Curitiba: Restaurants and more...

Nothing says more about the culture of a place than it's food, correct? So that's why I insist that you come out of your bubble and let yourself go through the flavors of the Brazilian cuisine, even if it has an European influence, because it does. But there are other ingredients that you will only find here.
To beging this post I want to reinforce that I'm writing based on the idea that my readers are coming to Brazil in June / July of 2013 and 2014, and that during these months it's winter in Brazil and especially cold in the South of the country where Curitiba is located. That's why I'm suggesting the foods and restaurants that follow:

Typical food from Paraná:

Barreado: is a slow cooked meet prepared on the day before it will be served, made with cumin, black pepper, garlic, tomato, anion, bacon and few other ingredients. If you take a train trip to Morretes, their barreado is one of the most famous in the state.
The Quintana Café & Restaurante serves an excellent barreado on Wednesdays, always with fresh ingredients. Curitiba, Batel.

Pinhão: is the seed of araucária, tree that is the symbol of the city. It is served cooked or as an ingredient for other dishes such as risotto.

Café Colonial: was introduced in Brazil for the German immigrants, it's a large table set with many different kinds of bread, juices, coffee, jams, fruits, cold cuts and cakes. It is usually served in the afternoon. I've chosen 3 nice places try the café colonial:

- Neuchatel at Batel: the café colonial is served from 2:30 pm to 9:30 pm

- Chez Arnold at Mercês: with fine recipes from Holland, Germany and Austria.

- Coeur Douce at Cristo Rei - from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 10 pm

For a hot chocolate after walking through the city...

Café do Paço - located at Centro, it's said to have the best hot chocolate in the city and an amazing pecan pie with wine sauce.

Other options...

Fondue: good option for the cold nights.

- Château de Gazon (Batel) - Besides fondue, you will find delicious European food as well.

Portuguese: Is totally part of the Brazilian culture, besides being very tasteful.

- Alma Lusa at Batel for a delicious codfish (bacalhau) in Portuguese Style.

Brazilian Cuisine:

- Brasserie Quatro Estações - located at Mabu Royal and Premium Hotel

Cosmopolitan Influence:

 - Forneria Copacabana: There you will find a mix of culture within the decoration, the menu, the ingredients, the music and of course the customers. A very pleasant ambient, with good food.

Bars: You won find any hard to find bars in Curitiba, if you go to Batel, just walk around and find the right one for you and your friends. 

For beers, at Batel you will find two nice places, Clube do Malte and Devassa. For a happy hour with live music go to Aos Democratas or the Guffo Bar. The Aurora Bar & Piadineria is good for the single ones and if you like Jazz, Nu Jazz is also at Batel.

I hope you fell in love with Curitiba, even under a cold weather and if you have a chance, come to see us at summer time.

Rio de Janeiro: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Hello readers! Today's post is about food. This is a though post because I can't list all the good restaurants in Rio and because usually the food will be good everywhere haha so I will need your help. I will list a few and you will share your opinion too so we have more options. Deal or no deal? 

Breakfast - Many hotels, and hostels include breakfast but if you want to have breakfast somewhere else, or if your hotel don't serve breakfast you can have a delicious breakfast at a bakery. Click here to read the post about coffee.

CONFEITARIA COLOMBO - served on the second floor at Bar Jardim from 9 am to 11 am. On Sundays there's a buffet with fixed price of R$37.00 per person.
Website: Confeitaria Colombo
Location: Centro

BISTRÔ CASA DO PÃO - Sat, Sun, Holidays from 9 am to 1 pm

Website: Casa do Pão

Location: Rua General Garzon, 10 - Lagoa - Rio de Janeiro

LA BICYCLETTE - French Café, excellent coffee. I love the banana and oatmeal cake, and the whole wheat baguette. Detail: the check comes in a cute basket.
Website: La Bicyclette - Portuguese and French
Location: Jardim Botânico

CEREAL - open to public on Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm.
Website: Cereal
Location: Santa Teresa

CONTEMPORÂNEO HOSTEL - Tue - Fri from 7:30 am - 10:30 am / Sat and Sun from 7:30 - 1 pm
Website: Contemporaneo
Location: Botafogo

GRINGO CAFÉ - Open everyday from 8:30 am to 11 pm

Website: Gringo Café

Location: Rua Barão da Torre 240 - Ipanema

Lunch - In Brazil lunch is a bigger meal than dinner, so you will find nice buffets worth trying, restaurants por quilo, that means you pay for the weight of what you put on your plate.

VIENA - per kilo (self-service)

Website: Viena

Locations: Barra Shopping - Barra da Tijuca and many other locations, usually inside malls

RÁSCAL - per kilo (self-service) - Mediterranean cuisine

Website: Ráscal

Locations: Shopping Leblon, Shopping Rio Sul and Casa Shopping

PORCÃO: Steakhouse

Website: Porcão

Locations: Many locations, you can check them all on the website.

Dinner - You can always go out for dinner and later on enjoy the nightlife in Rio. There are many nice bars where you can try out greatest appetizers and beers. 

POMODORINO - Italian Cuisine, they prepare an artisan pasta and serve with meat, fish or seafood.

Website: Pomodorino

Location: Avenida Epitácio Pessoa, 1104 - Lagoa

FOGO DE CHÃO - Steakhouse

Website: Fogo de Chão

Location: Botafogo

FASANO AL MARE (HOTEL) - Seafood

Website: Fasano

Location: Av. Vieira Souto, 80 - Ipanema

PIZZARIA CARIOCA DA GEMA - Brazilian and Pizza - The Pizzaria Carioca da Gema is next to the bar that carries the same name. Ideal if you want to eat and then enjoy the nightlife having few beers with your friends or to meet new people - 18 or older. Remember to make reservation - (21) 2221-0043 / (21) 2508-6952 

Website: Carioca da Gema

Location: Lapa

Sunset by Rodrigo_Soldon via Flickr

♥ Coffee Love ♥

Brazil is by far the world's largest coffee exporter, so you can bet our coffee is great!

I know you will have a chance to try some in your hotel, but when you are out there enjoy sitting in our coffee shops to appreciate this awesome beverage. If your hotel doesn’t offer breakfast, don’t worry, the bakeries (padarias) are perfect places to enjoy an excellent breakfast and brunch.

Café Colonial Bela Vista - Gramado RS

Café Colonial: This is a German tradition brought to Brazil that became very popular over the years. In the afternoon the table is set with a large variety of bread, cakes, pies, waffles, coffee, fruits, yogurt, jam, cheese and so on. I highly recommend!

By Marcelo Cabral

Brazilian coffee is stronger and darker than Colombian, the most common methods of preparing it is: boiling, filtering or pressure (espresso).

Here the coffee is served black in a small cup, what we call cafezinho. If you want coffee and milk, large, you better specify it all. You can even speak in the italian way: capuccino, machiatto... but the Brazilian version of cappuccino has cocoa in it.

\It is not usual to add cream to the coffee here, as well as drinking flavored coffee but you can always ask. Some places have hazelnut, vanilla, chocolate flavored coffee.

For those who like brands, here are some franchises you will find:

• Café do Ponto: located in almost every host city, you can also buy their ground coffee and take home with you.
• Casa do Pão de Queijo: besides regular coffee you will also find flavored coffee. Don't forget to order the traditional pão de queijo (cheese bread) or any of their pastries.
• Amor aos Pedaços: when you order a coffee it comes with a delicious brigadeiro, a Brazilian candy made of condensed milk and chocolate, very commonly made for birthday parties. They also make many kinds of pastries and cake.
• Kopenhagen: they are specialized in chocolate, there are more than 300 stores in the country. Take your time, enjoy your coffee and buy chocolate to the loved ones.

*There are Starbucks in Rio and São Paulo as well, usually they are located in malls, and they have free Wi-Fi.