I can't even begin to tell you how in love I was with this place. Lav and I were on our way to the hippie flea market when we walked past this place and we had to go in. It's a typical Brazilian bakery but it leans more towards the savory than the sweet stuff. Inside, you are completely overwhelmed by your options and nothing is in English. Unless you know exactly what's in what you're ordering, it's kind of a gamble with what you are going to get but I'm almost 100% sure that it'll be delicious.
Basically everything is fried here - it's all some version of fried dough with something stuffed inside whether it's cheese or chicken or something else. First you need to pay first at the cash register and then you go to the counter, show them your ticket and then place your order. I had gotten a quick Portuguese lesson from my co-worker before I left and she had told me to try a coxinha, which is basically fried dough ball with shredded chicken inside. I'm so glad she told me about it because I ate a lot of them while I was on this trip and they were delicious. I love that their breakfast favors savory treats and these are dense enough that you really only need one before you are full. The coxinha was fantastic - not too salty, not too greasy and 100% yummy.
If I had more time there, I probably would haven stayed and tried 100's of things there but it's probably better for my health that I didn't. To me, this place (or any similar old school Brazilian bakery) is a must stop on your trip to Rio and you should definitely try as many things as you can - you won't regret it. Total bill: $1.85 USD
Photo Credit: Tripadvisor
Delirio Tropical Rua Garcia d'Avila, 48, Rio de Janeiro - 4 Forks
After a long day of shopping and walking around town, Lav and I were looking for a quick and casual lunch. We randomly stumbled upon Delirio Tropical on our walk and noticed that there was a long line of locals at this place and figured that it was worth a try. The place is super casual and is served cafeteria style - which is great for tourists who don't speak English because you can just point to whatever you want. While you wait outside in the line, they actually do have an English (and Portuguese) menu for you to peruse and figure out before you go through the line. The menu changes daily but essentially you can pick up to 3 "salads" for a fixed price plus they have other additions for an additional price. The place is great for vegetarians because there are a lot of salad options to choose from and you can see all your food before you order it.
I opted for the sliced eggplant, smoked salmon with herbs and a potato/ricotta pasta with tomato sauce. Unknowingly, the smoked salmon and pasta dishes were not in the included salad price, so my bill was a bit higher from the regular tri-mix of $R 19.50 (~$7 USD). The eggplant was very thinly sliced and had a brown sauce over it but it could have used a bit more salt to it. The smoked salmon with herbs was smoked well and I reminded me of the kind at home in NYC. Te potato/ricotta pasta was almost like a stuffed shells with tomato sauce - a bit heavy for lunch but because it was only 1/3 of my plate, it was enough to hit the spot.
What I liked about this place was that it was full of locals and it was one of the few very affordable casual eateries in Ipanema. The food also seemed very fresh and it was nice to go to a place that actually had more vegetable options than meat options on the menu. If we had stayed in Rio for any longer, this place would have definitely made it to the repeat list. It's a great healthy place to stop by after a long day at the beach. Total bill: $14 USD
Photo Credit: Yelp
Quadrucci R. Dias Ferreira, 233, Rio de Janeiro - 3.5 Forks
The neighborhood one over from Ipanema is a fancy pants place called Leblon - it might actually be even more rich and fabulous than Ipanema. There is one particular street in the 'hood call Rua Dias Ferreira that has a long strip of bars and restaurants and two restaurants that kept coming up during our research were Zuka and Quadrucci. They are literally right next door to each other but we opted for Quadrucci since it had a nice outdoor seating area.
The menu here is strictly Italian - we started with the mini crostini ($10 USD) and I opted for the lamb lasagna ($20 USD). There were 3 different kinds of crostini: mushroom with leeks, tomato with basil and arugula, and goat cheese with caramelized onions. They were all solid crostinis but to me, I'm never wow'd by some ingredients thrown on mini toasted piece of bread. I could tell that the ingredients were fresh and well sourced and that they definitely put some thought into this dish but it wasn't any better or worse than bruschetta I've had in the US. Next came my lasagna and even though I thought I was taking it easy on my meat consumption by going with a pasta dish, this one was very heavy on the lamb. Almost too heavy. The Brazilians really love their meat - even if it's in a pasta dish. It was served with a red wine sauce and Roman goat cheese. It was great but afterwards it really sat like a pit in my stomach. It would be a fantastic dish on a cold and cozy night but it didn't seem like something one would be eating on a hot Rio night. None the less, the food and vibe here is on the higher end yet it's a nice quiet atmosphere. It kind of reminded me of being at a nice Italian restaurant in NYC - except for the fact that I was wearing a summer dress and flip flops in December. I would have definitely been curious to check out some of the other neighborhood joints such as Sushi Leblon but this was still a solid choice for our trip - even if it wasn't typical Brazilian food. Total bill with drinks: $43/pp
Photo Credit: Yelp
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