Tales on the table

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.

(Versão em Português nos Comentários)

#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.

(Versão em Português nos comentários) Less

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.

(Versão em português nos comentários) Less

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.

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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

On the way back to Punta Del Este from Jose Ignacio, you can almost smell from the highway the aroma of freshly baked bread coming out of this little bakery (is it Ok to call it a bakery?) in La Barra.

Medialunas are a very traditional pastry in both Uruguay and Argentina, that is often compared to its more internationally famous sibling, the croissant.

The pastries here are light, fluffy, sweet (but not-too-sweet) and delicious. Oh, and very aromatic. They sell it plain or stuffed with different options of savory and sweet fillings. I am all for the simple and traditional plain version of this carbo goodness, which is clearly their flagship item if you care to take a look around.

While medialunas are a great option for breakfast, the pro-move for me here is to have them in the afternoon, sit back and breath in as much as possible of that unforgettable smell before hitting the road again.

@mlcalentitaslabarra

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Na estrada voltando de Jose Ignacio para Punta Del Este quase que dá para sentir o aroma delicioso de pão saindo do forno desta pequena padaria (será que posso chamá-la de padaria?) em La Barra.

As medialunas são uma tradição nacional tanto no Uruguai quanto na Argentina, sendo frequentemente comparadas ao seu irmão internacionalmente mais famoso, o croissant.

Aqui elas são leves, fofas, doces (mas não muito doces) e deliciosas. Ah, e muito aromáticas. Eles as vendem simples ou recheadas com diferentes opções salgadas e doces. Eu prefiro a versão simples e tradicional deste tesouro na forma de carboidrato, que você logo vai perceber que claramente é o carro-chefe da casa.

Embora as medialunas sejam uma ótima opção para o café da manhã, para mim a tacada de mestre aqui é deixar para comer uma (ou várias) no meio da tarde, desfrutando e inspirando o máximo possível daquele cheiro gostoso antes de pegar a estrada de novo. Less

Great steak grilled the Uruguayan way on an impressively large parrilla, with a good bottle of red wine or local beer to wash it down. What else can you ask for?

Ok… there is more. Dulce de leche pancakes for dessert and a happy ending to a hearty and pleasant meal.

@elpalenque.pde also has a unit in Montevideo, which I am hoping to visit at some point.

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Uma ótima carne grelhada à moda uruguaia em uma parrilla impressionantemente grande, acompanhada de uma boa garrafa de vinho tinto ou uma cerveja local para acompanhar. O que mais você pode querer?

Na verdade, tenho certeza que tem algo mais que você vai querer sim. Panquecas de “dulce de leche” de sobremesa vão ser o complemento perfeito para uma refeição farta e deliciosa.

O @elpalenque.pde tem também uma unidade em Montevideo que pretendo visitar em breve. Less

With a very nice terrace dining room and a view to Punta Del Este’s harbor, @lodetererestaurante is a great restaurant to enjoy the best seafood that the Uruguayan Atlantic coast has to offer.

As if the dishes themselves were not enough, the restaurant works closely with local producers to encourage sustainable fishing practices with the goal of preserving the environment.

I became aware of this place given its frequent selections on @theworlds50best Latam lists and it quickly made the very top of my Punta wishlist. And now after visiting it I can only agree that it is a must when in town.

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Com o salão localizado num terraço muito agradável com vista para o porto de Punta Del Este, o @lodetererestaurante é um ótimo restaurante para apreciar os melhores frutos do mar que a costa atlântica uruguaia tem a oferecer.

Como se os pratos em si não fossem suficientes, o restaurante trabalha em estreita colaboração com produtores locais para incentivar práticas de pesca sustentáveis, com o objetivo de preservar o meio ambiente.

Inicialmente, fiquei interessado por esse lugar devido às suas frequentes seleções nas listas do @theworlds50best Latam e ele rapidamente se tornou um dos principais na minha lista de desejos em Punta. Agora, depois de visitá-lo, só posso concordar que é imperdível para quem estiver na cidade. Less

When planning my trip to Maldonado region, in Punta del Este, during the offseason, I quickly found out that several places that were in my wishlist would be closed and would only reopen closer to summer. After an initial feeling of disappointment, two main reasons got me excited for the upcoming trip.

The first one being that I realized that the perfect excuse to go back there during peak season had just fallen on my lap, and I love going back somewhere for a second time and get a new perspective on that place. I plan to do that soon which will hopefully lead to another batch of posts on restaurants that were closed this time around.

But the second and most important reason of all was that @lahuella.parador would be open. And that was the number 1 restaurant on my list given all its accolades and recognition.

High expectation means that the bar was automatically set higher, but the Parador did not disappoint at all. In fact, it still managed to over-deliver.

The food was excellent, with main-course options including perfectly grilled seafood over fire giving it a smoky touch, to go along with the starters. You can’t go wrong choosing from the menu here so I will keep it short on the food by just saying that I would not miss the silky smooth octopus with potatoes and paprika.

The place is casual, with a nice view to the Atlantic Ocean and a laid back but partyish vibe. Sit back, take your time, order some wine and have a good time!

(Versão em português nos comentários) Less