Not suitable for vegetarians

After such a bloody long break, it’s hard to decide what to write about as it should be something that would justify the prolonged silence. My last post was hardly even a proper one – promise I’ll try harder. It is just that since coming back from Brazil (2 years ago!), nothing has impressed me so much as to make me want to write about it. I’m not saying all Brazilian things are better back there, but many of them are and no matter how hard we try, what we get here in London is only a substitute. Take Brazilian food. No bar or restaurant run by Brazilians themselves on the ‘terra da rainha’ (= the land of Queen Elizabeth, as they often call the UK) can compare with churrascarias* across the Atlantic. Although there is one that tries very hard. 

Being Brazilian, my BF gets meat cravings from time to time (ok, let’s not be diplomatic – often!) and it’s not enough to fry up a mountain of steaks; he wants real meat. By real he means proper Brazilian beef, prepared in a traditional way. I’m a meat-lover myself and I remember that what I had back in Brazil did not resemble the stiff, dry shoe-sole British beef usually becomes when you try to fry or roast it.  No, no, no. Brazilian meat literally melted in my mouth, inundating my taste buds with a flood of luscious meat juices mixed with delectably sizzled fat.  I am so getting hungry just thinking about it.

Source: http://redemeridional.liveradio.com.br/radio/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/picanha-1.jpg

Anyway, pra matar a saudade** of the ‘real meat’, we go to Rodizio Preto. There are a few in London, but we’ve been to the one in Shaftsbury Avenue, several times now. I’m not going to start praising them to the stars, but those guys know their business. The buffet offers an impressive choice of fresh salads, rice, beans, even feijoada*** itself. You could easily just eat the buffet food and be happy, but, frankly, that would be plain foolish. The meats that the waiters serve come in good quality and quantity – basically every few minutes someone turns up next to your table with another juicy cut. And the best thing is, you can actually ask them to bring you what you want. Picanha, maminha, lombo, costela de carneiro**** - they serve up to 15 different kinds of meat! 

Source: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/7e/2e/d4/spits.jpg

I always finish off with corações de frango*****. I’ve loved them ever since I tried them at another Brazilian churrascaria in London years ago; soft, yet crispy, with plenty of flavour.

Source: http://culinaria.culturamix.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/196-300x450.jpg

There are, of course, plenty other venues where you can have meats served in the traditional Brazilian way, but choose wisely. You choices will, in most cases, be limited to the following: the wrong kind of meat, meat left to roast forever until it becomes dry, meat served every half an hour at best (apparently Rodizio Rico have a policy of purposely not serving meat too often…), poor choice at the buffet, unfriendly waiters. Been there, done that. I stick to Rodizio Preto. £19.90 may seem like a lot, but when you compare it with just about any main course at a good London restaurant, you’ll understand that you’ll be better off paying a few quid more for the ability to sink your teeth into prime beef (and other meats) WITHOUT limit. And if anyone from the restaurant happens to be reading this, please sponsor me :D. Rsrsrsrsrrsrsss…******

Source: Groupon 

*restaurants serving freshly prepared meat without limit

** an idiom literally meaning ‘to kill the longing’; so when you miss something or someone, you will try to ‘matar a saudade’ by doing that thing or being with that person, if that makes sense…

*** you will find an explanation here: http://thebraziliandream.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/reality-bites.html

****different kinds of meat, will explain in a separate post

*****chicken hearts

******a Brazilian equivalent of ‘hahahaha’ in written slang (consider the fact that initial ‘r’ is pronounced almost as the /h/ sound and you’ll understand)

Reality bites

Why didn’t anyone warn me that coming back after nearly four months in Brazil is so... bad? The first day in London was a nightmare. I was tired, confused (language, driving on the left, bland food), irritated, I felt cold and spaced out, and to top it all, I argued with my flatmates. I miss the heat, I miss the samba, the cold beer, the delicate raw tuna melting in my mouth at the Japanese restaurant, the properly salty dishes (have the English given up on salt altoghether?!), I miss requeijão*, and, of course, I miss my boyfriend. Yes, saudade, jet lag, holidays coming to an end, mixed with a heavy dose of reality which I’m going to have to face from now on is a hard one to swallow. Obviously, there are things I’m NOT going to miss; the absurd traffic, the expensive and unreliable transport, the littered streets in the less glamorous areas of São Paulo, but, all in all, positive memories prevail.

So, para matar a saudade**, I’m going to indulge in re-living the best moments of my trip. And what’s better than trying great food? I remember I never mentioned the famous feijoada (from feijão – beans). The origin of the dish goes back to slavery times; hard-working slaves needed a substantial, nutritious meal to endure their daily grind. African cuisine included a bean stew, which on Brazilian ground acquired some meat ingredients. I suppose meat is an understatement. In truth, the masters relished the best parts of pork and whatever was left of the pig they gave to the slaves. Thus, the original feijoada had ears, tails and noses floating around among the beans. It would have been considered the meal of the poor, but today it can be found in the fanciest restaurants all over Brazil. Being a heavy dish, it is usually served only twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, although you’ll easily find places where feijoada is available non-stop. In cheaper venues, everything comes in one pot; the bean stew, chunks of pork meat, pork ribs, sausage, carne seca (dry beef) or corned beef, bacon and the chef’s other secrets. More luxurious ones will usually have a feijoada special, meaning that you pay a certain amount (the most expensive I’ve eaten was R$50, which is slightly less than £20) and you eat as much as you want choosing the ingredients. There is a pot with the beans (in a nicely flavoured brine), followed by pots bursting with all the sumptuous meats separately! To complete the dish, you also will have to help yourself to the following:

-        -  rice (obviously!)

-        -  couve (collard greens)

-         - farofa (lightly roasted coarse cassava flour, often with bits of bacon in it)

-         - torresmo (deep-friend pork rinds)

-         - hot pepper sauce (to spice things up!)

-         - a salad of finely chopped tomatoes and onion

-         - a slice of orange (to refresh)

and if available:

-         - deep-fried cassava

-         - deep-fried banana

Feijoada definitely tickles my buds, so I tried it on a few occasions, but the best one was when my boyfriend took me to Armazém Paulista. We could eat à vontade (as much as you want), but after the starters and the first round, I was full! You’re supposed to wash it down with cachaça, caipirinha or beer, and wash it down we did, with all three, I believe, which allowed me to eat a little bit more of the divine dish. After that though, you could roll me out like a ball... It was our lunch and I didn’t touch food until the next morning!

* requeijão is a type of cream cheese, sold in plastic cups, with a mild but very characteristic taste

** an expression meaning to get rid of the longing (literally to kill the longing)

Been there, done that

Since there is less time till the end of my trip than has passed since my arrival in São Paulo, or, to make it simple, I’m more than half-way through, it’s time for a summary. What have I actually done in those two months and what have I yet to do? I’m kind of thinking aloud, if you will. As you will have already figured out, I AM coming back to London after all. I miss it!

Let’s have a look at what I’ve done first. It seems that my main activities have been eating out  and going to music shows (I warned you, didn’t I). I’ve tried, repeatedly, wonderful Japanese food (sushi rodizio – eat as much as you want!), Brazilian feijoada (I owe you guys that one, pictures coming soon!), countless salgados (savoury pastries, such as pastel), invariably accompanied by cerveja gelada. See? Your Portuguese is getting better!* I have to reiterate – gastronomy in São Paulo is of top-notch quality, with even the crudest corner bars serving fresh food and following all hygiene requirements, let alone fancy restaurants. Most dishes I’ve tried were absolutely amazing. The only thing you have to watch is your wallet; first of all, because you don’t want it to disappear, secondly – not to get carried away. Some might want to watch their weight. I decided not to worry about that.

As for music, I have been to six or seven excellent shows at Teatro FECAP (Francis & Olívia Hime, Tom Jobim Festival that included the likes of Zimbo Trio and a few other bands I can’t remember) – they’ve got amazing sound there, seen a beautiful instrumental performance of Swami Junior at SESC Consolação, had fun watching friends play samba rock. I even got to sing. A song or two here and there. And I have to say that the pressure is high; after all, a gringa venturing to sing samba in a country where it was born, in a Portuguese that, unfortunately, still sounds a little foreign, is no common sight. Let’s say I got positive reviews and motivation to continue learning. I have tried paulistan nightlife too. The best area to go, and I may be repeating myself, is Vila Madalena. This is where you find the best music bars the entrance to which won’t ruin your pocket. I’ve been to  Ó do Borogodó, Pau Brasil, Traço de União, Bom Motivo and can easily recommend all of these. I left the best bit for the end. The already mentioned roda de choro** at the Contemporânea music shop is in itself an experience worth coming to Brazil for.

As every day brings new events, twists, turns and last-minute invitations, the what-I’ve-done list is getting longer and what-I’ve-yet-to-do is shrinking at an amazing pace and will hopefully come to a point where I can safely say “I can go back now”.

*my dear Brazilian friends will hopefully understand that my main focus (target audience?) were people who don’t speak the language

**for details, see an earlier post (Next station: Contemporânea)