Uncle Julio's Visited 12/28/2014 2.5 Forks

Uncle Julio's 4870 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814

When Elissa mentioned getting Huevos Rancheros for brunch in Bethesda, I was all in.  Mexican breakfast is one of my favorite type of meals and I didn't think Bethesda had a place that served it, so I was totally happy to check this place out.  Turns out I had been to this place before years ago when it was Rio Grande - I realized this has been a rotating Mexican chain restaurant my entire childhood but I was still curious. 

The space is huge and totally family friendly as it's got a lot of space and it's already very loud.  The brunch menu has a lot of great sounding options:  breakfast tacos, huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, migas, brunch quesadillas, along with their usual lunch menu.  Elissa and I both ended up getting the huevos rancheros with a side of carne asada ($17).  While you are waiting for your food, they serve you the typical chips and salsa and I must say that the chips were quite addictive.  They were light, thin and had the right amount of salt on it.  I could have sat there and eaten the whole basket of them. 

When our food came out, I could tell right off the bat that it wasn't going to be the most amazing or authentic huevos rancheros of my life.  But honestly, it was as expected from a large chain restaurant situated in the 'burbs near a bunch of families.  The 2 eggs over easy seemed really small and didn't really have the runny yoke that is so important to making eggs.  The dish just didn't seem very hearty or filling - it felt like they skimped on all of the ingredients because I had polished off most of the food fairly quickly.  It tasted like it was made quickly and with not a lot of super fresh ingredients.  But the one shining component of the dish was the carne asada.  It was surprisingly tender and quite flavorful.  Thank god we opted for the extra side of carne or else the meal would have been super sad and unsatisfying. 

I have a feeling that perhaps the regular lunch or dinner menu might be decent if you were looking for some quick Mexican food.  Not that NYC has that many authentic Mexican places, but you can sure bet that Bethesda doesn't at all.  Total bill:  $23.50/pp with tax, tip and drink

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Sao Paulo, Brazil - Day 9 (Dec14, 2014) 3.5 Forks

Bar do Mane - Rua da Cantareira, 306 - 3.5 Forks

If there was one thing I was hell bent on eating in Sao Paulo, it was the famous mortadella sandwich. I saw it on an episode of No Reservations and immediately took note of it.  We didn't have much time in Sao Paulo at all -  which was fine because it's kind of a concrete jungle of a city that wasn't so interesting after spending time in beautiful Rio and Paraty.  But it is known to be a culinary wonderland, so I was a bit bummed that I wouldn't have time to eat at many, if any, places while I was there.

But I made it a priority to check out the Mercado Municipal because I am a huge sucker for large farmer's markets and this one is a doozy.  It's a huge space filled with dried cod, seafood, and exotic fresh fruit stands as well as lots of food stalls that are full of locals and tourists alike.  I'll be honest and say that I made a bee line for Bar do Mane without doing much research on the other options but I'm sure that any of the other places in the market also make a fine sandwich - and there are lots of options, so take your time and see what speaks to you.  Bar do Mane is on the 1st floor and you can't miss it with all the crowds.  They are known for their famous mortadella sandwich but they also have a bunch of other sandwich options if eating 1,000 pounds of hot meat isn't your thing.  You can order the sandwich hot or cold - I opted for hot.  When it first comes out, it doesn't seem so bad but once you start eating it your realize what a beast it is.  It comes with epic layers of thinly sliced mortadella (which is pork that tastes a bit like baloney) with a gooey hot layer of cheese sandwiched between a soft warmly toasted roll.  It is probably THE best hangover food you'll ever eat - too bad I wasn't really hung over despite drinking a ton the night before.  It's quite a salty sandwich, so be prepared to wash it down with either a cold beer or coke.  I could barely eat half of it and ended taking the other half back to the hotel.  It wasn't too great after it had been sitting out a bit but it helped to fill my stomach before a long red eye flight home.  It was seriously the only thing I ate in a 24 hour period because that's whole filling it is. 

While the sandwich might not be the most mind blowing thing ever, it is a classic dish that you should try at least once.  I loved the market - it was filled with lots of color and wonderful visuals of fruits you'll never see anywhere else - and is absolutely worth a stop even if you don't go to Bar do Mane.   Total bill:  $8 USD

Paraty, Brazil - Day 7 (Dec 12, 2014) 3-4 Forks

Dito e Feito - Kiosk along the Pontal Beach - 3 Forks

While I greatly enjoyed my time in Paraty, I was disappointed that there weren't any good local beaches within walking distance.   You really need to take a boat out to the islands to get to anything nice but they do have a very basic local beach, Pontal Beach, where it's lined with a few seafood kiosks and they have lounge chairs for you to hang out in if the weather is nice.  All the kiosks seem to offer the same type of food:  seafood.  Strangely the menu is geared towards food for 2 or more people - so they really kind of make you feel self-conscious when you are by yourself, which I was.

Since all of the kiosks looked the same, I picked the one that was most crowded and busy.  I had a wait a bit for a table but it wasn't a big deal.  It's a super casual beach side hut, so imagine plastic tables and stools and everyone is in some kind of beach wear.  As I mentioned, the menu has a lot of "for 2" dishes and the English translation is very spotty, so I basically picked the only thing I saw "for 1" which was a fish stew ($11 USD) and I got a coconut juice ($3).   While the beach is not pretty there at all, there is something nice about just chilling by water in a run down hut eating with the locals.  The stew that came out was huge.  It was a large filet (with bones) of some kind of mackerel like fish and it was covered in a sweet onion and tomato sauce.  It was served with a side of white rice and a tomato manioc (cassava) paste that seems to come with every Brazilian dish.  It was a pretty filling meal with all the starch and carbs going on.  The type of my fish wasn't my absolute favorite since it was a bit on the oily and fishy side but I could tell that it probably something that they plucked out of the local waters.  I had really wished that I could have gotten some of the other dishes like the shrimp and mixed seafood dishes but alas, this is the problem with being a solo eater. I was a huge fan of the coconut juice as it wasn't just a young coconut with a straw in it.  It was like a coconut shake with lots of shredded coconut flakes in it.   Overall, it was a peaceful meal that was very much off the beaten path but I would definitely recommend that you come with at least one other person so that you can try a bunch of other dishes.  Total bill:  $14 USD

Thai Brasil - Rua do Comércio, 308A - 4 Forks

There are weirdly enough 2 Thai places in Paraty, Thai Paraty and Thai Brasil.  After being unable to find Thai Brasil on our 2nd day in Paraty (thanks a lot Google Maps), I was determined to locate and eat there.  Turns out it was actually 5 mins from our hotel and fairly close to the center of town.  It's a bright, colorful and adorable restaurant that I immediately loved.  

At this point in the trip,  Lav and I were so ready for some Asian food or food that had some kind of spice and flavor to it.  So Thai food was right up our alley.  I was surprised that the menu was pretty authentic and not some kind of Thai/Brazilian fusion deal.  They had curries, pad thais, papaya salads and rolls but it was a pretty small menu with only about 6-7 dishes total.  The waitstaff is super nice - they seem to all be young travelers who spoke at least 3-4 languages.  We had no problems conversing with our waitress and she made sure to point out what was vegetarian for Lav.  I opted for the spicy squid ($17 USD) and a frozen mint lemonade ($4 USD) and Lav got the pad thai with veggie and tofu.  

The mint lemonade was quite re-freshing and it was nice to drink something that was loaded with cachaca.  My dish was served with lots of large pieces of squid and stir fried vegetables and rice.  If I was missing spice during this trip, this one dish made up for all of it.  It was packed with flavor and spice but in a good way -  I didn't feel like I couldn't eat the dish but it definitely cleared my sinuses. But it was exactly what I needed after days of eating grilled meat and fish stews.  It tasted very similar to the type of Thai food I can get in NYC and dare I say, even parts of Thailand?  I had a small bite of Lav's noodles and it wasn't quite as good as my dish - a little bit on the oily side with the noodles and it definitely didn't have the heat of my dish.  

All in all, it was a great respite from all of the Italian/Brazilian type food I was eating and it was just a nice fun restaurant that lots of people were just relaxing and having a great time in.  It a great place to check out if you need a bit of Asian kick to your trip.  

Photo Credit:  Zarpo.com.br

Paraty, Brazil Day 5 & 6 (Dec 10-11, 2014) 4-4.5 Forks

Miracolo Praca da Matriz 8, Paraty - 4 Forks

After spending 4 wonderful days in Rio, Lav and I moved our adventures onward to Paraty, which is a small colonial town along the coast 4 1/2 hours away from Rio.  The town is adorable - imagine tons of cobblestone streets and old churches.  Surprisingly for such a small town, they have quite a few restaurants to choose from.  I had run into a very nice American exchange student while I was taking a walk and she had said that her favorite place was this Italian place right on the main square. Not that I was sick of Brazilian food yet, but it was kind of a nice reprise to have Italian food for once and we knew that it would be easy for Lav to find something to eat off the menu. 

It's located right in the heart of town off one of the main squares in Paraty.  They have some nice seating outside, so if the weather is nice, it's a great option to grab a table and people watch.  The menu has your 2 standard Italian dishes:  pasta and pizza.  Wonderful.  I wanted to get the fresh mozzarella pizza but they had sadly ran out of it for the night so I got a medium mushroom pizza and Lav got a spicy spaghetti and we split an appetizer of tomato bruschetta.  The bruschetta came with extremely fresh crushed tomato and basil - I wasn't starving so I didn't eat the bread it came on, but I was very surprised at the quality of the food given how far away we were from everything.  The pizza came out and it was enormous.  I could tell by the looks of it that it would be good.  It was a nice flour-y crust with TONS of gooey cheese and what looked like canned mushrooms.  Now normally I don't like canned vegetables but there's something about canned mushrooms on pizza that I love.   The crust was thin but held its own with all the cheese and mushroom on there and yet still had a nice crunch to it.  I have to say that I was really pleasantly surprised by my meal here in both quality and quantity.  The spaghetti dish was also huge and Lav mentioned that it hit the spot as well.  This isn't a Babbo or anything but it certainly can fill your Italian craving in a small fishing town in Brazil.  In fact, it was good enough that we went back there the next day for a quick bite after our boat outing because we knew it would be good, cheap and filling.  Total bill:  $16/pp

Photo Credit:  Tripadvisor

Le Castellet Rua Dona Geralda 44, Paraty - 4.5 Forks

I may have actually found the world's cutest restaurant and it's Le Castellet.  This place was literally across the street for our hotel and the minute I saw it, I knew we had to eat there.  The place is beyond adorable and transports you to the heart of Paris.  I mean just look at the picture - can't you imagine being in France?  They have 2 small tables out front (they will bring more seating if requested) and they have 3 chalkboard menus and a cute decorative bicycle out front.

The menu is strictly French with lots of sweet and savory crepes and traditional dishes like croque madams and croque monsieurs.   I went for a croque madame because of the egg that comes on top of it and Lav got a ratatouille crepe.  I should note that the very nice waitstaff here does not speak any English and very little Spanish, so there was a lot of confused looks and pointing.  Luckily, what little French I do remember from high school came in handy here when reading the menu.  It should also be noted that if you eat here you MUST get a caipirinha because they are enormous,  albeit a little on the sugary side.  The croque madam was good - very soft bread, lots of melted cheese and a perfectly fried egg on top.  The ham and gruyere cheese were perfectly melted and made for a a great salty combination.

As with a meal at an Italian restaurant, you need to save room for dessert when dining at a French restaurant. We got the profiteroles for dessert and it was heavenly - definitely the highlight of the meal.  The pastry puffs were soft and light and sandwiched with sweet vanilla ice cream and then covered with warm chocolate on top of it.  It was amazing and a great way to end the night.  It wasn't too sweet but left you feeling like you still had a winning dessert.

This place is the perfect French bistro cafe to just sit outside with a bottle of wine, read a book and maybe have a croissant or two and yet be in an adorable side street in Brazil.   Total bill:  $23/pp

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Day 3 & 4 (Dec 8-9, 2014) 3.5-4 Forks

Fellini  Rua Gal Urquisa 104, Rio de Janeiro - 3.5 Forks

When people think of Brazilian food, they mostly think of the all-you-can eat steakhouses, but they are also very big into buffet style food.   Their buffets are usually the kind where you pay for the weight of your food which can be dangerous if your eyes are bigger than your stomach.  Fellini is located on this dark, quiet street in Leblon and the customers there are generally local families.  

You basically walk in, grab a plate, load up with whatever you want and then weigh it at the end.   You can go back as many times as you want and each time you weigh your plate, they give you a sticker with the price of each weigh so that when you check out, they know how much to ring you up for.  There is a fairly large variety of food here ranging from salad, sushi, pastas, meats, fish, seafood, fried food and dessert.  The ingredients seemed fresh and the food looked like it was constantly switched out and not like it had been sitting there for hours.  I went straight for the sushi - the Asian mentality of me was trying to figure out how to get the best bang for my buck.  I loaded up on sushi, poke and some sliced meat.  This is also a great place if you are traveling with vegetarians or have other dietary restrictions because there literally is a little bit of something for everyone.   My first round of food was $12 USD and I must say that the quality of the food was pretty good.  I was a big fan of the salmon poke (or it tasted a lot like poke since it was cubes of raw salmon with soy and sesame oil with scallions) and the sushi wasn't too bad either.  The cut of meat was fine - it was a bit well done for me, but you can't expect too much for buffet style meat.   In all honesty, I most likely could have (and should have) stopped eating here but I went back for a second round of poke and spent another $10 for no real reason.  

I wouldn't say this was a culinary highlight of my trip but I did like that it was a no frills, easy meal. Sometimes you just don't want to eat at a full service restaurant and for those occasions eating at Fellini is just right.  Total bill:  $22 USD

Photo Credit:  Tripadvisor

Porcao R. Barão da Torre, 218, Rio de Janeiro - 4 Forks

Ahh - yes.  A trip to Brazil wouldn't be complete without a visit to a Churrascaria/Rodizio des carnes. It's essentially an all-you-can-eat steakhouse and you must come hungry.  Lav and I came for lunch after visiting Sugar Loaf Mountain and I'm sad to say that I probably wasn't hungry enough for it but I made it work.  Unfortunately there is no lunch price, so it was a very expensive lunch and they also don't have a price for just the salad bar for vegetarians.  So Lav really took one for the team by coming here because she ended up paying a lot for the salad bar which really isn't worth it.  But for me, I was in pig and cow heaven.  I started with a caipirinha as an afternoon beverage and they make it table side for you and really see all the god damn delicious sugar that they put in there but it was one strong drink.  Next I headed to the salad bar and again, loaded up on sushi and sashimi here.  Despite being called a salad bar, the really had a lot of seafood based dishes, which sucked for Lav and honestly I was so focused on getting to the meat portion of my meal that I completely skipped over them.  The sashimi was actually very good and was a good palate cleanser for me in between bites of meat.  

On to the meat.  I've been to Churracaria's in New York before and they work the same way here. You have a card and if you want them to come over with the meat, you turn the side green.  If you're full, then turn it to the red side that says stop.  But since we were here for lunch and it was pretty empty, they kept pushing meat on me the whole time despite having it turned to red when I was trying to clean my plate.   The waiters come around with all sorts of mouth watering meat on a skewer and then they slice off generous portions on to your plate.  I must have eaten every cut of beef known to man and they were all pretty delicious and juicy.  They also had sausage and chicken (it was like fried chicken but not totally battered) but I would say that if you have limited stomach space, stick with the meat.   I was able to put away almost 2 full plates of meat and a few rounds of sashimi and that was all I could handle.  The cuts of meat were flavorful on their own as none of it needed any sauce to it.  With your meat, you can get sides of fries, tomatoes, shrimp and some other appetizers but to me that's all just filler for the main course. 

Annoyingly, dessert is extra.  Lav got a slice of cheesecake to top off her meal but I couldn't eat anymore food.  While this place is great for meat eaters, it's a definite bummer for vegetarians.  They should either offer a lower price for just the salad bar or include a price with dessert for them.  I left lunch feeling uncomfortably full but I'm still glad I went.  I'm sure the scene would have been totally different at night for dinner but lunch was a much calmer experience which was just fine with me as I rolled home drunk and full. Total bill:  $63/pp with drink and dessert

Photo Credit:  Yelp

El Born R. Bolivar, 17, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro - 3.5 Forks

So this is a bit of an unfair review because I barely ate anything there because I was in in a meat coma from my lunch at Porcao earlier in the day, so there's not much for me to review.  But from what little food and drink I had, it seemed like a very lovely place to grab some tapas and sit outside with a lovely cocktail.  The tricky thing is that also also pass around  random tapas while you eat and at first we weren't sure what was going on.  Was it complimentary?  Well the answer is no, they are not free.  They like to pass around different types of house tapas and if you are interested, they put it on your table and write it down on your bill.  Luckily the food is pretty good here, so when we grabbed some kind of potato dish, we weren't too upset.  For our main dishes, we got our usual order of potatoes bravas and a tortilla and both were solid dishes.  

The location of the restaurant is on a lively and fun strip in Copacabana.  After checking out this neighborhood, I'm glad we chose to say in Ipanema as it's not quite as touristy and crazy as Copacabana.  But this restaurant would be a fun place to check out on any other occasion, just not after I had eaten an entire cow for lunch.  Total bill:  $25/pp 

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Day 2 (Dec 7, 2014) 3.5 - 4 Forks

Padaria e Confeitaria Ipanema  Rua Visconde de Piraja 325, Rio de Janeiro - 4 Forks

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

Rio de Janerio, Brazil Day 1 (Dec 6, 2014) 4 Forks

Zaza Bistro Tropical Rua Joana Angélica, 40, Ipanema - Rio de Janeiro

I capped off my year of travel with one final stop to South America with a visit to Brazil.  I had heard a lot of things about Brazil from people - mostly great, some of it scary but I was still excited to check it out.  Lav and I landed on Saturday morning after taking a 10 hour red eye the night before.   After checking out the Ipanema beach and strolling around the neighborhood, we were ready for dinner.  We stayed in the Ipanema area which is the bougiest/richest part of Rio.  I felt very safe walking around which was great because there were tons of bar/restaurant/shops within a spitting distance of our hotel that seemed really great.  I had heard and read alot about Zaza Bistro and it was a 10 minute walk from our hotel, so it seemed like a no brainer to make it our first meal of the trip.

It's a beautiful Mediterranean restaurant with gorgeous decor.  We sat outside to enjoy the warm weather and people viewing.  Luckily, they had a menu that had some basic English translation, so we started with the Tapioca appetizer which is a Brazilian dish of white pastry that's rolled with coalho cheese and tomatoes served with apricot and ginger dip.  It was an interesting dish - not mind blowing as it wasn't sweet or savory but it was a white, mild cheese that has a "squeaky" like texture when you eat it.  I know it sounds weird to describe cheese that way, but that's what it's like.  For my main dish, I got the lamb with potato dumplings.  The meat was fantastic - very tender and pulled apart very easily.  The potatoes were more like the mashed version and went well with the lamb - it was kind of like your classic meat and potato dish but with Moroccan flavors to it.  So my first meal in Brazil wasn't really a traditional Brazilian dish but still meat focused.  Lav got the Moroccan Couscous which came with curry, vegetables and fruits, Semolina wheat, carrot, zucchini, mango, pinneaple, raisins and nuts - which was basically the only vegetarian dishes on the menu.  Lav mentioned that it was ok - not great but that's kind of what we were expecting from a vegetarian meal in Brazil.  We opted to get dessert and got the chocolate brownies with a lemon sorbet which was ok, but I was so full from everything else and drunk from the extremely strong delicious caipirinha that it didn't really register with me.

All in all, Zaza was a lovely start to our Brazilian adventure.  It was gorgeous and the food, while not traditional, was solid from a meat and caipirinha  perspective.  I think if you stick with the meat/seafood dishes, you'll do well.  The staff was very friendly and while they didn't speak a whole lot of English (that's most of Brazil), they were patient and nice to us.  The prices were pretty expensive (even by NYC standards) but considering it smack in the middle of Ipanema I wasn't surprised.  Total bill with drinks, tax and tip:  ~$70/pp

Photo Credit:  Time Out Brazil