It's winter in São Paulo: soups on the menu at Boa Bistro

Boa Bistro is a cute little place in the Jardins district. And, like many restaurants in São Paulo, it's introduced a soup menu for July, the coldest month of the year.

The menu thought up by chef Tatiana Szeles has a bit of everything, even a thai soup....

Cream of corn, shitake and goat cheese
R$ 23,40

Cream of pumpkin, brie and arugula
R$ 22,30

Cream of mushrooms with wasabi and truffle oil
R$ 23,10

Tomato and basil soup
R$ 21,50

Asian broth with vegetables and ginger (pictured at top)
R$ 22,10

Creme de ervilha com fumeiro
R$ 23,10


boa bistrô
Rua Padre João Manuel, 950

Hotel Emiliano, in São Paulo: great champagne lounge

There are many things to love about the Emiliano: the perfect location in the heart of the Jardins district, the large rooms with refrigerated drawers in the sitting areas, the white Havaianas placed in the bathrooms in lieu of slippers, the cool lobby with Campana brothers furniture.

But I recently discovered something else: the Emiliano has a great champagne and caviar lounge. They serve the real stuff, from the Caspian Sea, and also less expensive roe. They also offer very cool bubbly and roe tastings: Brazilian sparkling wines with Spanish and Chilean roe tastings go for 125 reais per person; rosé champagne and the same roe costs 550 reais per person, etc.

The champagne list is extensive and includes rare finds such as a 1989 Krug.

Champagne Bar & Caviar: Hotel Emiliano, Rua Oscar Freire, 384, São Paulo, tel. 3068-4399

Christian Louboutin opens his first Latin American store in São Paulo

It's no secret that high-end brands looooove Brazilian women. They love to shop, aren't afraid to flaunt what they've got and are super in tune with what`s in vogue all over the world. That's why in recent years many big-name brands like Tiffany&Co. and Diesel have decided to open stores in São Paulo.

The chosen address is usually either the Shopping Iguatemi or the Jardins district (rua Oscar Freire being the most desireable street to be on). But in recent years other ultra-high end addresses have popped on the map, like the Shopping Cidade Jardim (more on that later) and the new Daslu megastore.

The latest arrival to the São Paulo shopping scene is Christian Louboutin, he of the coveted red-soled pumps. His store just opened in - surprise! - the Shopping Iguatemi.

This is his first store in Latin America, and already has in stock mr. Louboutin`s summer 09 collection. He'll be in town in April for a party to be thrown in his honour and to officially cut the ribbon. Fashionistas, take note!
Christian Louboutin São Paulo: Shopping Center Iguatemi, Faria Lima floor, tel. (55-11) 3032-0233

Chef Alex Atala bans foie gras and truffles at D.O.M. restaurant

Chef Alex Atala is not one to shy away from controversy. Last week he decided to write on every one of his menus, by hand, the following statement:

O D.O.M. assume sua primeira vocação: ser brasileiro! Por este motivo renuncia ao uso de foie gras e trufas.

Translation: D.O.M. restaurant assumes its prime vocation: to be Brazilian! For that reason, it rennounces the use of foie gras and truffles.

My blog in Portuguese, Boa Vida, was the first to report this, and within hours the news got picked up by many other Brazilian websites and caused quite a stir.

Some applaud the effort, others accuse him of playing a marketing stunt. What do you think?

Dalva e Dito, Alex Atala's new restaurant in São Paulo

At long last, I was able to try out Dalva e Dito, the new restaurant of famed Brazilian chef Alex Atala that has tongues wagging. Reviews have been mixed. Love it or hate it. Many paulistas have been complaining that the service is bad and the food expensive.

I had lunch there this week, and right off the bat I've got to say that I can't judge the service. It was excellent, but they knew me and clearly put in some extra effort...

As for the food, it is expensive. True. Especially considering he serves humble Brazilian dishes, like rice and beans with roasted chicken and toasted manioc flour (farofa). The same kind of stuff you can find at every corner here in São Paulo for a mere 5 bucks.

If the restaurant serves overpriced Brazilian standards, why go? Well, for a series of reasons. Atala has given humble dishes the royal treatment. The best example is the roasted chicken, which is prepared in the Rolls Royce of roasters, called the Rotissol, which Atala imported from France for a small fortune.

The meats, carved tableside, are prepared sous vide, and therefore have an inimitable texture - even cooking from outside to inside, pink but not oozing blood. I had the prix fixe lunch, which is the quintessential Brazilian lunch menu: a meat (choice of chicken, pork or beef), rice, black beans, farofa, mini potatoes, halved, skin-on, al dente julienned kale, and a choice of excellent hot pepper sauces (such as cambuci and coração). The farofa was a bit dry and undersalted, but the rest was very tasty and expertly executed. But of course, in the 47 reais they charge for this lunch there's a built-in premium that is charged for the fact that you're eating in the hottest restaurant in the city, which carries a brand. The Alex Atala brand. Besides, I don't know of any other place serving rice and beans in such a high-end setting - I especially loved the terrasse tables that sit under a canopy of ferns:

I also noticed the high quality of the glasses, hand-stitched napkins, antique wood tables, etc. So to those who complain about the prices, all I can say is... what did you expect?
Another little-known fact is that Atala is not the chef. He's delegated the task to Frenchman Alain Poletto (pictured below), who manages a veritable battalion of toque-clad chefs.

Servers look ultra-hip in caqui and ivory uniforms designed by Alexandre Herchcovitch, and All-Star sneakers.
Now, a confession. I actually preferred the bar snacks over the food served in the main room. I had these delicious coxinhas (a croquette of seasoned chicken and potato puree).

The cod fritters were airy and beautifully crisp.

And my absolute favorites were these pasteis filled with vatapa, a seafood Bahian specialty.

I was almost bummed to have to leave the downstairs bar when they called us to our lunch table in the main room (below).

For dessert I had an ultra-simple chocolate custard laced with the essence of priprioca, an aromatic amazonian root that Atala has introduced in Sao Paulo recently, and better-known for its use in perfumes and soaps.

I was glad to see the wine list has a large variety of Brazilian wines, fittingly:

In short, it's safe to say I will be back. And soon!

Dalva e Dito
Rua Padre João Manuel, 1115, Jardins, 3062-6282

Chef Alex Atala opens Dalva e Dito restaurant in São Paulo

Chef Alex Atala's Dalva e Dito, officially launched this week, is, most definitely, THE restaurant opening of the season. Construction was very delayed - months and months, if not even a year! - and in that time, expectations grew.

Only a mere steps away from his flagship D.O.M., Dalva e Dito aims to serve ultra-perfected Brazilian comfort food. Simple food made by a huge brigade (70 cooks!) under the direction of Frenchman Alain Poletto, in an ultra-expensive and equipped kitchen (the restaurant reportedly cost 6 million reais, or more than 2 million dollars).

Dalva e Dito's open kitchen has very separate food stations, including one entirely devoted to sous vide.




Waiters have been trained to serve the dishes - big, family-style portions - tableside, in the traditional French manner. The signature dish is the roast chicken, roasted to perfection in what Atala calls "the Ferrari of roasters", a Rotissol rôtissoir flewn in from France.

The space is nothing short of beautiful. Modern, but not in a tired all-white minimalistic way. Very Brazilian, but not in a folksy or tacky way. Hats off to designer Marcelo Rosenbaum. I especially like the terrace shaded by ferns (pictured above).

The restaurant has a very big bar serving finger food, with a communal table:








Here are the chefs: Alain Poletto (left) and Alex Atala.




Dalva e Dito:
Rua Padre João Manuel, 1.115, Jardins, 3064-6183

More Atala on this blog:
Alex Atala serves Amazonian ingredients to Spanish chefs at D.O.M.
Interview with chef Alex Atala

A história da gastronomia brasileira

Trois peuples, une cuisine

   C’est par hasard que l’amiral portugais Pedro Álvares Cabral a découvert le Brésil en 1500. Sa flotte avait mission de chercher des épices en Inde, mais dû à un manque de vents favorables, il avait fallu changer de cap. Soudainement les caravelles se trouvèrent devant une terre inconnue et magnifique. Ils jettèrent l’ancre dans la petite baie de Porto Seguro. La découverte fut ainsi décrite: “Cette terre est de toutes parts forte et belle et tellement généreuse que, quiconque voulant en profiter, en tirerait n’importe quoi”.

    Les premiers colons ont acheté des esclaves noirs de l’Afrique pour planter de la canne à sucre – la première richesse du Brésil. Les patrons prennaient des maîtresses noires ou indiennes, auxquelles ils faisaient de petits métis. Ces enfants grandirent nourris d’une cuisine d’ores et déjà brésilienne. Si un jour ils mangeaient du poisson et des bananes, le lendemain le menu était portugais.

    Notre gastronomie résulte de ce mélange blanc-noir-indien. L’utilisation de l’huile d’olive et du riz, ainsi que les confiseries, sont un héritage des portugais. Sans les noires on n’aurait jamais la fameuse feijoada, ni tant d’autres  plats parfumés à l’huile de dendê, une palme africaine. Et les indiennes furent les premières à pêcher dans les rivières, à cueillir des fruits et des piments dans la forêt et à macérer le manioc.

    Les premiers arrivés ont appris avec les indiens à ajouter la farine de manioc dans presque tout: sur du poisson, du sirop de canne, de la viande sechée, etc. À mesure que des terres plus au Sud étaient explorées, de nouvelles sortes de plantations y ont été introduites, surtout celles du maïs et du café.

     Après l’abolition de l’esclavage, en 1888, une quantité d’immigrants arrivèrent de l’Europe et du Moyen Orient, à la recherche de fortune. Ils apportaient leurs traditions culinaires respectives et se répandirent partout, mais principalement dans le Sud et à São Paulo, le grand melting pot du pays. Au long du XX^e siècle, des restaurants spécialisés en toutes sortes de cuisine s’y multipliaient.

    Et alors, vers les annés 90, la gastronomie brésilienne vit une redécouverte. La pitanga, la goyave et d’autres délices natives, qui avaient longtemps été  éclipsées par tout ce qui venait d’ailleurs, furent rédimés. Des chefs de renom, tel Morena Leite, en utilisant des ingrédients natifs oubliés, les ont remis à leur place d’honneur. Et c’est ainsi que nous revisitons, aujourd’hui, nos origines d’il y a plus de 500 ans.