and oil (molho da campanha) is common as accomplement. Large quantities of beer is normally consumed, these house sessions can last for a couple of days.

Beans & Feijoada
Beans, beans and more beans! That´s how I sometimes feel. The black bean has for a long time been the main source of protein for the majority of Brazilians and is on many peoples plates everyday all year round. They are cooked in a pressure boiler (a great time saver) and spiced with garlic and bacon. The most traditional bean dish is feijoada; it´s pretty much black beans with leftover meat (pigs ears and so on). Comparing it to the Brazilian barbeque it is much farther from my Swedish tastebuds.

Bacalhau
The Portuguese brought with them the tradition to eat dried salted cod. This is quite expensive but a must at Christmas and other holidays. Imported all the way from Norway it is used in various dishes you make in the oven. The only way I like it is like the fried fish balls you get in many bars.

Snack food
This brings us to a really good part of the food in Rio: The bar food. The above mentioned bolinho de bacalhau with a dab of chili sauce can be really good. You also have incredibly unhealthy pastrys empadas that are fantastic. You have spicy sausages calabresa as well as fried manioc aipim. The sun dried beef carne de sol is a dish from the Northeast of Brazil that can be really good, don´t confuse it with the dried beef carne seca which is far less savoury. Together with a cold beer this all is very good.

Sweets
Brazilians love it sweet, if you order a coffee with no sugar they just look at you in amazement. The desserts are also normally very sweet. This doesn´t stop some of them to be really tasty. I personally can recommend the following: Passion fruit mousse mousse de maracujá, papaya cream creme de papaya, biscuit cake pavé and lime cake torta de limão. There are so many more, I´m sure you´ll find your own favourites.

Restaurant Recommendations
I have picked out a few restaurants if you would want to try some of the above.

Brazilian Barbeque
- Carretão R. Visconde de Pirajá 112, Ipanema map, tel 2267-3965 orR. Siqueira Campos 23, Copacabana, tel 2236-3435
- Porcão R. Barão da Torre 218, Ipanema map, tel 3389-8989 or Av. Infante Dom Henrique, Parque do Flamengo map, tel 3389-8989. More expensive.

Feijoada
- Casa da Feijoada R. Prudente de Moraes 10, Ipanema map, tel 2523-4994

When it comes to bacalhau you get it in many restaurants. The same goes for snack food although I´d like to promote the shrimp pastry empada de camarão in any of the Belmonte bars.

If you are interested in recipes for Brazilian Food you have the excellent site Maria Brazil where you have good recipes on food from all over the country.

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