Churrascarias - Have you ever been to Fogo de Chao, or another Brazilian SteakHouse? Well, they are essentially all you can eat buffets that usually include a salad bar, friend bananas, polenta, pao de queijo and then a whole collection of a variety of meats on sticks that are roasted around a fire. These originated in Brazil and are the staple restaurant that you get when you go out to eat. Gauchos bring the sticks of meat around to the tables and if you are interested in their cut of meat, you use your tongs to collect it as they cut it right there at your table. The meat that is big down here is called Picanha. Being the meat lover that I am (wink wink) I couldn't even tell you what cut this actually is. In fact, being that I don't speak the language and aren't sure what I am eating, I generally stick to the salad bar, the frango (chicken) and the picanha. Another delicacy in these churrascarias are the hump of the cow (Cupim) - gross! Brad eats it, however, that doesn't mean that it is good! ;)
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| Photo courtesy of the web ;) |
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| Look closely, Caden has tongs and is trying to get him some of that meat! |
Rice and Beans - Just like all the other Central American and South American counties, rice and beans are a staple at every meal. I was expecting black beans, but they usually have both black and pinto. Thankfully they decide to spice up their rice on ocassion too, so it's not always just bland white rice.
The surprise foods - I expected the rice and beans at every meal. What I didn't expect was the international flair. Just about every restaurant that we eat at, there is an Italian dish (mostly lasagna, but they also have pizzas, albeit they are strange combinations of ingredients), tortellini, spaghetti, etc. Of course, it is not straight Italian, it is Italian with a Brazilian spin. For example, the lasagnas are usually layered with ham, and the cheeses are local cheeses and not the cheeses that I would use, nor the cheeses the Italians use. The pizzas have strange ingredients, like shredded chicken, corn, something cream cheesish, and usually no red sauce. Another surprise food is french fries. French fries are everywhere. At every churrascaria, at every lanchonette, everywhere. Of course, Caden has become addicted to french fries!
Pay per Kilo Restaurants - I love this idea. It is like the salad bar at Kroger's but better. I never get my money out of an all you can eat buffet, so this is perfect. AND, I think that it helps towards not over eating. The vast majority of the lanchonettes (lunch restaurants) around here are this way. There is a buffet of food, rice and beans (of course), an Italian dish (of course), french fries (of course) and then some other vegetables, meats, fruits. There is also usually a grill where they are grilling some sort of beef and chicken. One a good day, you can get your beef topped with a fried egg. Anyhow, you fill your plate with whatever you want, they weigh your plate and you pay. Simple, good and what we eat just about everyday!
Pao de Queijo - this is a traditional Brazilian bread that is enjoyed at breakfast (unlike the churrascarias in The States that offer them with lunch and dinner). Our intern Lucas says it is required for grandparents to serve pao de quijo with coffee for all visitors! It is a 2-bite sized roll that has cheese infused in the dough. They are delicious and we are fortunate to have a bakery 2 blocks away that bakes a mean pao de queijo. x
Salgados - This is the definition of a deep fried snack. People eat these late morning before lunch or early afternoon before dinner. You can get them at bakeries, snack shops and even gas stations. There is a big variety of salgados, each having their own name that I haven't learned. Some are more delicious than others. Brad's favorite is the cuchina de frango he gets at the gas station on the way to one of his research fields.
Abacaxi - Pineapple. They are fresh, really fresh. Certain days when Brad goes to work, he has to go to a city called Monte Alegre. There are pineapple fields right there in this town and it is famous in Brazil for their pineapples. He stops by, what he calls, "the pineapple man" and buys a few. I can't tell you how juicy, sweet, delicious these pineapples are. They are definitely going to be missed when we get back to Ohio.
Olives - Olives, mostly the sour green kind are everywhere and on everything. Sometimes they are pitted, sometimes they are not. They usually have them on the take and bake pizzas that we get from the store. One surprise came when we were dinning at the one and only Mexican Restaurant in town (which really is quite good, better than some we get in Ohio!). I was eating a chicken burrito, and right there in the middle of my burrito were 3 unpitted sour green olives - a little strange, but somewhat enjoyable.
