Happy Seniors

A loyal FLFB reader sent me the following link.

"They're much happier"

The article speaks for itself.

Turkey

Here in the US, it's Thanksgiving. This is our first Thanksgiving in the States since 2003. One year ago today we were exploring Macchu Picchu, Peru. Perhaps ironically, "peru" in Portuguese means turkey.

Two years ago, we celebrated Thanksgiving at our home in Sao Jose dos Campos. For probably the first time in my career, I was working on Thanksgiving day. I followed the Brazilian holiday schedule while working there of course, which turns out to me more lucrative in terms of days out of the office compared to the US schedule. My Brazilian co-workers often refered to Thanksgiving as "the most important holiday for the US". It's hard to say if it's the most important, but certainly does signify a time where familes and friends get together, eat copious amounts of food, and generally enjoy a few days off from work.

We were able to have a mostly authentic Thanksgiving day dinner in Brazil - the only table standard we were not able to find was cranberry sauce. There are no cranberries in Brazil as far as I was able to ascertain. (Blueberries were equally hard to come by, although someone did once tell me they spotted them in Sao Paulo) Beyond this realitively minor setback, we had just about everything else you probably had, or are going to have, today.

As for the turkey, we cooked what is known in Brazil as a "chester", which is either the same as turkey or some subspecies of turkey, I could never quite figure that out. But, it tastes like turkey nonetheless. Regular turkey is called "peru", but this bird they called "chester". Either way, it was tasty, and when cooked just right, comes out looking like this.
We had all the other standards: mashed potatoes, corn and other assorted veggies; I made some bread in our "Breadman" bread maker; salad; and a good bottle of Chilean wine.


Happy Thanksgiving.

Rio 22 - Restaurant Review

It's time for a new feature of Formerly Live from Brazil: Restaurant Reviews. In particular, you guessed it, Brazilian-themed restaurants. This past weekend, we found out about a Brazilian BBQ-style restaurant that recently opened up in Union NJ, off of Route 22. It's called Rio 22. Having been to quite a few authentic Brazilian BBQ restaurants (I've been meaning to post about these churrascaria restaurants as a topic here on FLFB, but haven't had the chance yet), my review will be based on comparing this restaurant to the real thing.

Atmosphere: Rio 22 has an upscale setting, very comfortable, clearly the kind of place to which you can bring a bunch friends, family, or co-workers and not have to worry about being too loud. This is similar to the ones I remember from Brazil. In some ways, it reminded me of "Porcão" from Rio de Janeiro, so I guess their name fits. Rio22 even had the red/green coasters on the tables to alert your waiter about your receptiveness to more meat.

Salad Bar: Conceptually, very similar. In fact, the layout of the salad bar was nearly identical, with various salads and plates of side-dishes arrayed around the circumference of a large table. The majority of the dishes were not the same as in Brazil, they were more reflective of local favorites. They did have a few fish-dishes (cod fish salad, and something with little octopuses), rice and beans, and chicken strogonoff which can be found in every Brazilian BBQ. I missed the sushi rolls, although Rio 22 has an entire Sushi bar to choose from - just not included with the salad bar (at least that I saw).

Appetizers: Every Brazilian BBQ lays out some appetizers on the table to go with the meal, typically fried bananas, Pão de queijo , french fries, bread, yams, small salgados stuffed with meat, and rice. Rio 22 had similar - french fries, onion rings, fried bananas, and I was happy to see pão de queijo . Very authentic pao de qeuijo, I might add. I hadn't had one of these in a while. Yum.

Drinks: They had imported Brahma. (See "Cervejas" below). I had a couple, but not a bucket. We didn't get any caipirinhas, but I imagine you could get a good one here.

Meat: Mmmmm. Meat. That about says it all. The never-ending, table-served meat included: top sirloin, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, roast beef, flank steak, chicken, lamb, and picanha. A real Atkins lover's dream, and your cardiologist's nightmare. I have been craving picanha ever since my BBQ post. I even stopped in at a local butchershop to ask for it, and they looked at me like I was from Mars. I just saw on Wikipedia that it's called "rump cover" in the US, so maybe I'll try that next time, although, if that's not what it's called, I'll get strange looks asking for that too. Rio 22's was a real treat, and it was excellent. It was really, really good to have this again. Another authentic touch was having farofa and vinaigrette salsa at the table for dipping or topping the meat, respectively.

Coffee: I had a good expresso after the meal, which tasted authentic.

Price. This is the most noteable difference. In Brazil, dinner for two at the local Rodizio always wound up costing about R$100 - including drinks and dessert. (roughly US$35 - US$50, depending on the exchange rate at the time). Here, it was about that much for 1 person. So, roughly 2x-3x the price. It's a bit of an unfair comparison though since meat, fish, and the going rate for cooks and waiters is less expensive in Brazil. For the price, the value you get is more than comparable to a night out at a good restaurant, if not more so given that it's all you can eat.

Recommendation: If you are curious about Brazilian BBQ, definately check Rio 22 out. If you know me, and would like to go, let me know and we'll plan a night. We went on a Sunday afternoon, so I didn't experience the nightlife. I have the feeling Friday or Saturday night would be a fun time to go, judging at least by the size and layout of the bar, and the drink specials.

If you go, let me know if you agree with my recommendation.

Asner: "...how'd you get so smart?"

<-- Click on TV for classic commercial with the answer. Does anyone else (besides my brother) remember this commercial, circa 1979?

One airplane ritual I forgot to mention in the "Spiderwebs" post was that I usually took along a book to read. I tend to read historical non-fiction - if I am going to spend the time to read something, I want to at least take away some interesting tidbits that I can talk about at cocktail parties. I have read a number of books on the US Civil War, inspired by what I consider to be the greatest documentary of all time, "The Civil War" by Ken Burns, and the opportunities I had to visit various Civil War battlefields. My "library" is heavily weighted with books on this topic.

One of these plane books was related to the topic of, you guessed it, Brazil. I believe I read this sometime during my first few months as an ex-pat; so, I already had some perspective on the country, and the book really came alive for me. The book is "A Death in Brazil" by Peter Robb. Do not be frightened by the title. The book it autobiographical in nature, telling Robbs' story as he meandered his way through Brazil's small towns and big cities, poor villages and fancy resorts. He intermixes Brazilian history, religion, culture, politics, and local foods into an vibrant picture of Brazil through a foreigner's eyes. I learned a lot about the country, and it helped me to adjust and learn to appreciate some of the cultural differences I myself was experiencing. The history of the founding of Brazil is fascinating - the legend has it that Pedro Álvares Cabral found Brazil by "accident" in 1500, however there is more intrigue to the story involving the Pope and secret agreements. The explorer's accounts of first seeing the native women "in all their unashamed nakedness" apparently goes on for pages and pages and pages in his official reports to the King of Portugal; this no doubt contributed to further Portuguese exploration of South America. Robb gets a great deal into the politics of Brazil, and equates it to the beloved Brazilian "novelas&quot; (soap operas). His writing style keeps the narrative moving forward while weaving a good sense of the culture and national identity into the mix. An excellent read. If you have ever visited Brazil, this would be a good book for reminiscing or putting your experience into perspective. If you have never been to Brazil or if you have somehow been inspired by my humble blog to learn more about Brazil - I recommend this book to give you a well-rounded perspective on this fascinating country.

I did manage to read a few more books then my usual pace while spending all that time in the air over the last few years. A couple other books that I remember and can recommend are:

"Between a Rock and a Hard Place", by Aron Ralston. This is an autobiography by Aron Ralston. You may remember his story from TV a few years ago - he was out one day hiking, when a boulder fell on his arm, and after a week or so of being stuck between "a rock and a hard place", he eventually used his trusty pocket knife to perform a self-amputation of his right arm. The story is not just one of "man vs. nature". It's really the story of Aron's passion for hiking, slot-canyoning, propensity for face-to-face encounters with bears, tales of avalanche survival, and assorted tales of outdoor adventure. The lead up to the inevitable dismemberment is well told and tension-filled, and is as much a psychological thriller as the story of the actual amputation. Would you have the guts to do it? I suggest this book for all the "outdoorsy" types. One moral of the story: if you are going to be out alone, doing something somewhat risky, always tell someone where you are going. Had at least one person known of Aron's general whereabouts, he could have been found earlier - not to say he wouldn't have lost the arm, but at least wouldn't have had to drink his own bodily fluids to survive.

"Freakonomics&quot;, by Levitt and Dubner. This is a fascinating book if you are into analyzing data and statistics, which I am. The author is an econmist, who pulls together seemingly dis-connected data to develop some interesting theories. For instance, he contends the drop in crime rates in the early-90's correlates to Roe v. Wade.

If you are interested in US Civil War history, I recommend "The Civil War, A Narrative" by Shelby Foote - if Ken Burns' piece is the definitve documentary, Foote's 3-volume set is the definitve narrative. Maybe someday I'll post some pictures from my visits to various Civil War battlefields, but I'll have to think of a good Brazil tie-in.