Tales on the table

I had to be persistent to finally have the ultimate @taquerialoscocuyos experience. During my first trip to Mexico City, this world-famous taqueria was at the very top of my list, and it didn’t take long for me to head towards the city’s historic center looking for this unassuming taco stand. However, upon arrival I was a little frustrated as they had run out of chopped onions and cilantro, which are available on basically all taquerias for customers to shower their food with before savoring it. Tough luck. However, it really impressed me how their tacos still stood out from the rest, even without that freshness and acidity provided by these two ingredients, that I consider essential on most of my tacos.

A few years later, when I finally made my way back to CDMX, I’m sure you can guess where my first stop was. Only to be frustrated yet again, since I unadvisedly showed up early in the day and most of the meats weren’t fully cooked yet. At that time in the day, they were only serving longaniza (sausage) tacos. So I ordered myself a pair and moved on. Once more, the tacos were sensational, but I felt that I still needed to try the other varieties served there.

And since the third time’s the charm, on the very next day I decided to head there again, this time at a proper hour. And this was when I finally had my well deserved taco feast. The place serves a great variety of tacos, cooked on a bubbling meat jacuzzi. And some of the options are definitely not for the faint of heart... eye, cheek, tripe, and more are all featured here. The tacos are served on warm corn tortillas, with your choice of fatty and tender meat, that is oozing its own juices and is then chopped before being put on the tortilla. The house offers great salsas and ... a much needed kick from the onion & cilantro combo to close the deal.

I was so excited that I even forgot to take pictures. So thanks to my buddy @rafaeldevitto for sending me his.

#loscocuyos #talesonthetable #mexicanfood #streetfood #mexicocity #mexico #tacos #taqueria

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It is common knowledge that Peruvian food goes well beyond ceviche. What most people don’t know, however, is that Pollo a la Brasa is one of the most traditional of all foods in Peru.

Simply put, Pollo a la Brasa is Peruvian style rotisserie roasted chicken. In Lima, “pollerías” can be found everywhere, each one of them with their own twist on the marinade that goes into the “pollo”. And the best one that I had was at @dontitoperu, following an indication from the great @migrationology.

There, chickens are placed whole on a spit, and it rotates in a circular motion as well as on their own axes.The result is extremely appetizing , with smoky notes from the charcoal and with a crunchy and nicely charred skin, but very juicy on the inside. It is served with mayonnaise and ají on the side, as well as a plate of salad and top notch french fries.

I went there on a Sunday night and the place was completely full, mostly by people who seemed to be regulars, with their families and kids. It is definitely a nice family restaurant that immediately made me imagine myself making it a tradition to finish off my weeks there as well in case I ever lived in this flavorful city.

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It would be impossible to leave @oteque_rj out of my mini-series of where to eat in Rio. One of my favorite restaurants in Latin America is well awarded but in my eyes still vastly underrated in the food industry. Contemporary food with precise cooking techniques from an extremely talented chef that combines fresh local Brazilian ingredients with his Japanese and German heritage. What a gem!

Despite a discrete facade, diners are welcomed into a beautiful dining room, with high ceilings, circular wooden tables and an open kitchen. The unpretentious table setting exemplifies how Oteque remains informal and relaxed while serving some of the best quality food out there.

Chef @albertolandgraf serves a tasting menu subject to availability of each ingredient, but usually very much focused on products coming from the sea, with the oyster with green apple juice as one of the unforgettable bites and a staple of the restaurant.

Other dishes that stood out for me were the squid with white shimeji mushrooms and bottarga, smoky grilled shrimps with “pirão”, bluefin tuna with pine nuts topped with ossetra giaveri caviar and a juicy grouper fish with “tucupi” and leeks.

The wine selection is a sideshow in itself, where every combination makes a lot of sense and brings out the best on every plate.The place offers two types of wine pairing and I suggest being hardcore here and going for the ultimate experience. You are at Oteque after all.

#oteque #talesonthetable #riodejaneiro #gastronomiabrasileira

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If I could have a glance at the future, I would come back to tell you that @tuju_sp has been frequently featured on the 50 Best Latin America lists.

After my recent visit, I have no doubt that it will keep collecting accolades. The food is outstanding, with powerful flavors and smart and provocative combinations. Head chef @ivanralstonb is in a stratosphere rarely found but what amazed me the most is the content and value added by their research department (@tuju_pesquisa).

The outcome of Katherina Cordás’ studies (@digameoquecomes) is clearly displayed on the selection of suppliers and ingredients from the very best that Brazil has to offer. From the cattle and katsuobushi to the artisan cheese, everything is carefully picked to cause the best sensorial experience.

Their research detected that the seasonality of ingredients in Sao Paulo is determined by the rainfall amount. With that in mind, they offer 4 different tasting menus around the year: Moisture, Rain, Wind and Dryness.

As I went during the Rainy season, the menu highlighted cucurbitaceae like melon, cucumber, watermelon and pumpkin.Two of my favorite dishes were the pigeon with kiwi and tucupi and a tartare toast with anchovy paste. Followed by a yellowtail amberjack with cambuci sauce that was just sublime, with the fatty fish perfectly balanced by the sauce’s acidity.

Ironically, since I went for the Rain menu, it was a stormy and chaotic day in the city. However, upon arriving there all was forgotten as I seemed to have entered a safe haven where the city chaos was left behind. Staff is extremely attentive and well prepared and the building architecture and decoration is a masterpiece displaying pieces of Brazilian design. All three floors are equally beautiful, from the patio where guests are welcomed, to the dining room with an open kitchen and the terrace with objects collected during their research expeditions.

If I were you, I would not wait for the future or any additional award to make a reservation. On my side, I am counting the days for the rain to be over so that I can taste what Tuju’s Windy season has to offer.

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I landed in Salvador, Bahia, craving for some “Moqueca” and there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to try it at @donasuzanarerestaurante , in the Solar do Unhão Community, where the legendary Dona Suzana prepares one of the very best in town.

The dish, a result of the combination of Brazil’s indigenous, african and portuguese heritages (the african influence being more prominent in the version made in Bahia), consists of a thick fish and seafood stew, made with coconut milk, “dendê” oil, onions, tomatoes, cilantro and other spices. The charismatic Dona Suzana masters the art of seasoning her “Moqueca” and cooking the seafood caught daily by her husband Antonio to perfection.

Upon arrival at @solardounhão, I invited my taxi driver, Iraílton, to lunch with me. We parked the taxi, walked our way into the community and after a few turns and stairs, found this stunning place.

The small kitchen is inside, but tables are on a narrow outside corridor with a unique view of the Todos-os-Santos bay. And there is nothing quite like an ocean view for lunch. Except when lunch is THAT good.

Iraílton and I had a great time savoring the special plate in front of us, which is supposed to be shared by 2 but could have easily fed a third person. He was amazed at how I found such an amazing place in his hometown that he’d never heard about and was really intrigued about my passion for local restaurants serving authentic food.

We talked about soccer and laughed a lot, while having one too many beers. Halfway through the meal, he called his wife to say that he was coming home early as he could not keep driving for the day.

After we were finished, he left me at my hotel where I slept like a baby dreaming about coming back soon to try some other flavors of this friendly and peaceful community where gastronomy has been an important tool of empowerment and social transformation.

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#moqueca #cheapeats #talesonthetable #SocialGastronomy #salvador #bahia #donasuzanarestaurante #solardounhão #authenticfood #streetfood Less

You can never go wrong climbing the stairways that lead to Lilia which is located in a vintage building at downtown Rio de Janeiro. But while the building may be vintage, this creative restaurant is young and provocative.

@Lilia.restaurante is responsible for some of the highest level of cooking in town, where the quality of good ingredients is put at center stage. Seasonality is at the core of their proposal, so it is very unlikely that you will repeat choices on a second visit there.

The menu offered there is organized in a way that clients must choose between a few daily options: a starter, a main course and dessert. Plus, some fresh oysters can (and should, dare I say) be ordered separately.

Every detail on the dishes is well thought, making each bite extremely tasteful, with balanced and smart flavor combinations.
Awarded a Michelin Bib-Gourmand, Lilia is definitely one of the places to go for great food in Rio de Janeiro.

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Serving only ten lucky diners per service, who are seated on a beautiful counter with a view to the action inside the kitchen, Lasai is definitely one of the best fine dining restaurants in Brazil.

@restaurantelasai is intimate, elegant and exclusive, perfect for special occasions. The restaurant is focused on vegetables, mostly from the state of Rio de Janeiro, showcasing the richness and diversity of the region that chef @rafacostaesilva is so passionate about ... alongside with his beloved soccer team Flamengo.

The menu starts with nine small and light bite-sized snacks, which are served in a fast paced way. A few of my favorites were the fried cassava topped with sea urchin and radish and the plantain with peanut butter and okra.

Once the snack section is over, the tempo slows down a notch or two and the restaurant serves three main courses, a vegetable, a fish and a pork dish. The first one consisted of a heart of palm with coconut and cashew nuts, followed by a steamed hake fish with masterfully cooked leeks. To close out the savory section, the pork loin was very tasty, served with their flagship reduced stock that takes three days to be made.

Desserts did not disappoint and were refreshing and well balanced, closing out on a high note a spectacular evening at this institution that has become Lasai.

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Having spent a great share of my weekends in the countryside village of São Franciso Xavier, I got almost embarrassed when I came across recommendations of the family-run restaurant @asoberanacozinhacaipira that I did not know at the time.

The place, led by Eduardo and his wife Juliana, is located in the backyard of their own house. Service is friendly and more importantly, personal. Everything there is authentic and their hospitality makes you feel at home. The wooden benches, the carefully thought decoration and the dog resting on the side completes the atmosphere.

Eduardo can always be found behind the wood-burning stove and is one question away from telling you all about his passion for cooking on fire, the cultural heritage of the recipes he’s preparing and how he decided to give up on his previous corporate job to follow his heart.

Much like Eduardo, his food also speaks for itself. His cuisine is a celebration of rural traditions and you can almost feel the flavors telling their own story. The dishes are comforting, but not strong on spices. They do offer, however, a homemade chili sauce on the side.

The place does not have a menu and the food prepared is the same for all guests. For starters, we had a mix of salami, “torresmo” (fried little bites of pork belly) and “goiabada” (a sweet conserve made from red guavas and sugar).

The main course consisted of “carne na lata”, an ancestral technique for cooking pork in its own fat, with rice, red beans, farofa (the triad of Brazilian food), “polenta” (a dish made from cornmeal) and some sauteed vegetables on the side. Plus a few homemade chorizo sausages that were packed with flavor after being smoked above the stove for the perfect amount of time.

I left my table genuinely happy, feeling the rush that good food causes on me. But having lunch at A Soberana is not only about food in itself, but also a powerful reminder of the beauty behind the truth of the rural lifestyle.

The combination of a special restaurant run by good people, in a little town, where fresh air, peace and quiet reign makes you reflect on life and gives a sense of appreciation and an opportunity to really put things in perspective. Less

A short drive away from the more touristy destinations of Jose Ignacio and Punta Del Este, @restaurantegarzon is the ultimate destination restaurant. Tucked away in a small “pueblo” with the same name as the restaurant, the place is headed by celebrity chef Francis Mallman and embodies his philosophy of using fire to bring out the natural flavors of ingredients.

While the steaks here were indeed great, my highlights and strong recommendations would go to the vegetable focused items on the menu, with a special mention to the “cara sucia” bread, a smoked flatbread with burnt oranges and arugula.

And please make sure to leave some room for dessert.

—x—

A uma curta distância de carro dos destinos mais turísticos de Jose Ignacio e Punta Del Este, @restaurantegarzon é um destino gastronômico que por sí só justifica toda a viagem. Escondido em um pequeno povoado com o mesmo nome do restaurante, o local é liderado pelo chef celebridade Francis Mallmann e incorpora sua filosofia de utilizar o fogo para realçar os sabores naturais dos ingredientes.

Embora as carnes aqui sejam realmente excelentes, meus destaques e recomendações são para que você não deixe de experimentar os pratos vegetais do cardápio, com uma menção prá lá de especial para o pão “cara sucia”, um pão defumado com laranjas queimadas e rúcula.

E não deixe de reservar espaço para a sobremesa. Less

There is a saying that no food is as good as grandma’s. Well, neither of mine knew how to cook...But I can assume that whoever said it had someone like Dona Celia in the family. At 80 years old and with no signs of slowing down, she runs the show at Hotel Roma, in Porto Alegre.

Nearby the airport, this simple hotel holds on the ground floor a very special restaurant that in my opinion is not only one of the best in town, but also a national treasure.

Dona Celia is the person in charge of both the kitchen and service and I can assure you that she and the whole team will make you feel at home. Putting the food aside for a minute, because having a meal there goes way beyond the food in itself, you’ll feel welcomed and a positive energy all over the place.

The staff serve homemade food made with love and the impression that I had is that they’ve been working together for so long and with such joy that they’ve come to love one another. The result is that it is impossible to leave their table without a big smile on your face.

Having said that, we can now go into the food.

It all starts with a fresh plate of salad and then things escalate quickly and several different plates are put on the table, including rice, beans, gnocchi and beef ribs with cassava, both of which melt in your mouth like butter.

But the real magic happens on the rotating service of complimentary dishes. Thin slices of steak perfectly seasoned and served fresh off the griddle, as well as a tray of fritters that include their signature “bolinho” made with potatoes and filled with minced meat, and fried cabbage, my personal favorite.

Desserts are also very good, but it is hard to leave space for them, especially with Dona Celia coming by every now and then to insist that you eat a little bit more - just like loving grandmas usually do.

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