It was hard work.

Category #1: Doces

The Winner: Pé de Moleque

Anyone that knows me and my eating habits can understand why this bad boy won. Basically Brazilian peanut brittle, these have nursed my cravings for peanut butter on a couple of occasions. I must say that the beach ones are far from the best in the city, though — café-style ones are definitely my favorite. Or any that haven’t already reached their melting point at the point-of-sale. However, melting on the beach or not, these guys are good. Period.

The Runners-Up:

Pipoca Doce: Sweet popcorn. Caramel corn / kettle corn. Honestly, its good. Really good. The smells wafting from the popcorn vendors (which have dispersed all over the city to tempt you at any hour of the day) are dangerous. The street popcorn is always sold here in two flavors: Sweet and Salty. I learned from a fellow American (see her blog here!) living in Rio that the trick is to order your popcorn 1/2 and 1/2 — sweet on the bottom, salty on top. Were this dynamite combination in the bracket, perhaps the results would be different.

Tapioca Doce: The tapiocas are one of the most interesting street foods in Rio — at least, to a girl who only knew “tapioca” as that white pudding that didn’t taste very good. Tapiocas are made like crepes, but in a frying pan. The dry tapioca flour is heated with cooking oil to make the tortilla/hard outer shell, and whichever ingredients you desire are then stuffed inside. The sweet tapiocas can be as simple as dulce de leche sauce, or more complicated flavor combinations, such as coconut + chocolate + cinnamon (yum!), or banana and cheese (strange, but worth a try. I promise.)

Churros Recheados: They come in 2 flavors, filled with dulce de leche or with chocolate. A little too much sugar, a little too reminiscent of funnel cakes. The most redeeming quality / interesting part is how they are filled: The churro is stuffed under a metal-like straw, and after a few seconds, stuffed with one of the aforementioned substances. See the straw-looking thing on the right side of the cart above?  Vóila! Ready to eat.

Cocada: Often sold by the same vendor as the delicious Pé de Moleque, these coconut – based babies just can’t keep up. I typically love everything coconut, but cocadas are just bathing in a little too much condensed milk to qualify for a refreshing, sand-free beach treat.

Melancia: This one just didn’t stand a chance. melancia, watermelon, is sold by the slice on the beach. Could sound refreshing, I know, but let’s think about this for a second: The wind is strong in Rio, especially on the beach. How about a little sand with your watermelon? Usually sold by good-humored and charming vendors similar to our friend in the photo above.

Category #2: Bebidas

The Winner: Agua de Coco

This is almost a no-brainer. Is there anything more refreshing than an agua de coco on the beach? No. Definitely not. You can enjoy the cold water (yum) and, if desired, ask one of the friendly vendors to slice it open to eat the coconut meat afterwards. The remains of a coconut water-and-meat snack are above. Bom apetite!

The Runners-Up:

Açaí: It was hard to let this one go. Açaí is one of my favorite things about Brazil — the smoothie-like “superfruit” is always perfectly cold and served in heaping portions. It can be served with granola or bananas on top, if desired. It’s a must-try and came in a close second!

Matte Leão: Matte is what I would compare to Brazilian sweet tea. It is served ice-cold and comes in regular flavor and “hint of lime” flavor. My favorite part of matte is how the salesmen advertise it while on the beach: “MattemattematteLEAAAAAOOOmatteLEAO” … really loud, space-less, and making sure to drag out the “Leão” for as long as their breath will last.

Note: The matte Leão Carnaval ads came out during the same week as the Department of Health’s safe sex ads, and the two used a strikingly similar and easily confused color scheme. Do not confuse them!

Guaraná: Promoted above by today’s hot and extremely popular Neymar (Brazil’s talked-about hot new football player for the Santos team), the Guaraná soda is made from an Amazonian fruit and kind of tastes like ginger ale.

Cerveja Antarctica: This beer came to my attention when I literally could not escape it during Carnaval — all of the bloco parties were sponsored by the Antarctica “Carnaval Na Rua 2012″ campaign (below) and it still pervades all the beach quiosques.

Post-Carnaval, I am the proud owner of one of the blue Antarctica fedoras!

Itaipava: The “other” beach beer. Itaipava and Antarctica are both the beach-y light beers that you will encounter on a hot day. While Antarctica ruled the Carnaval scene, Itaipava dominates the beach rental scene — their names is inscribed on nearly every red umbrella and chair rental that you can find in the Zona Sul. See the aerial photo for proof — all of those red umbrellas are incognito Itaipava advertisements!

Category #3: Salgadas

The Winner: Kibe

For those of you that know me, this comes out of left field. To everyone that does not know — I decided to take a hiatus from vegetarianism for my stay in Brazil. I felt tiny pings of regret for not learning about meat and for not enjoying the traditional food while I was in Argentina in 2010. Thus, I resolved to be in Brazil with an open mind and try everything: and here I am! I really love the Kibe, it is such a delicious fits-in-the-pal-of-your-hand snack! It is made of beef, quinoa, onions, tomatoes, and spices, and is the consistency of a falafel ball. Yum! Learning to like Kibe was a win for my open-mindedness and my taste buds.

The Runners-Up:

Coxinha: You can literally find them everywhere. They are a little bigger than an egg, similarly oblong-shaped, but with a sharper point on top. Coxinhas are either stuffed with chicken or chicken with some type of gooey, meltey cheese. Enough to want to lay down for while and sweat.

Empada de _____: The Empada v. Pastel v. Pãe problem is something I struggle with understanding in Brazil, and I am certain that I will be writing about it again. The similarities between them are: They are all stuffed with something, whether it is cheese, chicken, beef, turkey, ham and cheese, chicken and cheese, beef and cheese, turkey and cheese, hearts of palm, hearts of palm and cheese, ricotta, ricotta and spinach, among just a few of the options. The vendors usually have at the very least 10 flavors for you to choose from (not written down, of course), which just makes the decision more complicated.

Which is Which??

The second similarity: they are all made of bread, stuffed with aforementioned ingredients, but come in various shapes. Here is where I made my critical error: They are not to be confused! From what I’ve learned so far, an empada is more muffin shaped (see above), while a pastel looks more hot-pocket like, although it can be a circle or square in shape. The differences between torta and pãe are even more confusing and unexplored. Because of all the variations and potential for error (and thus giving away that you are foreign), I just try to stay far away from items in/around this category.

Pastel de _____: See above. Too confusing to distinguish what is a pastel/empada/torta/pãe to be a serious contender.

Esfiha: These have potential to be good, and honestly, perhaps I haven’t tried a good one yet. They are influenced by Greek/Arabic food, and are little pastries (again) full of spinach and ricotta cheese, stuffed in a nicely folded bread triangle. The best part, by FAR, though, is the vendors. They dress up in long, floor-length white robes, and don a turban on their heads. They then proceed around the beach, shouting “Comida A-ra-beee!” to attract flocks of hungry beach-goers to their cultured, arabic food. Gotta give them credit for getting into character, right?

Sanduíche Natural: For the health-conscious on the beach. That’s right, the “natural sandwich” is offered for those who don’t want the deep-fried greasy snacks and who are watching their figure. Again, the flavor options are endless: chicken and eggs; chicken and cheese; chicken, eggs, and hearts of palm; chicken, eggs, and carrots; cheese and banana; you get the point. The two key ingredients? Wheat bread (the ‘natural’ part) and mayonnaise. Lots of it. Mmmm.

Category #4: Delicias

The Winner: Biscoitos Globo

Packing peanut? Beach snack?

The Biscoitos Globo may not be the most delicious beach snack. They are not, trust me. However, they are so characteristically Carioca in nature and truly represent the Rio beach experience that they take the miscellaneous category, hands down. My friend, K, and I giggled our way through the sweet and salty flavors, and to keep up our game of “being Carioca,” obviously washed them down with an “estupidamente gelado” (stupidly cold) Matte Leão.

The Runners-Up:

Pipoca Salgada: See above post regarding the sweet popcorn — the same goes for the salty popcorn. Delicious, occasionally coated in parmesan cheese, the salty popcorn is a dream — but just not complete without its other half.

Tapioca Salgada: Again, delicious. The savory tapioca crepes were my brother’s favorite food when he visited Rio — we recommend the carne seca and cheese flavor. But really, you can’t go wrong among the +/- 20 options. Yummy!

Pamonha: The best things about these are their smell. Pamonhas, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth corn tamales wrapped in corn husks, waft through the streets torturing everyone they meet. The smell is so sweet and savory at the same time, taunting every runner, cyclist, and skateboarder that crosses its path. Not fair.

Espetinho de Camarão: Shrimp skewers on the beach, fresh off the grill, lime juice… sounds like a win, right? Wrong. I feel the same way about these that I do about the watermelon: want a little sand with your shrimp? Unfortunately, this is a good idea that has a lot of potential… and that’s about all. And some sand.

YUM. Not.

Cachorro Quente: Here comes the truth: I didn’t try it. I thought about it multiple times, approaches some stands, and retreated again. I can’t bring myself to entertain the thought of ordering one: I don’t know if it is the hot dog itself, the white bread bun (NO!), or the plethora of appetizing toppings (quail eggs, corn, peas, shredded carrots, etc). I had to rule it out based on this alone and please don’t call me out for cheating at my own game. Maybe when Rio and I celebrate our 6-month anniversary, I will be ready.

So here goes: My votes for the 4 best beach snacks are:

• Pé de Moleque
• Agua de Coco
• Kibe
• Biscoitos Globo

What do you think? Crazy? Disagree? While digesting / detoxing, I’ll be sending my love to the Jayhawks back home (next year!) and happy that the beach-food-trying-Madness has come to a close. Phew!

Beijos! Until next time!

Então, para você, neurótico das calorias, NÃO LEIA MAIS O QUE VOU ESCREVER NAS PRÓXIMAS LINHAS COM O RISCO DE AUMENTO DE PESO SOMENTE COM O PASSAR DE OLHOS SOBRE ESSAS INFORMAÇÕES! A doceria é famosa por seus tradicionais doces, salgadinhos e pelos deliciosos croissants que derretem na boca. A Cõco é o lugar perfeito para se dar uma parada depois de uma tarde de compras na Fnac, ou uma parada após um almoço na Vila Madalena, ou mesmo antes de encher a cara no Real (o bar que fica logo ali, atravessando o cruzamento).

A variedade de doces é sensacional: bolos de morango, chocolate, crocante, floresta negra, torta holandesa, além de outras delícias de se lamber os beiços. Os meus favoritos e indispensáveis são a tradicional bomba de chocolate (também na versão Super Bomba – uma ótima dica de sobremesa pra se levar num almoço com amigos) e a torta mil folhas. É a única torta mil folhas de São Paulo que eu encaro, pois temos que admitir, os cariocas são craques em tortas mil folhas. Pronto, falei.

Os salgados também são deliciosos. Para quem é fã dos fritos, recomendo o croquete de carne, delicioso e no tamanho ideal. E recomendo saboreá-lo com mostarda, o que dará um toque spicy à iguaria. E se você estiver com um pouco mais de fome, pode experimentar um dos sanduíches naturais ou o delicioso Bauru no croissant, meu almoço de alguns anos atrás, nos meus tempos de livreiro.

Pra quem gosta de um café (o que não é meu caso, já que eu só vou a cafés para estar com os amigos), o lugar garante um expresso de ótima qualidade a um preço honesto. A propósito, os preços são ótimos: doces a R$ 4, salgados a R$ 2,50 e o café a R$ 1,50 (preços sujeitos a alteração!). Doces e salgados especiais, preço sob consulta.

De qualquer forma, o simpático dono do estabelecimento irá recebê-lo sempre com simpatia e o lugar aceita encomendas.

Serviço
Côco, cravo e canela
R. Cardeal Arcoverde, 1942, esquina da Simão Álvares, Pinheiros, São Paulo – SP.
Tel. 11-3032 9505

João Marcelo

NOTA DO EDITOR: A COXINHA! A COXINHA DO CÔCO, CRAVO E CANELA! AI, MEU DEUS! MORRI DE CATAPORA SÓ DE PENSAR NA COXINHA!

* Saca a Sônia Braga?