Some of our friends who were living in Rio and recently left, said "All we do in Rio is eat!" And it's easy to do so... with so many different restaurants, and "rodizio" (all you can eat) everything, some of the best beef on the planet, fresh delicious veggies, and tropical fruits and desserts to die for... yeah the food is good.
Older guidebooks to Rio reveal how Rio's current culinary status somewhat new... they are of another opinion, saying the food is bland and there is not much variety. This is evidence of Rio's move towards "gastronomia" /gourmet foods. Just in the past few years with the booming economy have the "muito chique" restaurants moved in. With Rio's European influence, many are amazing.
With currencies changing faster than ever (the real hit 1.55 yesterday... yikes) eating out in Rio is not as reasonable as it was, say, a year ago. Bloomberg published an article last week about the expensive meals available on Rua Barao da Torre (home to restaurants such as Satyricon - also known locally as Madonna's favorite place to eat in Rio - although when I went I could not figure out what exactly Madge would have ordered - everything was incredibly rich... )
If you are visiting Rio, here are the must-eats...
1) Churrascaria (brazilian steakhouse - all you can eat... the best beef ever. If you don't like red meat, Marius has a seafood option).
2) Kilo restaurants - cheap, fast, easy and lots of healthy options. It's basically a buffet where your food is weighed before you pay.
3) Acai and Sucos - try as many types of juice as you can at the suco stands, and throw in a couple of salgadinhos or small savory pastries for good measure.
4) Portuguese food - a lot of fish, a lot of hard boiled eggs... great for protein lovers...
5) Feijoada! Traditional Brazilian beans & rice. I make my own and will post my secrets soon.... if you are looking for uber authentic, go to a little boteco in Copacabana where if you are lucky you will find a chicken foot in your beans and they will not even charge extra for that... other, slightly less "authentic" versions available elsewhere as well!
6) Ice cream or sorvete ... delicious!
Mmm, Satyricon and sucos...I think I need another Rio trip soon!
I would agree that food in Rio is great if you're willing to spend some money, but in my time there as a tourist I've not found any incredible cheap-o options. I will say that I've mostly spent time in Ipanema and haven't asked locals (when I have gone to eat with Brazilians it's always been delicious), so I'm not for a minute saying that they don't exist, just that they're a bit off the beaten tourist path.
Posted by: Emily | July 02, 2008 at 01:16 PM
Yes I think you should come! So far our visits with strangers have been extremely rewarding :) So the offer still stands!
Kilo places are good cheap options and... hmmm... well, cooking is incredibly cheap here bit that does not count...
Posted by: DRL | July 04, 2008 at 01:31 AM
I meant "but" rather than "bit"...
Posted by: DRL | July 04, 2008 at 01:31 AM