1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (169 page)

Succulent chunks, slices, steaks, and chops of grilled beef, veal, lamb, pork, and chicken are much-loved throughout South America, where barbecue is known as
churrasco
and
churrascarias
are the restaurants that feature wood-fired grills (much like our steak houses, with menus offering various cuts of meats cooked to order). But the Brazilian riff on this culinary custom is something else again—a dramatic and enticing floor show called
rodízio
, for which the churrasco meats are run onto giant skewers and theatrically paraded around the dining room. As they circulate among the tables, waiters display their juicy, fragrant wares. When diners choose their cut, the meat is sliced onto plates directly from the skewers and the waiters move on. The inexperienced can lose out by filling up on the first offerings, then regretting that decision when the juicy filets and rib eyes take center stage. “All you can eat” is the theme, and stomach capacity proves the only deterrent in the end.

Beef fares best in this type of cooking, and livers and hearts can be temptingly chewy and rich. In Brazil, the meat will almost always be from the zebu, a particularly lean breed of cattle—although pork or lamb chops, well edged with fat, retain enough moisture to remain succulent. Rodízio protocol calls for an opener of appetizers and salads from a dazzling, tiered buffet, something the experienced bypass in anticipation of the more solid delights to come. As the skewered meats are served, they are accompanied by some of the garnishes that also highlight the Brazilian feijoada meal (see
listing
): the toasty, fluffy manioc or
farofa
grain, rice, crisp fried potatoes, steamed collard greens, black beans, refreshing onion and roseate pepper salads, fried bananas, and various habanero-chile-spiked dips and sauces. Slices of glazed, grilled pineapple are a typical palate cleanser and, given the proceedings, a sufficient dessert as well.

Where:
In Rio de Janeiro
, Churrascaria Porcão,
porcao.com.br
;
in New York
, Churrascaria Plataforma, tel 212-245-0505,
churrascariaplataforma.com
; Ipanema, tel 212-730-5848,
ipanemanyc.com
;
in Houston
, Churrascos at multiple locations,
cordua.com/churrascos
.
Further information and recipes:
Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way
by Francis Mallman and Peter Kaminsky (2009);
The Barbecue! Bible
by Steven Raichlen (2008);
bbq.about.com
(search traditional churrascos);
foodnetwork.com
(search emeril’s churrasco skewers).

A sunny, fish-based stew from Bahia.

A rainbow of tropical flavors, dazzlingly rich and substantial,
vatapá
is not for the faint of heart. The stewlike main course, one of the most famous of all Brazilian dishes, is a combination of fish, shrimp, coconut milk, manioc flour (also known as cassava flour),
dende
(palm oil), and cashews, bolstered with white rice.

The bright-yellow dish is a specialty of Bahia, on the country’s northeastern coast, established around 1500 by Brazil’s first Portuguese settlers. The city’s culture and cuisine was heavily influenced by the West Africans brought as slaves to work the sugar and coffee plantations. Reflecting this influence, vatapá is a typical filling for Bahia’s
acarajé
fritters, black-bean-based cakes believed by practitioners of the local Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé to be the ritual food of their goddess Yansa, ruler of the winds. Freshly fried by vendors lining the cobblestone streets of the Bahian capital of Salvador, rich and golden and brimming with vatapá, it seems like food for the gods indeed.

Where:
In Salvador, Brazil
, Museu da Gastronomia Baiana, tel 55/71-3324-4553,
ba.senac.br/museu
;
in Buenos Aires
, Me Leva Brasil, tel 54/11-4832-4290,
melevabrasil.com.ar
;
in New York
, Ipanema, tel 212-730-5848,
ipanemanyc.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Brazilian Kitchen
by Leticia Moreinos Schwartz (2012);
Tasting Brazil
by Jessica B. Harris (1992);
foodnetwork.com
(search vatapa).

With its mild, clean flavor, medium acidity, convincing body, and deep, rich, well-rounded aroma, Colombian coffee is considered by many connoisseurs to be the world’s most “balanced” variety. That balance is characteristic of the
beans of the
Coffea arabica
plant, and it is bolstered by Columbia’s just-right mix of latitude (mountainous), climate (tropical), and rainfall (plentiful), enabling the beans to ripen properly and maintain their flavor. Colombians eventually found that growing the coffee plants in the shade improved the bean’s growth and development, and a culture and industry grew up, slowly and painstakingly, around the crop.

“Supremo” designates the highest grade of beans, uniform in size, comparatively large, and producing an extra-smooth brew with delicate acidity. The high price of Colombian supremo beans reflects both quality control and method of production. Farmers still hand pick and hand wash the beans, which were originally transported from the mountainous communities by mule to the railroad stations, and then whisked to ports to be distributed worldwide. Long before it was trendy to describe foods by the region in which they’re grown or produced, the Colombian Coffee Federation began to include regions of origin on its labeling, in the hopes of gaining a following among coffee drinkers.

In 1960, in a stroke of marketing genius, the Federation invented a fictional coffee grower named Juan Valdez, a friendly-looking farmer who transported his coffee beans through the Colombian mountains astride his mule. Marketing specialists report that five months after the campaign was launched, there was a 300 percent increase in consumer identification of Colombian supremo as the world’s best beans; half a century later, it is still among the world’s most sought-after coffee. Today, there are more than 500,000 coffee-growing families in Colombia, many of whom have been harvesting it since it first came to the country. The mules may be no more, but the status and quality of this centuries-old crop endures.

When shopping for supremo, look for the words “100% Colombian” on the label, and particularly for mention of the regions of Santander, Magdalena, and Nariño. Not all Colombian coffee is supremo, so if possible, look closely at the beans. Supremo beans should be round and uniform in size, and they are the only beans in which the characteristic center split remains light in color after roasting.

Retail and mail order:
In New York
, McNulty’s Tea & Coffee Co., tel 212-242-5351,
mcnultys.com
.
Further information:
www.juanvaldez.com
.
See also:
Ethiopian Coffee
;
Blue Mountain Coffee
.

Cooked guava, with its honeylike syrup “con queso.”

The simply prepared but addictive dessert of rosy stewed guava shells (
cascos de guayaba
, or “guava helmets”) filled with cream cheese and served with crackers is an odd specialty of Latin America and the Spanish-speaking islands of the West Indies, particularly Cuba. Some denizens of the Tampa, Florida, neighborhood of Ybor City insist that the dessert was developed there—a century ago, the town did have two guava processing plants and the local newspaper promoted the “A Guava a Day” recipe contest, which at one point featured a recipe for this unusual dish.

The ingredients certainly have their charms. Known for its sweet-tart flavor and decidedly aromatic nature, the guava (
Psidium guajava
) is a plum-size tropical fruit native to Peru. Guavas contain eugenol, one of the essential oils found in cloves, and when cooked, the fruit produces a honeylike syrup that contrasts nicely with the cool tanginess of cream cheese. Slightly salty crackers add just the right bit of crunch.

The dessert is rarely found in the U.S. but is easy to make at home—it may sound odd, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Simply strain canned guavas, reserving the syrup, and fill each “helmet” with a teaspoon of cream cheese. Drizzle the syrup over all and serve with saltine crackers alongside. The memorable result will be a comforting combination of sweet and salty, creamy and tart.

Where:
In Miami
, Islas Canarias, tel 305-559-6666,
islascanariasrestaurant.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Nuevo Latino
by Douglas Rodriguez (2002);
A Taste of Puerto Rico
by Yvonne Ortiz (1997);
epicurious.com
(search guava cream cheese pastry).
Tip:
Canned guavas are surprisingly good and available in most supermarkets—look for the excellent Goya brand.

It’s difficult to decide which is the more incredible feature of these two Miami outposts of authentic Cuban cuisine—that such casual luncheonettes can turn out such delicious food, or that the prices are so amazingly low. Both locations of Islas Canarias are huge, sprawling, noisily lively eateries catering to a Cuban and Cuban-informed population. There is usually a wait for tables at peak lunch and dinner hours, but the service is fast and the staff frenetically efficient. The specialties run to wonderfully savory, hearty dishes that reflect Cuba’s blend of influences from Spain, Africa, and the island’s indigenous Indian population.

A meal at Islas Canarias might start with black bean soup, dark and mysterious as midnight, accented with white rice, diced raw onions, and a shot of lemon juice (see
listing
), or perhaps hot and crisp
frituras de bacalao
, codfish fritters. The main course might be a juicy, grilled Creole steak with black beans and rice, or the similarly garnished, seductively tender
ropa vieja
(“old clothing,” see
listing
)—slow-cooked shredded beef—or the simmered ground beef
picadillo a la habanera
, named for the fiery chile pepper that ignites it. There is also softly sweet, golden-hued
arroz con pollo
(chicken and rice), the light, Catalan-style meatballs called
albondigas
, and crackling-skinned
lechón asado
, roast pig. Crisp on the outside and sweetly buttery within, fried plantains are not to be missed. For fish lovers, there are ceviches, the mixed shellfish stew called
cazuelita
, and gorgeously golden fried red snapper or kingfish, that large, silvery mackerel
relative much favored in Cuba. Despite the quick casualness of these places, there is definitely time for cocktails, such as daiquiris, mojitos, and piña coladas, along with flavored rums and other standard Cuban imbibables. Anyone who can manage dessert has a fine choice between several featuring dulce de leche (see
listing
), as well as flan, caramelized milk custard, and more, all dazzlingly sweet.

Where:
13695 SW 26th St., Miami, tel 305-559-6666; 285 NW 27th St., Miami, tel 305-649-0440,
islascanariasrestaurant.com
.
Tip:
The Islas Canarias Café, 3804 SW 137 Avenue, tel 305-559-0111, has an informal but still stylish setting, and a more limited menu of Cuban classics, many given a slightly modern spin. It’s a lovely place to grab a bite, but it lacks the authenticity of the two luncheonettes.