Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Rio Part Two


Recommended Posts

With time for only two dinners in Rio, I decided to try to eat something indigenous other than rodizio. A lot of pointers led me to a restaurant called Siri Mole & Cia, which features the cooking of the Bahia province in North Eastern Brazil, a subject about which I knew nothing.

Siri Mole turned out to be a bright, colorfully decorated little bistro between Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. It was about half full on a Sunday evening, with a mixture of locals and tourists. They start you with some appetizers, fairly described on the menu as "optional" because there's a small cover charge. A salad of black olives, a creamy puree of tuna, a selection of breads.

I ordered a specialty for my first course, the alcajare con pilar. This is a rich mash of white beans flavored - strongly, indeed - with crab. On this occasion, it was served studded with small shrimp (in their shell, which made them a little tricky to eat without getting jammy fingers). A simple fresh salsa was served on the side, along with a large, crisp, freshly fried croquette which tasted just like a very good hush puppy.

Entree, bobo de camarao. A deep, earthenware bowl was filled with fat (peeled) shrimp in a thick, yellow sauce speckled with fresh herbs. Another big bowl came with plain rice, and the familiar manioc powder was served on the side. The shrimp dish had the look and consistency of a very rich, buttery shrimp korma, but the flavor was different of course - tangy, but somewhat cloying. I may have ordered badly here; this was the kind of dish you wanted a couple of spoonfuls of, along with some other tastes and textures. I should've come with a party. :rolleyes:

I couldn't finish it, even with the help of a light, fruity Brazilian chardonnay (Terra Adina '00). Undeterred, I ordered another specialty for dessert - cocada branca. This looked like a plate of shredded coconut meat, but was profoundly sweetened and enriched, perhaps with some kind of coconut syrup. Woke my cavities up. I'm sure I'd have done better here in the company of someone who knew the food, but the $32 check cheered me.

Lunch next day, organized by some Brazilians acquaintances, was the unavoidable rodizio - grilled meat carved from large skewers, until you scream at them to stop. We went to Porcaon (or "great big fat pig"), one of a small local chain. This branch was beautifully set on the side of the bay, and must have featured about three hundred covers. Vast. Help yourself salad bar (I took a little ceviche), plates of appetizers (pasteles de queijo, empanadas, etc). Then the meat. Chicken and linguica sausage - fine. Then the beef. Perhaps less marbled than American beef, a real chew to it, deeply flavored, long aftertaste. Well, you know it's good stuff. And the range of cuts seemed endless. I was particularly impressed by a fatty cut from the hump on the bull's neck - don't ask me the name - looked a little like skirt, but was much more tender. Also noted "baby beef" - meltingly soft, and the only place I've seen it outside of Blue Hill in NYC.

Aside from the number of cuts, the beef enjoyed a variety of seasoning. Some pieces were well salted, others rubbed with garlic. One piece of filet mignon seemed to have a sort of eggy coating (no, it was very good). I also ate a large quantity of grilled chicken hearts, but missed the leg of kid, which sadly showed up after dessert. The latter was a rich papaya cream. Traditional caipirinhas to cut the fat. This was a killer meal, potentially in every sense.

On my way to dinner that evening, I was pleased to reflect that Claude Troigros is renowned for its "light" cuisine. Well, it was light by Rio's standards. From the hushed reverence accorded this place, I was expecting a formal temple of gastronomy. Turned out to be a cheerful joint with big, colorful oil paintings, which wouldn't have looked out of place in the West Village. Not a big restaurant, by any means. It was festooned with CT memorabilia, but his level of involvement with the restaurant was unclear; some of the postcards and books were pretty old.

Attracted by the escargots tempura and slow-cooked rabbit on the carte, I nevertheless took the chef's surprise market menu. A shot of asparagus soup, followed by a terrine of smoked and fresh salmon with tomatoes and peppers, which was unremarkable. The terrine was served on an earthy, dark sauce, which tasted a little like green tea, but was doubtless based on a local ingredient (my interrogation of the staff was limited by my poor Portuguese and my inability to spell what they told me anyway).

Next up was indeed a surprise. Good old Lobster Thermidor. Mustard, cheese and mushrooms all present, along with the neatly cooked lobster meat. I thought there might be some dark stock in there too.

A pause for Kirsch sorbet. There is a story about me, a bottle of Kirsch and Runcorn Hospital, which you must remind me to tell you some time. Not my favorite flavor.

A pair of lamb filets (unexciting cut, I think) came topped with some strange green, slightly cheesy stuff, and garnished with small roast potatoes. I then took the cheese plate, mainly out of curiosity, but it turned out to be pre-packed, chilled bits of camembert, brie and some sort of blue.

The French wines on the list were about half New York prices, which meant they were quite expensive compared with the rest of the meal. So I drank what my notes describe as a fairly young Tarrazza Reserva. Argentinian, I think. Malbec, for sure. But I was write to order a glass of Sauternes with my dessert, because they were gaily pouring it by the half pint. And dessert was a doughtyy apple and mango crumble with vanilla ice cream.

A decent dinner, but nothing I found to make this a destination restaurant. Service was adequate. Still, thanks to the exchange rate, it was about $80 for everything, and I doubt if you could pay much more for a meal in Rio (except perhaps at Cipriani in my hotel, which looked elegant but dead as a dodo).

That's all, folks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...........

A decent dinner, but nothing I found to make this a destination restaurant.  Service was adequate.  Still, thanks to the exchange rate, it was about $80 for everything, and I doubt if you could pay much more for a meal in Rio (except perhaps at Cipriani in my hotel, which looked elegant but dead as a dodo).

That's all, folks.

Or the roof-top restaurant atop Rio Othon Palace hotel, which is fairly expensive too. Marriott, the newcomer to the Copacabana scene (two years) want's to start an upscale restaurant too - just waiting for the economy in GIG to stabilize a bit .....

anil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, I was ignoring you because of your gender. Actually, I can't be much help. The steaks were being paraded around on huge sabres, and they didn't appear to be butter-drenched - but it probably would've drained off anyway. The "eggy coating" - I know I'm hopeless, but around the edge of the filet was a sort of sticky, yellowish glaze, which tasted delicious. It struck me as eggy, but it might have been some kind of manioc preparation, or anything really.

In my defence, this was a business lunch surrounded by clients speaking three different languages, so although I brought the subject back to the food as often as I could, it wasn't the time to do a full-scale Cabrales-approved analysis of the menu and interrogation of the kitchen staff. Sorry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

The hump is called cupim. Can't think what the eggy coating might be! The Porcão has a website, but it's more a general internet portal than a restaurant site. And no menus, as far as I could see.

I went to the Ipanema Porcão some years ago - can't say I enjoyed it that much. I though the meat rather dull compared to many other restaurants in Brazil or even here in Portugal. Maybe I had bad luck.

Chloe

(dreaming of a good picanha + caipirinha ...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...