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The football craze has come and gone but the euphoria is still in the air as it isn’t something to be forgotten easily. Brazil offers everything that any traveler could possibly be looking for: varied culture, colourful wildlife, beaches, compassionate and lively people, leisure, sports, extreme activities, delectable cuisine… and so much more.
No matter where you are in Brazil, there’s never a dull moment. There’s always an opportunity to relax, and to absorb the Brazilian atmosphere in all six (yes, six!) of your senses. Brazil is full of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, and experiences that every traveler should enjoy. OMOLOLA ITAYEMI writes
Rodizio style dinning…
I had the chance to savour the unforgettable dinning experience of meats, pork, sausage and chicken barbecue in a Churrascaria Vento Haragano. Tired of eating continental and Nigerian dishes, I craved for the local Brazilian dishes. Although on arrival in Sao Paolo, we had encountered an unpleasant culinary experience in a local Brazilian food cafe not too far from my hotel in the financial center of Sao Paulo where I had to eat watery beans meal, I still looked forward to more pleasant culinary adventures looking back at Churassco restaurant back home in Victoria Island, Lagos.
That opportunity presented itself when Eric, a Nigerian resident in Brazil for over 20 years offered to take us for dinner. He asked what our preference was and when we all agreed on Brazilian dishes; he offered to take us there.
We were a eating party of five, three journalist, DG of NTDC and Eric who turned out to be one fine gentleman. I believe rodizio style eating is best enjoyed in a group.
Churrascaria is a restaurant serving grilled meat, many offering as much as one can eat: the waiters move around the restaurant with the skewers, slicing meat onto the client’s plate. This serving style is called espeto corrido or rodízio, and one I found out is quite popular in Brazil.
This is a wonderful restaurant that has excellent quality steaks, chicken, sausage and other beef in a rodizio style. The waiters are very attentive coming around in a continuous flow of giant skewers of meats. They were offering the meat at an alarming pace as well, and soon our plates were full and we had to start declining a few options until we’d cleared our plates. Additionally, the salad bar prior to the meal is extensive and fresh. The pink cocktail was so yummy I had an encore not mindful of my diet.
Most rodízio courses are served right off the cooking spit, and are sliced or plated right at the table. Sometimes they are accompanied with fried potatoes, fried bananas, collard greens, black beans, and rice (served buffet style). Many Brazillian “churrascarias” do not have grills, only the skewers above the embers. The meat may alternatively be cooked on large metal or wood skewers resting on a support or stuck into the ground and roasted with the embers of charcoal (wood may also be used). Oyinnaya Kalu, one of the journalists found the fried bananas delicious and she simply devoured it in droves. I preferred the fried potatoes done in Brazil style. It wasn’t cheap but was worth the price.
Overall, we had fun and a fine dinning experience. I would have preferred the meat well done or none at all. But I guess, rodizio style dinning cuts across different palates and for each it’s own. We never made it back there in a group but Oyinnaya and I made several trips back, once on a Sunday afternoon and the long queue was crazy. We ate at different Churrascarias, some just blocks away from our hotel and the eating experience was always the same, divine.
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