São Paulo Food Porn: Panela Na Rua

The one and only! Gorgonzola Burger via Meat Chopper

For those of you who haven`t received the memo yet: São Paulo tops every city in the world in terms of food. If you want to indulge in a number of different foods, all in one place, you should visit Panela na Rua on 85 Praça Benedito Calixto. Its a collection of food stands and food trucks in a 400m² courtyard, which has a roof that can be closed when its raining. The Gorgonzola Burger by Meat Chopper blows everything out of the water, but so does the Paella and the Tacos and the beer... you get the point. 

We went on a Sunday and even though we were not the only ones there, Panela Na Rua doesn`t get as packed as the Metro after work on Friday. You don`t have to wait in line too long, but if you do, just have another Chopp. Just keep in mind, the place only opens on Thursdays and Fridays!

Go check them out Thu 18:00 - 22:00 or Sun 12:00 - 18:00!

Adress: Praça Benedito Calixto, 85 - Pinheiros, São Paulo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/panelanarua?fref=ts
Instagram: http://instagram.com/PANELANARUA

The beer is cold and... extremely good

Paella time!

The Burgers at Panela Na Rua are out of this world!

You want sweets? They got èm.

Anyone say Tacos? Pic courtesy of Kondi at btth.pl

Okay Pessoal! reporting on Panela Na Rua:

Jamie Oliver to open new restaurant in São Paulo

Jamie Oliver, the famous British chef, is planning on opening a new restaurant in São Paulo by the end of the year, his first opening in Latin America. The owner of Fifteen is probably more famous in the UK for his school dinner’s campaign than for his actual restaurants but that won`t stop him taking on São Paulo.

He will however, need to hire a better public relations team. His first public declarations were an attack on the country’s favourite sweet the brigadeiro.  Branded “too sweet” and “horrible” he immediately provoked a backlash from Brazilian chefs and food critics who accused him of misunderstanding the local food culture. Oh dear. 

Jamie Oliver, not a fan of sweet food

At least he has the advantage of not being a household name in Brazil so it will probably be quickly forgotten. In any case let’s hope he doesn’t make any more gaffes before opening “Jamie’s Italian” in Bixiga. No, wait, in Itaim.

Trend Report: Food trucks in São Paulo

Suddenly food trucks are “in”. Following the success of American food trucks during the downturn years, the concept has taken off in São Paulo.

Up until last year the best cheap food you could hope to grab on the street was sweetcorn, popcorn or a dogão (Brazilian hot dog). Suddenly food trucks popped up and became a trendy alternative. The shift brought home the need for regulation, a new law was passed and so this year will be the first year São Paulo has legally compliant fully authorised food trucks.

2014, then, is the year of the food truck. Many of them have literally just arrived in town and still don't have websites but here are the top 7 to look out for:

1. Rolando Doguinho

This has to get first mention as he was here on the streets of São Paulo doing food trucks before it was cool (or regulated). You may remember the Rolando Massinha truck in Sumaré. It’s the same guy but now he does hot dogs and is at Shopping Vila Olímpia. He’s actually capitalising on his first mover advantage and turning into the first chain food truck having also launched Rolando Churrinho which sells Brazilian doughnuts on Rua Sumaré 1089.

2. The Holy Pasta Food Truck

In short, Holy Pasta is what the cool kids eat. The truck is on Facebook , and Four Square so you can follow it around the city. It is going for the high quality at a low price angle which explains why they make it a pasta only truck. You'll find it in places like Vila Madalena.

3. Temakaria Na Van

If you thought food trucks were Western food only, think again. And if you thought driving your restaurant around on a gasoline powered vehicle was not environmentally friendly, think again, again. Temakaria Na Van, the brainchild of a former DJ Alan Liao, uses biodiesel and is powered by solar panels fitted onto the roof of the van. He even has selective recycling containers which he takes away with him afterwards. Catch him in Berrini on the southside.

4. Jameson Food Truck

Of course, if something is fashionable, nocturnal and has only started being regulated, you can expect some of the major alcohol brands to get in on the act. Meet the Jameson Food Truck. It does curry, burgers, hotdogs as well as 'surubim and mandioca' known to the common man as 'fish and chips'. To wash it down? Jameson Tea and Lime. Obviously.

5. King Doner Kebaberia

Those of you unfamiliar with São Paulo may find this one unimaginative but actually kebabs are not a very common fast food here unlike many countries in Europe such as Germany or the UK. Tracking down King Doner Kebaberia is another matter. This guy roams not only the city but inland and up the coast too.

6. Buzina Food Truck

This is probably the most “in” truck of 2014. Read anything about food trucks and it’ll mention Buzina. Why? Well, because they went overkill on bringing high quality food to the street and employed two reknowned chefs: Márcio Silva (ex-Oryza) e Jorge Gozalez (ex-DOM). With these two in the kitchen there’s no need for a fixed menu, they will just rustle up something amazing on the go.

7. EATinerante

Also run by a chef who didn’t want to be left out of the party. Alex Capeto does mostly Italian food and is parked semi-permanently at Rua Gabriel Monteiro da Silva, 1236 in Jardim Europa.

Why Biscoito Globo is originally from São Paulo not Rio de Janeiro

Don't tell the Cariocas but the much loved, iconic and super famous Biscoito Globo is actually originally from São Paulo.

It's a little known fact but the story goes like this. Back in 1953 three brothers from a São Paulo family left their parental home after a bitter separation and went to live with their cousin in the Ipiranga neighbourhood. Milton, Jaime and João Ponce's cousin owned a local bakery so amongst other recipes they learned to make biscoitos de polvilho (manioc starch flour biscuits).

A year later in 1954 Rio de Janeiro hosted a large religious gathering and, sensing an opportunity, the Ponce brothers decided to travel to Rio to sell biscoitos in the capital of the neighbouring state.

They were a huge success. So much so, that the Ponces decided to move to Rio where they were "discovered" by the Globo bakery in Botafogo. And the rest, as they say, is history.

There are now two variants, the traditional savoury one and the sweet one distinguished by the colour of the packaging (green for savoury and red for sweet) so as to help non-literate street sellers tell the difference. And to this day 150,000 Biscoito Globos are churned out on a daily basis and every single one of them still comes from a single factory in Rio.

The first biscoito, however, came from São Paulo..

My cheapest meal so far

Whilst much is said of the high prices in São Paulo, it's also true that there are many places to get cheap food. The cheapest place I have eaten in so far is a local restaurant on Fradique Countinho recommended by a student friend of mine who lives a few blocks away from my house.

It's a fairly discreet place with a small bar and restaurant sign on the façade. On the last page of the menu there's a R$5 (just over 2 euros/dollars) meal deal which is basically a plateful of food known locally as a "prato feito":

Here's a more visual description (the aerial shot doesn't do justice do the volume of food):

And if you don't speak portuguese here's an anatomical breakdown of the meal:

Yum!

Gentrifying the cafezinho

Commodity price of coffee past 12months

It’s Arabica harvest time in Brazil, the largest producer of arabica beans, the base ingredient of coffee.  And according to international forecasts demand is almost certain to outstrip supply again this for the fifth consecutive year meaning good business for Brazilian farmers, and there must be a lot of them; Brazil produces one third of the world’s coffee!

Ironically Brazil, the chief beneficiary, is itself partly responsible for price hikes. Along with China, India and Indonesia, Brazil has a growing middle class who is rapidly taking a liking to high-grade more expensive coffee meaning more need for Arabica beans. Next year Brazil will be the largest consumer of coffee as well as the largest producer. And São Paulo is a good place to witness the gentrification of the cafezinho. Here are my last 5 coffees:

As you can see they quite often come with a small glass of sparkling water which, in my humble opinion, is exactly how an espresso but other than São Paulo I have only seen this consistently done in Italy...

A fruit a day keeps the doctor away

The huge variety of fruit is one of the things you first notice when you arrive in Brazil. Umbú, Cajá, Pitanga, Acerola, Graviola, Caju.. the list is endless…

And learning all the names is a challenge I am yet to overcome and which is made more difficult by the fact that many simply don’t exist elsewhere or there is no name in English. Fortunately you don’t need to know the name or the pronunciation in order to eat them so with the honourable aim of vocabulary building I have been devouring fruit every day at breakfast. Here’s a picture of my breakfast plate which features the following fruit:

Caqui (looks a bit like a tomato, I am told we call it the Japanese Persimon)
Carambola (Starfruit)
Kiwi (this one is easy!)

Mamao (Papaya)

Espresso with lime (café com limão)

It seems that some restaurants put a series of optional extras on your espresso saucer: cinammon, lime, cane sugar lumps etc. I was very impressed and being an open minded sort of guy I thought I´d throw everything in and see what happens.. it definitely hits you a little harder than your average coffee but in future I think I´ll save the limes for the Caipirinhas!!!
ps. Has anyone seen the coffee and lime combo before?
pps. Be warned this is what happens to Brazilians when they mix cachaça, coffee, sugar and lime