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.

Brazilian students learning English by chatting with lonely elders in the US

A São Paulo language school has launched an initiative to help it’s students get more talk time with native English speakers. And in doing so they have made a step towards reducing loneliness.

Made possible by technology and video chat accessibility, the idea is to match lonely elders in the US to keen language students in Brazil. Their needs are actually very similar; to talk! About anything!

A live video chat between a Brazilian student and an American elder

The project is called "Speaking Exchange" and is being implemented at the CNA language school in São Paulo with the pilot having been run in the Liberdade branch in São Paulo and Windsor Park Retirement Community in Chicago.

The initiative is a great example of dual learning, going beyond the teacher-learner dynamic in a way that both sides develop culturally and emotionally, making new friendships in the process.

On the back end, videos are automatically recorded and posted to teachers in order for the to evaluate their students and study their conversational development.

VIDEO: Worms eat through people's heads in São Paulo anti-drug advert

The Crack Consome ad at the Galeria do Rock, São Paulo

O Crack Consome is a governmental campaign which was launched earlier this year to highlight the dangers of drug use in particular crack cocaine. It used shock tactics in São Paulo by using larvae to eat through the photos of people's heads from the inside.

Filmed at the Galeria do Rock in the centro region of São Paulo, the clip below shows how live worms were made to eat through the poster ads. It's not the most pleasant sensation as you watch them being devoured and transformed into scarred and holey looking people.  But the campaign did win the ad agency Talent a Cannes Lions Prize in 2013

Crack Consumes from Malabar Filmes on Vimeo.

The pictures were actually produced by printing on to dough rather than paper to give the worms an apetite.

São Paulo attempts dual tunnelling a metro line for the first time

Tatuzão and Megatatuzão side by side

As of this week the extension to the Line 5 metro line is being worked on by two giant Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) instead of one. This is the first time ever São Paulo, or Brazil, has ever attempted dual tunnelling on a single metro line.

The extension, which runs from Campo Belo to Chácara Klabin station in Vila Mariana and costs R $7.5 billion, will add another 12km of track and 11 new stations.

However don’t expect it to be open any time soon. The new TBM humourously known as Tatuzão and it’s partner in crime Megatatuzão will only dig at a rate 15metres per day. That means the 1.9 km tunnel between LargoTreze, and the first of the new stations, Adolfo Pinheiro, is expected to be completed only by January next year.

So we can wait a while for the extended Lilac Line 5 to connect with the Blue Line 1 and Green Line 2 . Still, progress is progress.

Where there is a problem there is always a (Brazilian) solution...

Anyone who has tried to catch a bus in São Paulo and had the misfortune of not consulting Google Maps before embarking on their journey will know that it is near on impossible task to get any intelligible information on routes, numbers or bus times at a São Paulo bus stop. Mostly they are just metal poles cemented to the pavement which serve to flag the existence of a bus stop but not much else.

Such is the lack of readily-accessible public information around São Paulo bus routes and numbers that a grass roots movements has sprung up to take over what should otherwise be the local city council’s responsibility. “Que ônibus passa aqui” offers downloadable templates from its Facebook fanpage for you to print and paste onto your local bus stop and write up which buses pass by. Here are some pictures of local interventions:

I doubt this is the solution but it may serve as a wake up call to the local administration to label up public transport in time for the World Cup in 2014.

The fact it's happening at all is an interesting reflection on both Brazilian openness to innovation and local political ambivalence towards basic public infrastructure.

8 bit São Paulo on Google Quest

Google Quest screenshot

Google never misses an April Fool's day and 2012 is no exception .

Today we were tongue-in-cheekingly told that in Google's pursuit of new digital frontiers, it has realized that it may have left behind a large number of users who couldn't access Google Maps on their classic hardware. Surprisingly, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was unsupported, despite its tremendous popularity with over 60 million units sold worldwide. 

Introducing, Google Maps Quest, a complete 8 bit map product which as the Google engineers tell us allow you to "search for famous landmarks and sites around the world. Take an epic journey with 8-bit Street View. Get detailed directions to avoid dangerous paths, and battle your way through a world of powerful monsters and mystic treasures."

Right.

And what does São Paulo look like on Google Quest? Well, below is São Paulo's 8 bit NES Map:

São Paulo in 8 bits

Seen on the streets of São Paulo: Playing video games whilst you get your hair cut

This is going to be a really short post because the picture says it all:

Peeping through the window at a customer playing as the barber works..

A personal TV screen and console to play with whilst you get your hair cut. How cool is that?!

Dual-function tooth pick discovered in São Paulo's best "pastel" café

“Pasteis” or “Wind pasties” as the bad ones are called are a sort of pastry envelope with some sort of filling (and air) inside.  Love them or hate them they are a local favourite and believe it or not there are serious  competitions as to who does them best. 

I had heard for a while now that Pastel da Maria on Fradique Coutinho has the best pasteis in town and in the official competitions Maria always seems to make the finals. Here’s her with her certificates in case you don’t believe me:

And here she is with one of her "pasteis":

Anyway, today seemed like a good day to try them…

..And they were good. But the real surprise was the tooth pick on the table. At first it seemed like a normal toothpick. Here it is:

Apparently normal tooth pick

But then! Then I discovered that it had special powers:

Special tooth pick

The green tip is a mint coated spike so that your mouth feels fresh (after picking out stubborn bits of “pasteis”) and as far as I’m concerned that’s the first ever high-tech dual-function tooth pick I’ve seen. For that alone Maria Pasteis is the one for me..

Microchip operated gun shoots only from owner's hands

Mario Gazziro, shooting a prototype of his gun  (image from Folha de São Paulo)

In the film District 9 the alien “prawns” shoot weapons that work only with alien biology rendering them useless in the hands of humans. It’s a somewhat bizarre science fiction film but is apparently the inspiration for the latest research of Mario Gazzira of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP). He has developed a gun which fires only in the hands of its owner thanks to a radio detection feature similar to that used for example on the São Paulo subway system to scan passenger travel passes.

The aim is to reduce accidental and non-accidental deaths by reducing the use of guns by third parties. Here’s how it works:

(image from Folha de São Paulo)

The gun will only fire when it detects a specific and unique chip which muct be embedded in the user's finger.



 The gun has a built in sensor which enables or disables the gun depending on whether or not te radio identification is successful similar to how turnstiles work on the underground system.












For the process to work the gun owner has to undergo microsurgery, something Mario Gazzira already did approximately one year ago in order to prove the technology works.

Not sure this will significantly reduce gun crime in São Paulo but from a technological point of view it's an interesting invention.

Brazilian football referees using temporary spray paint

 

Those of you who are football fans will appreciate how frustrating it is to watch opposition players move the ball closer to goal or at a better angle the second the referee turns his back on a free kick given against your team. And yet the solution is simple and over here it is already being used to great success. It goes like this:

The referee is given a lightweight can of temporary spray paint. When a free kick is awarded within range of goal he marks the exact spot by spraying the grass with paint. He can then walk away knowing the players can´t change the free kick position. After a few minutes the paint disappears and the game continues.

Vanishing spray being applied

It’s been around for years and I’m told across the border in Argentina they even use it to stop the wall moving forwards on freekicks (also a very annoying practice) and it works well so the question is: why do we not have this in European leagues?!

Over the counter hangover pills

With brand names as hedonistic sounding as "Enjoy" and warnings of "For adult use only" you could be forgiven for being suprised that these sachets only contain regular white pills to be taken with a glass of water. "Why the name and the adult warning?", I hear you ask. Well the symptom "ressaca" which is written on the packet is portuguese for hangover and these are actually hangover pills to be consumed before and/or after excessive alcohol intake.

Personally I think they're a great invention and I'm surprised I haven't seen them elsewhere in other countries. You take one pill before going out and one after. This does entail some practical difficulties in that you need to be able to a) predict your excesses before they actually occur and b) not be in too precarious a state so as not to affect you remembering you need to take the second pill when you get back home!

Still, it's a great invention and it's available over the counter at any pharmacy. The leading brand is Engov although I prefer the more descriptive brand names such as enjoy (above) or Posdrink (below)

The name changes but the pills all have the same composition:


maleato de mepiramina (DCB 5652) ............................ 15,0 mg
hidróxido de alumínio (DCB 4694) .............................. 150,0 mg
ácido acetilsalicílico (DCB 0089) ................................. 150,0 mg
cafeína (DCB 1642) ..................................................... 50,0 mg

So correct meif I'm wrong all you chemists / medics but you are basically being given an analgesic, a anti-histamine and a shot of caffeine (in exchange for a hangover)

In-flight USB hubs on Avianca´s Airbus A319

São Paulo has many airlines providing domestic flights to numerous other Brazilian cities; Azul, Webjet, Gol, Avianca etc. These are not well known outside Brazil as they have a fleet of relatively small jets and only do short haul flights much like Easyjet and Ryanair back in Europe. In fact being well used to Ryanair and having once vowed never to fly Ryanair again I was pleasantly surprised last week when I boarded an Avianca A319 domestic flight from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro and found an excellent onboard service and cutting edge cabin fittings: cup-holder, remote control, individual tv screens, coat hook, adjustable head support, retractable arm rests etc. But the most useful feature which I don’t normally see even on long haul intercontinental flights was the in-flight USB hub for each passenger:

 

Now Ryanair has never given me a complimentary hot sandwich or a the courtesy drink like Avianca did so I guess I can forget about asking them for a USB port...

São Paulo Knit Café advertises via knitted lamp posts

Readers of Discovering São Paulo will remember the post about painted lamp posts (link) scattered around the city. I still don’t know whether this is spontaneous creativity by a handful of individuals or whether there is a reason behind it but a few days ago I found the next level of painted lamp posts. These are knitted lamp posts. Yes, knitted. The street name for this is Yarn Bombing” (bombardeio de novelos in portuguese) or grandma grafitti (grafite da vovó in portuguese).

 

Here’s a couple of pictures of the lamp posts on Mourato Coleho 678 in Vila Madalena. 

Close up of a knitted lamp post

This tree is knitted too

In this case this is street marketing for the new Knit Café Novelaria. And before you ask what a Knit café is here are some pictures.

Knit with friends on the sofas

Choose your wool and knit away

The idea is you come in, buy some wool, order a coffee and sit down to knit with other members of the local knitting community. I don’t think I’m personally taking up knitting anytime soon but it’s a novel concept :)

Blind-friendly bank notes

Last time I was first in Brazil, there were two versions of the R$10 bank note in circulation, one was plastic and one paper. I was a big fan of the plastic one as it was handy to take to the beach (actually it was washing machine proof as well) so I was disappointed to see it has disappeared. Here´s a picture for old times sake:

Plastic 10R$ special edition note commemorating Brazil’s 500th anniversary

 

However, 8 years on in 2011, I occasionally get my hands on one of the “new” notes which were introduced earlier this year and although still hard to find they will slowly replace the old currency. As you might expect they have a host of new security features and built-in forgery prevention methods but what surprised me something else.

Comparatively speaking Brazil seems to make a huge effort in providing dedicated services to disabled people whether it be dedicated ramps at fast food outlets, express queues at the bank or reserved seats on the metro. And the new banknotes are no exception, each has embossed lettering to allow blind people to read them and the size has been redesigned so that it is corresponds to the amount of money in question again making them easier to identify for the visually impaired.

So even though aesthetically they’re quite boring and the imagery is by in large the same as he old ones, I still like to receive them, it's just a shame I can't put them in the washing machine anymore..

 

New vs old: front

New vs old: back

Bradesco's biometric blood vessel recognition

One of the misconceptions in the so-called industrialised world is that developing countries are necessarily less technologically advanced. Wrong.

Having previously written about their drive through banking I risk sounding like a Bradesco corporate evangelist, but their embrace of new security technologies are worthy of another mention. Due to the inordinate amount of local admin I have endured in my first few weeks I have visited at least one branch of most Brazilian banks operating in São Paulo and noticed that Bradesco's ATMs are a little different. Here's a picture of an ATM on Amazonas street right next to my hotel in Vila Olimpia:

You will notice that there is a red contraption on the right hand side. Take a closer look:

What it does is permit the bank to read your vein signature and depending on whether it matched correctly decide whether to allow the transaction to take place. From a user point of view it's quite a simple process once you have registered your blood vessel pattern. When you go to a Bradesco cashpoint you place your hand in the red area and press the "pulso" button. Infrared light will be emitted allowing the machine to record the blood vessel patterns in your hand and match it back to their database.

Nature and biology plays a helping hand (excuse the pun) with veins guaranteed to create intricate anatomical variations both within the same species and in case you were wondering, between different species (your pet would probably struggle with other aspects of the cashpoint anyway). This means the pattern of veins is much more variable from person to person than arteries for example and can be used as a unique identifier. Interesting, huh?

And for you techies the service itself is called Palmsecure and is developed by Fujitsu which also partners with Bank of Tokyo in its home country, Japan. They mention that as it is the deoxidized hemoglobin in the palm vein which absorbs the infrared rays, "the sensor of the palm vein device can only recognize the pattern if the deoxidized hemoglobin is actively flowing within the individual's veins". Technically true but frankly, if your veins are not taking deoxygenated blood back to your heart, you've got a pretty major problem and cashpoint security is going to be the least of your short term worries..

Presumably if there were a cheap way to expand this technology you could get rid of physical money altogether and scan your hand anytime you needed to identify yourself and pay. Wow, how very new, you might say. This year Brazil has snuck one step ahead of us. Wrong again. Palmsecure has been in use at cashpoints for 5 years already as shown by this article and is therefore already old school technology over here..

Drive thru banking and churching

 
Not only has extremely high traffic levels and lack of parking caused a helicoptor boom in the city, it has also produced some interesting product innovation such as drive-through banking (so you don´t have to park to get out and use a cash point). Bradesco  has 10 such facilities in and around São Paulo - it's certainly not going to help the city smog levels but it's an interesting way to avoid the horrors of parking in São Paulo. I'm told it's been around for years in the US but never seen one in Europe before...

And if that seems kind of boring how about drive-through churches? Yes, churches! This is a very spritiual country and apparently at peak prayer times there's a lot of congestion around templo da Vila Mariana (southern São Paulo) so they launched a drive-thru service! And for those of you who speak Portuguese this is what the local pastor from Igreja Universal (IURD) has to say:

                        "O propósito do pastor Osvaldo Volpini, o responsável pelo lugar, 

                        é atrair quem esteja parado no trânsito e necessite de um apoio 

                        espiritual de emergência."

                        "Tão rápido quanto uma loja de fast food, um pastor do drive-thru 

                        entrega ao motorista um folheto com os horários dos cultos, 

                        faz uma oração e um pedido de oferta à igreja. Coisa de cinco minutos."

I like his business-focused mind. Maybe I'll hire him...

It's not just Pastor Volpini these guys from IURD are every advanced - they've got a hallelujah iphone app and an integrated shopping channel on their website. I'm definitely going to see if some of them want to switch businesses...