At my
return from Brazil, my friends expected me to talk about samba and soccer but
what I talked about the most was food. I was still feeling Brazil’s cultural
taste in my mouth and wanted nothing more than share everything food had
embraced.
Every meal
in Brazil is a chance to experience the national motto: “Generosity is your
daily bread”. Just think about Churrascarias –a.k.a Rodizzios- and perfect
grilled meat brought to you nonstop! However, if you’re short of cash, you can
still feel their generosity by simply walking into a market, such as Sao
Paulo’s Municipal one, as vendors will make sure you try EVERYthing. But
there’s more, since people you meet on the street are so incredibly kind that
you may get invited to their family’s Sunday feijoada (beans and pork stew). In
my 2-month time in Brazil this happened 3 times!
Desserts
portray what I consider top two Brazilian feature: Life’s sweetness. Once I
asked a tapioca (manioc pancake) vendor from Salvador why desserts were so
sickly sweet- and she said: “To us, sweetness is not very different from
happiness. Tell me, have you seen a sad person lately? Then I guess you haven’t
had a bland dessert either” After that, I even found fruit to taste sweeter,
and like everybody did, I added condensed milk to everything and oh boy! Did I
understand what “dolce vita” really meant!
Later on,
in Belo Horizonte, I walked into a lanchonete (snack bar) that served a sea
food stew called moqueca and it was so mouthwatering that I told the waiter I’d
go back the next day. He said that a typical recipe from Brazilian cuisine was
served everyday, and wickedly stressed that international food was banned. I
thought this was a one-of-a-kind place but as I walked all around town I saw
that most low to medium budget restaurants had the same menu. That to me,
besides depicting variety, was pure country pride. So dear reader, if you
believe in happiness in the form of bites, please head to Brazil, you can never
have too much!
