Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers
For Sale

Friday, April 17, 2009

Friday Shoot-out: my town’s food and drink

DSC01011Because Camillo and I enjoy our food and drink, and whenever we have friends or family visit or we travel; what we do is eat and drink.  I have written in ‘flowers’ many times on the topic of eating and drinking so if you have seen any of these photos before or heard the same story, forgive my duplications. This week’s topic was described as “native foods, restaurants and bars in your town”.  I took a few photos specifically for this topic and I also pulled from my photo files from past times (parties).   I, of course, ended up with too many photos and have a hard time eliminating marginal ones, so be patient as you look through them. Some of the photos are from Rio, some are Friburgo, some from parties at our home and there might even be some from Bahia but in all these places you can usually find the same (similar) foods AND I couldn’t eat my way through a year’s worth of eating just to give you a sample of food here, so I cheated a bit.

I started out little confused by what might be considered native foods in Friburgo or Rio.  Brazil was colonized and the food, like in North America, is a composite of all the countries that participated in the (over) populating of this country.  Here in Friburgo and in most of Brazil by varying degrees, there are DSC00025large sections of descendants of Swiss, German, Italian, and Portuguese immigrants. There are smaller groups of Indian, Japanese, and African and there are smatterings of many other groups too numerous to mention that might have had an influence on and/or might be considered ‘native’. All of these groups brought a food culture and dish preparation with them and all of their foods have merged or converged into what we might call Brazilian food.  

There is a trend now to more DSC05197iisophisticated dining but the majority of Brazilians still love to go out or entertain friends at home with two basic meals, Churrasco or Feijoada. Churrasco or what could be translated to a Barbeque but really isn’t, is a variety of meats cooked on skewers, turned slowly over hot coals and the meal includes rice, cooked fresh vegetables in season, served cold with light vinaigrette, and farofa. The meats range from chicken wings and hearts to picanha, ribs, and sausages. Large restaurants have more variety and serve rodizio (as long as your eating they bring more) but these would be the basics of any churrasco you might be served.DUDLEY AND CHRIS (4)

Feijoada is a black bean lunch served every Saturday in most restaurants. It has as much variation as the number of restaurants that serve it. This dish originated with the slaves in the northern part of Brazil and has worked its way south and become one of the most popular meals to enjoy. The story goes that as the ‘masters’ finished their elaborate meals, the slaves took the leftover meats and unused parts of the animals and kept adding it to the pot of beans and on Saturday they would feast. The animal parts like pig ears are mostly not used any longer, but salt pork, dried beef, sausage, ribs and DSC_1088such, fill the soup and add the flavor to the beans. The beans and meat are customarily served with rice, couve (collard greens sautéed in bacon grease and topped with bacon bits) and farofa. For Brazilians it is not about the big and somewhat heavy meals but about eating in large groups of friends and family. This is really their specialty in all things, the ability to ENJOY.    Both of these meals require at least one Caipirinha and a nap after.

 

DSC03247I ask Camillo for his list of favorite dishes. The list included Bobô de camerão, Rabada (ox tail), dobradinha (tripe), feijoada, Bolinhos de bacalhau (Cod fish and potato croquets), Casquinha de siri ,“a Brazilian dish made with crab meat, …. is prepared with coconut milk, palm oil, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs”, leitao (pork), crema de Maracujá and last but not least – Acarajé. I am not going to tell you what all of these are or I would be writing a dissertation on food here.   If something is of special interest ask…. better yet come and let us take you around. We would need about 3 weeks for a proper eating tour.

 For a list of Brazilian dishes and recipes try this hyperlink.

So far this has been about special occasion foods, when we go out for a regular lunch in Friburgo or Rio we generally eat ‘by the kilo’. These are well stocked buffets that you pay for the number of grams on you plate. Our favorite place in Friburgo is Excalibur. (esh cal E brrr) The pictures speak for themselves -

DSC07983

DSC07971

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DSC07975

DSC07976

 

 

 

DSC07978

  My meal was 9.62 and Camillo’s 8.96.

For now I added photos only of other restaurants and bars by way of the photo album. I know I have talked about at least two of these places and maybe some day soon, I will talk more about our other experiences here in Nova Friburgo and area, and in Rio de Janeiro.

25 comments:

  1. Now here is a blog that captures the spirit of food perfectly -- particularly the lying on the couch afterwards!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You've outdone yourself again GingerV. Just when I think you've made the best post ever, you prove me wrong! Wow, everything looks great and your descriptions almost make you think you can taste those delights. That buffet looks to die for. Tell Camillo he's looking particulary hot standing there with that wine and I love that snap of the dude on the sofa asleep after a nice meal.
    Love the link for Brazilian dishes you've added. Nice touch and a what a fabulous idea :)

    Steady On
    Reggie girl

    ReplyDelete
  3. When I visit will you take me to Friburgo is Excalibur? Your pictures are amazing and looks like I really need to eat right now! Great post, oh how I enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. you'all make your way here and I'll take you to any of 15-20 good eating places...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your restaurant and food pics are great. But the nap one made me laugh out loud, it's great!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The churrasco or the barbecue meat looks interesting to eat. it's weird that you have to weigh your food per kilo, here it's only $10 all you can eat buffet already. If it's per kilo I won't get shell seafood, they're heavy hahaha.

    ReplyDelete
  7. oooohhhhh!!!!! YUMMY! I haven't done this assignment yet, but I will. We don't eat out a lot, so I won't have as fab photos, but man, do I want to go out to eat with you!
    :)

    Yes, those little white flowers have a blue stripe in the center of each petal. They are really quite pretty. :) I should dig some up and pot them, but I'd probably kill them.

    I have many talents - well not many - and a green thumb is NOT one of them!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, the food looks spectacular, and I love the family and friend meals that you all enjoy - I miss the big dinners Pop Pop would host on Saturdays.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Missy - don't always have to weight you food - only at a 'by the kilo' restaurant. there are also just buffets with a fixed price but this way you pay for only what you eat not what they think you might heat. I never put tomatoes or creme type dishes cause they weight a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  10. jen a green thumb can be cultivated (pun!) buy some books, read, practice on the easy ones (don't start with Orchids for example)and you can have plants and flowers around you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Elain - the nap photo is of ZE - he comes to any dinner you invite him to and always sleeps after... Camillo has known him for 45 years and has always been the same!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I agree with Reggie Girl. Just when we think you have outdone yourself, you go and do it again. You are making us look bad.

    You captured everything beautifully. The shrimp dish sounds yummy, and what better why to show what good food and drink do to the body than that couch photo. Ahhhhh, time for a nap!

    Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Brazilian food is awesome, great photos! Thanks for the comment on my page. (I think you confused my page with Loida's)- no problem! Looking forward to what you have next week!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Over the top success again Ginger! Your food post makes me hungry again: and I just ate.
    Thanks for coming to my defense with my daughter. She is the only one of our children that we felt may be too perfect for this world. We were always afraid that God would take her back.
    I enjoyed your post very much, as always. Gordon

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've never had Brazilian food, i looks and sounds soooo delicious. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wow, you have a lot of other people in Rio! A mix of races, which makes it even more interesting! We only have Koreans, Chinese, Americans, Japanese, etc. in here. I wish there were more of 'em!

    Also interesting to know that there are a lot of Restaurants in there and they just measure what you eat! Now isn't that neat!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great, good lookin' food. Would love to try a bunch of those "Yummy Brazilian Recipes". Fascinating to see food and the posts from all over Mother Earth.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh, your photos have made me so hungry! What beautiful spreads of food!

    And me only a day away from being able to eat solid food again!

    Oh the torture!

    ReplyDelete
  19. thank you all for your lovely comments.

    ReplyDelete
  20. My friend.......Kim @ thechild.blogspt.com is participating now!!! I did ask her to please give you a visit so that you could list her on your "gang roll call list".
    Again GingerV.....thanks for taking the time to do this. You're a doll.....
    Hope you and "hot-buns" had a fabulous dinner last night :)

    Steady On
    Reggie Girl

    ReplyDelete
  21. Que Saudades! Where I lived in the northeast (40 years ago) the locals ate feijão and arroz every day ---it always had some kind of meat, chicken or beef or pork cooked with it.

    In those days, churrasco was just meat broiled over hot coals, but not necessarily on a skewer. I've been to a Brazilian restaurant near home where they serve all-you-can-eat meat like that, the waiters arriving at one's table with skewers as in your photo, but I never saw that in Brazil 40 years ago.

    Also in my location, people didn't eat a lot of vegetables, except for things like onions used for flavor. The home economist at the agricultural assistance agency was always trying to get the locals to add more fresh veggies to their meals. The problem was, if the locals didn't eat many vegetables, the venders didn't sell them. We could get yams, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, and carrots, but not much else. More were available in Aracajú ---so I would buy what I could there once month when I went for a little R&R and to pick up my check. After full-time electricity arrived (after I'd been there about a year) I would blanch veggies and store them in the freezer at the pensão a block away from my house. No one knew what to do with the freezer compartments of their refrigerators, so they were mostly empty.

    Glória apparently still has one of the best weekly markets in the state ---so I am sure the variety has improved in the last 40 years. Now that everyone has electricity and refrigeration, I'm sure a lot has changed.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Carolina - what a great then and now comparison. even ten years ago there still were not good veggies in the supermarkets, now we have wonderful selections. the street market in Ipanema is really great. (but expensive - I never go anymore) now that there are refridgerated truck we actually have good lettuce and a variety also.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow how interesting. I'm new to Brazilian food and really enjoyed your site and the link provided.
    Happy Twirls

    ReplyDelete