A Paulista Saturday Lunch
So we had a weekend in Sao Paulo before flying back. The weather, even though it was in the very midst of the Summer, was cool and rainy, well call it drizzly really, so it actually was pleasant. A good friend recommended a driver so we took a little tour. First place we saw was the Cathedral.
here you can see the nice group of homeless ushers waiting to greet folks who stopped by
Brazilians like to joke that they truly believe in the Trinity; they are religious 3 times in their live: when they are baptized, when they are married, and when they are buried.
The rest of the time, not so much…as evidenced by the state of the holy water fonts at the entrance to the church
we drove around a little and saw the lovely Ibirapuera Park and strolled there but parks, whilst pleasant to stroll about, are boring to look at and anyhow all this walking made me think of food.
And if you’re thinking food at lunchtime then you are thinking the Municipal Market, a huge cacophonous den of amazing fruits (that are amazingly expensive), fresh meats, vegetables…
freshly made juices
and the absolute star of the show, what is perhaps the best sandwich you may ever have in your life, the Mortadella sandwich at the Hocca Bar
we also of course had perneil
and their also-famous bachalhau pastel
but really they paled next to the mortadella. The combination of the warm, salty, juicy meat with the slightly melted cheese on a warm, soft roll… Oh my. My Bride and I only got a few bites in before Daughter claimed the rest.
Punk.
The place was very very popular
The fruits here are just…well, bizarre
Some of them look like they were created by Dr. Seuss.
Like these:
those, my friends, are cashews in their natural state. Wild, eh?
As I’ve said, the market is loaded with all the fresh foods a well-funded cook could possibly desire, from fruits and vegetables to Happy Pigs
to all the bachalhau a feller could possibly desire
You’ll notice of course that they don’t list a “sodium content” for the bachalhau, as it’s approximately 100%…
Want some fresh suckling pigs or maybe a rabbit to impress that next date?
The market is a fun place to spend a few hours and have some great eats. We headed back to Paulista to walk around a little before dinner and there I saw one of those little things that just set my hear a-flutter
A happy day indeed.
Life, Swill Food and Grog | Mr. Bingley | 
February 5, 2013 7:54 am
Subscribe
Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen an unshelled cashew. Stange looking. The reason you’ll never (normally) see an unshelled cashew is that the shells are caustic and will burn skin.
Weird looking, ain’t they?
Fantastic!!
You really captured the market!
[…] supermarkets stocked only four kinds of vegetables and apples and oranges. Contrast that with what Mr. Bingley found in Brazil, where the government is staying away from regulating food […]
After the last photo, you did not do a Duh! or any other The-Simpson reference. Shame on you!
I know, BD, I was trying to rise above that but I really really was tempted…I like this shallow realm I inhabit.
Nothing weird about those fruits. They didn’t have a durian. Durian, well, they are like haggis – it’s a love or hate situation. 1) They stink – I don’t mind the smell, but they make a lot of people gag. 2) They taste delicious.
Seriously fabulous. Sweeter than sugar – and, oddly enough, I have no sweet tooth, and love the things.
It’s recommended that you not eat them and drink alcohol, because the sugar content is supposed to be so high that they ferment in the stomach… and you’ll get alcohol poisoning. Or maybe just spontaneously combust (I love urban legends – even if they don’t agree on the outcome.)
More seriously, if you ever get to SE Asia, try some. You can get it in ice cream form in some places (no smell). But if you can’t, hold your nose. That’s one deadly delicious fruit.