Eating in Sao Paulo

Hey Guys,

today I will write about the most important thing in Brazil: eating!

Brazilians are people, who like to eat. They like to eat delicious things and they like to eat a lot of them.

Eating in Brazil is for example more important than working, as I could observe each day in my work. Independent on the workload or the urgency of work, at 12:00 o'clock A.M, some people always called me: "Vamos almocar!" (Let's go and have some lunch). At this time people are hungry, because the Brazilian breakfast nearly doesn't exist. People drink a "cafezinho" (Brazilian coffee). The "cafezinho" consists of 50% sugar and 50% black coffee, because the day should start in a sweet way. Who know's it might be the last... (Brazilian way of thinking)

The choices for going to lunch are vast in Brazil because "eating" is a big business in Brazil.
The most economic choice is to go to a "boteco". The "boteco" is a kind of restaurant, where you will meet all kind of people. From Managers in suits to people who work in the outdoor construction business. Although Brazilians respect hierarchies, they don't think in hierarchies, which means: We are all equal Brazilians and our only boss is god. Even god seems to be Brazilian, if we believe the common Brazilian expression: Deus e brasilero! (God is Brazilian).
The kind of meals which are presented in the Boteco are very Brazilian and very similar to each other: Rice, beans and meat. Although it is supposed for one person, it would easiliy sate a typcial small Austrian family. A special meal in the boteco is the "Parmiggiano". This portion is supposed for two persons, incredibly huge and consists of meat, which is covered with a cheese layer and swims in a delicious sauce....

Well as girls normally avoid the Boteco, because they think it's more a "men place" and we also liked some good company we often joined them to eat in the "Minero" restaurant.
The "Minero" serves food from Minas Gerais (A Brazilian Federal State known for its mines, beautiful women and cheese), which in my opinion is the bust stuff I have eaten in my life. Normally you have there a big buffet, where you can choose from a vast offer of meat, salads, potatoe based food etc. You pay either per kilo of your plate (kilo) or you pay a fixed price (fechado). After the meal you normally order dessert or sweet sins, as I call them. Although this desserts are so delicious that I cannot express it in words, I really think that they can shorten your life significantly if you consume too much of them. The king under the sweet sins is the "brigadeiro". It's a conjunction of many many different layers of chocolate and converts a rainy day in Sao Paulo into mental stay at one of the beaches of Salvador da Bahia. I think that's the real function of Brazilian food in the colder southern regions of Brazil :D.

At weekends when there is no work to do, people go eating.... A very nice thing in Sao Paulo is the rodizio, where you pay a fixed price and get food until you cannot eat anymore. There are different possiblities: I tried rodizio in the typical Churrascaria, in the Japanese Restaurant (unique incredible experience), and in the Pizzaria.

Before going to Sao Paulo, people told me that there is the best pizza in the world and I can only confirm them from the depths of my heart. It's really a crime that the rest of the world is not importing pizza from Sao Paulo, but is really naive enough to think, that they can prepare it on their own...

On Wednesday's and Saturday's many restaurants serve "Feijoada", the most typical food of Brazil. A lot of beans, many strange parts of the pork, a heavy dark sauce, a lot of rice and caipirinha. Even small portions of this food can fill your stomach for days. Therefore I would call it a very effective food which prepares you for a lot of cachaca in the crazy nightlife of Sao Paulo.

However, I got really hungry now... ;-) If there is something like food tourism, then Sao Paulo should be World Leader in it and when you are for a longer time in Sao Paulo, I can recommend you to do two things: Work hard and eat more!

Bon Appetit!