As I promised before, let's talk about Brazilian food. Our cuisine is unique and completely different from the rest of Latin America, so don't expect to get Mexican food in Brazil. Brazilian food is also very different in different locations in Brazil. Rio has strong Portuguese influence and somehow that got mixed with African traditions, European and even Lebanese food.
Many Brazilian restaurants sell by the kilo! one can choose from a buffet of varieties (from salad to barbecue) and pay the total weight (the ones who eat a lot don't usually like this system, so find out the price before). Prices vary a lot but usually 100gr/2.00 reais. Kilo restaurants are great to just try a little bit of everything.
If you feel like meat, try churrascaria rodízio (barbecue steakhouse, one price per person, all you can eat). I recommend Mario's in Copacabana and Porcão in Ipanema. They are a bit expensive (~US$30-40/person), but you will appreciate every cent! The hotel can give you directions to both, they are well-known. Mario's is a little more formal. My favorite is Porcão (big pig). By the way, they also have great salads, vegetables, fish/sushi in the salad bar which are fantastic! Don't eat breakfast if you are going to a churrascaria for lunch and don't plan on having dinner either.
The Brazilian national dish is called feijoada (shown in the photo), a stew made of pork meat and black beans, it is served with white rice (most of the dishes come with that), farofa, greens and orange. Farofa is something hard for me to explain, it is probably my favorite side dish. It is dry manioc flour with oil and seasoning, delicious!! Saturday is Feijoada day in Rio. Many restaurants will offer that in the menu only on Saturdays and sometimes on Wednesdays.
If you like spicy food, look for comida bahiana (typical from the state of Bahia). Some of their dishes are: moqueca (fish stew), bobó de camarão (shrimp stew), vatapá.
Brazilian food is not usually spicy, unless you are in the Northeast, but there will always be pepper sauce to be added if you like. Ask for "pimenta, por favor."
If you are vegetarian or vegan you will have to do a little research before you go out for dinner, but salads are always good in Rio. Just make sure you tell them that you don't want boiled eggs (sem ovo cozido), no ham (sem presunto), no cheese (sem queijo), no mayonese (sem maionese) all over the salad. Most of the time, trust me, beans will have bacon added to it when cooking. You can double check, but they might think your question is a bit weird... why wouldn't you want bacon (toucinho) in your beans?? Ipanema.com has a good page with recommended restaurants. http://www.ipanema.com/restrnts/salads.htm I love the Natural in Ipanema, I hope you will too.
Brazilians are foodie and love to snack, here are some things to try:
Drink = caipirinha - cachaça (white rum), lime and sugar. Careful, it is good, but it is strong. Brazilians usually have one before dinner and switch to beer. If you have more than 2 caipirinhas quickly, you will be noticed :-)
soft-drink = guaraná (like ginger ale, made of an amazon fruit)
Don't miss all the fresh juices (sucos)/fruits/ice-cream = maracuja (passion fruit), manga (mango), abacaxi (pineapple), goiaba (guava), caju (fruit of the cashew nut)
You will get addicted to bread/snack = pão de queijo (made of cheese and manioc flour, served warm)
Our snacks (aperitivo/entrada) are delicious, often I only eat them and skip lunch: aipim/mandioca frito (fried manioc = fried yucca root), bolinho de bacalhau (codfish fried snack- it is like a crab cake but better), coxinha (snack made of chicken), pastel de queijo/carne/palmito (fried dough filled with either cheese/meat/heart of palms)
If you feel like a coffee and a little snack, go to Casa do Pão de Queijo, there are many of them all over the place and have a coffee with pão de queijo, you will like it!
There are many juice houses in Copacabana/Ipanema/Leblon. Just enter one of them and choose any fruit you never heard of and try a juice. You can also ask the attendant to suggest a juice. They will enjoy that and will be very friendly if you try your Portuguese ("Pode sugerir um suco gostoso?" Can you suggest a tasty juice?). You can ask to see the fruit first, posso ver a fruta? Of course, you will be able to have the real açaí juice and will get addicted.
If you are going out with friends and family, I recommend that you either ask or look around to see the sizes of the portions which tend to be large. It is unusual to have one plate per person in a table of 4. We usually share a few entries (e.g. 3 for 4 people) and have rice, beans, fries, manioc and salad as side dishes.
Tipping
Usually 10% will be included in your bill in most restaurants. It should be written in your bill, otherwise you are supposed to give around 10% for tip. But I have never been to any place where the 10% was not included. Anyway, feel free to round it and give a little extra if you like the food and service, but don't over-do it. Ask when you get the check: por favor, os dez porcentos estao incluidos? The kilo restaurants will probably not include since the waiter will only bring you a drink. You can give like 3-5 reais if you want, but don't have to tip. By the way, you always have to ask for the check (a conta, por favor), or they will not bring it.
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