Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is the world-famous carnival city with a vibrant, and rich culture and heritage celebrated throughout the sparkling city with plenty of great food, drink, dancing and music to go along with it. Brazil has some fantastic street food options with tasty snacks and sweets to devour on the go, along with some delicious eats and long lists of salgadinhos (finger food) to enjoy at beautiful beaches. An indispensable item found on most menus in the city especially eaten during New Year celebrations is the codfish cake, an appetizer found in bars and bakeries with its Portuguese origin, its a staple in Rio. The city is also renowned for its traditional home comfort foods like Feijaoda Carioca, a delicious bean stew served with rice and farofa, filling and satisfying. Picadinho is a tasty and fast prepared meal in Rio, made with braised beef and fresh vegetables served with rice and farofa. Healthy, quick, and fresh quality foods are found throughout Rio, and the street food here is some of the best around. Brazilian meats, barbequed meats, and homemade stews are some popular menu items as well as tasty salsas and ice-cold local beers. Churrascarias are barbeque restaurants found all over Brazil, the tradition comes from the Gauchoculture of the south, where cowboys would cook meats skewered on metal spits over hot coals, simply seasoned with rock salt.

Must Savor Specialties: Picanha (the most popular cut of meat, top part of sirloin steak), Pastel de queijo (a crisp, deep-fried pastry stuffed with a number of savory or sweet fillings), Brazilian chicken coxinha, Pao de queijo (cheese bread), Kibe, Cassava chips, Baclhau (salt cod bites), Brigadieros da Escocia (chocolate truffles), Acebolado (caramelized onions that accompany most steaks and grilled meats), Faijaoda Carioca (bean stew made with black beans and salted pork or beef), Tapioca (cooked like a pancake with a filling such as ham and cheese or sweet with Nutella and strawberry), pastel (with meat, cheese Carne Seca, and pizza type fillings), caldo de cana (sugarcane juice), and Acai.

Sao Paulo

The city of Sao Paulo is one of the most exciting gastronomic capitals in the entire world, featuring over 12,500 restaurants serving a variety of cuisine from all over the world. The city is brimming with fine dining restaurants, as well as traditional authentic establishments, and delectable street food and snacks like coxinha, and feijoada found in most cafes, bars, and marketplaces. Sao Paulo is home to the top restaurants in all of Brazil, the city is known for its business and food, there are literally thousands of restaurants to choose from serving anything from delicious grilled, braised or barbecued select meats to a simple slice of pizza. A cultural melting pot, the bustling city offers Middle Eastern, Lebanese, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and Brazilian options, as well as Michelin, starred restaurants with world-renowned chefs. Some of the best restaurants can be found in neighborhoods such as Pinheiros, Itaim Bibi, Jardin, Barra Funda, and Tatuape.

Must Savor Specialties: Tutu a Mineira (mashed beans with pork loin, cabbage, and rice), Pao de Queijo (cheese bread), Acaraje (Fried shrimp pie), Virada Paulista (rice, beans, and bananas served with meat), Feijoada (stew with black beans, a variety of meats, with rice and kale), Polenta (baked corn flour dough with salt), Churrasco (Excellent barbecue meat), Pastel (fried pies with various fillings like meat, cheese, guava, and condensed milk), Mortadella sandwich (mortadella served warm or cold with cheese and vinaigrette), Acai (tiny, deep purple fruit from the northern region of Brazil used to blend in smoothies or used in Acai bowls with other fruit), Esfiha (breaded pastry, stuffed with a variety of fillings like cheese, chicken, or veggies), Coxhinha (fried breaded pastry filled with chicken and cheese), Churros (sweet pastry, with cream or condensed milk, sprinkled with sugar).

Salvador da Bahia

Salvador da Bahia is the capital city of Brazil’s Bahia state with a deep African heritage and an Afro-Brazilian culture spread throughout the city. Salvador is a picturesque city, home to sugarcane plantations brought to the country by African slaves in the 1500s, along with delicious local ingredients, a mixture of global flavors, and strong culinary traditions. The Bahian cuisine is particularly memorable and known as some of Brazil’s best with moqueca which is a seafood stew and popular Bahian dish usually made with shrimp, garlic, parsley, onion, peppers, tomato paste, and coconut milk, sweet tapioca, Tapioca (tapioca flour thickened to make a wrap or tortilla with savory items like shrimp and garlic, or sweet versions with bananas and condensed milk), Azeite de dende is red palm oil and essential ingredient used in many local dishes, and Pimienta malagueta, a chili pepper used in many dishes. Street food in Salvador is simply fantastic with everything to offer including salty, sweet, sharable finger foods all made from local ingredients.

Must Savor Specialties: Acaraje, or Abara a traditional food and perfect snack (made of soft beans with ground shrimp, onion, and spices mixed to make a fine dough, then rolled in a banana leaf and fried in dende oil), Vatapa (curry dish with shrimp, coconut milk, and bread with spices, served with rice), Umbuzada or Imbuzada is a drink from Northeast Brazil, popular in Bahia (milk, sugar, and Brazilian plums), Tapioca (tapioca flour thickened to make a wrap or tortilla with savory items like shrimp and garlic, or sweet versions with bananas and condensed milk), Cocadas (shredded coconut, eggs, condensed milk), Churrasco or “grilled meat” sold by street vendors on the Orla boardwalk and at the beaches, Queijo Coalho (toasted cheese on skewers with oregano and honey), Pipoca or popcorn is a tasty Salvador street snack drizzled with sweetened condensed milk.

Brazilian Amazon

The Northern region of Brazil is where Brazilian food began, blending the culture, traditions, and cooking methods of the native Indians. Influenced by the stunning surrounding Amazon Jungle, the region offers some of the best dishes in the country from guarana to the Acai berry and other exotic fruits, and other fresh local ingredients to create unique flavors from the rainforest. The Brazilian Amazon is famed for its freshwater fish, like Surubim, peixe nobra, pirarucu, and tambaqui often grilled, steamed, or fried, served in sauces and stews, Manicoba is an Amazonian dish made with pieces of meat, manioc, and chicoria leaves.

Must Savor Specialties: Patarashca (grilled fish with a variety of vegetables, warped and cooked in a bijao leaf), Tacaca (shrimp soup, with broth made with wild manioc, jambu, and yellow peppers), Cecina (pork), Manicoba (made with leaves from the manioc plant simmered for days, and combined with pieces of bacon, sausage, and other salted pork), Pato No Tucupi (duck served in exotic tasting tucupi sauce with rice), Juane (chicken, rice, olives, hard-boiled eggs, and Tumeric warped in banana leaves, served with fried plantain), Tacacho Con Ceina (grilled or boiled plantains, mashed with pieces of pork rind, lard, and salt then shaped into balls or patties), Manioc (starchy root vegetable from the region, used for everything, a core component in many dishes).