One of the best parts of traveling is eating, trying the cuisine in a new place you're exploring. Thanks to a good stint living in South Florida, I had already tried some traditional Brazilian food.
That's why I won't include churrasco in this post (pictured above), even though I love it. I already had my fair share.
Here, I'm going to tell you about the dishes I tried for the first time. (Spoiler alert: my favorite foods from northeast Brazil will be heavy on seafood.)
I hear that's one of the significant differences between North and South Brazil's cuisines. The North leans more toward seafood, the South more toward meat. I plan to find out for myself someday, but for now I'll focus on what I know.
As I tried to decide which ones were best, I considered several factors. The first was taste-that should always be No. 1.
The second was the cost/taste ratio. I don't mind paying a lot for food I love, but I am annoyed when I eat something average for an exorbitant price.
The final factor was: if I were on a date with Marília, what kind of dish do I think she would like? I thought we'd be eating together at some point, so I told myself, "I gotta think about this, too." That led to this list.
Northeast Brazilian Food
1. Moqueca
Moqueca, a coconut milk soup with lots of seafood, was my favorite traditional Brazilian food. Unfortunately, I had it only once, at Itaparica, an island in the bay by Salvador.
I thought about ordering it in Porto de Galinhas, but I chose another option, something you'll read about soon.
Prices vary for moqueca. In Olinda, a two-person meal can cost as much as 75 reais ($30), while we paid only 45 reais (about $22) for the same meal in Itaparica.
I thought about eating it more often, but I held out because I still wanted to crave it when I returned to Colombia, so much so that I would learn to make it myself.
2. Peixe
That's the Portuguese word for fish. This choice ties into what I said during my budget story about treating yourself. Find a place that makes this dish especially, and then devour it.
I did this in Porto de Galinhas, at a place called Peixe na Telha, where I ordered the tilapia topped with capers, mushrooms, and garlic cream sauce. On the side were four small pieces of potatoes and two small pieces of sweet banana, along with rice mixed with broccoli.
I paid 40 reais ($16) and sat at a table overlooking one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.
The restaurant also offered lockers to store your stuff, and the staff was friendly enough to let me into the special event room upstairs so I could take a few photos of the aqua-blue water, which looked smooth as glass from a distance.
Even without those courtesies and amenities, the dish was enough to make that a memorable dining experience.
3. Acarajé
This is the king of street food in northeast Brazil. The Brasileiros make dough from flour and black-eyed peas and deep-fry it until it's the size of a fist.
They cut it open and fill it with boiled baby prawns, onions, green tomatoes, two types of paste, and some decent hot sauce if you're so inclined. And, yes, ma'am, I am. Please put a lot in there.
The best part is that they sell it everywhere, and you can find it for as cheap as two reals, or around 80 cents. Eat two or three, and you'll be full. Consider it a good meal if you're budget-conscious or in a hurry.
4. Rodizio
I've had this in the United States before, but not with sushi, which I touched on in the budget post.
I was in Recife and kept seeing signs while I was riding the bus: big posters promoting Rodizio Sushi and various restaurants. I settled on a place called Galetus, which seemed to offer a variety of things-nothing really great, but everything decent.
My sushi had too much vinegar in the rice but was otherwise enjoyable. I ate a plate of nigiri and sashimi, two hand rolls (one salmon skin, the other crab), and then two more pieces of nigiri, both with octopus, to finish.
It cost me 40 reais ($16), the same as I would pay for all-you-can-eat sushi in the States on the rare occasion I can find that offer. I had a hard time walking afterward and napped when I returned to the hostel.
5. Feijoada
The friendly Brazilians I met in Maceió talked about feijoada a few times, so I figured I had better try it. Luckily, in Recife, the restaurant next door to my hostel boasted that it was the best place in the city for this traditional Brazilian food.
I went by for lunch one day and was surprised by how big the meal was and how fast they prepared it. It cost 20 reais (about $8). I asked them to deliver it next door, and they arrived shortly after I settled into a seat in the hostel dining area.
The meal consisted of two bowls: one with collard greens, rice, and what appeared to be fried, breaded pork skin, and another with black beans mixed with pork, bacon, sausage, and beef.
It shows the African influence and reminds me of something I'd eat in the southern United States, where, as any American knows, African culture came over by way of the slave trade, no different from in South America.
I ate less than half of my feijoada, as I was not hungry, then mixed the leftovers in a pot to heat it that night for dinner.
