Where To Eat And Drink In Rio De Janeiro

The cocktail scene in Brazil is a thriving one, and there are many places to get a very well-made drink. One of the very newest is an offshoot of a popular Sao Paulo "speakeasy" called Subastor, which is hidden behind the popular Ipanema beachside bistro Astor Café. It might take a little sweet-talking for the bouncer to let you in, but don't worry, that's part of the show. Be cool, baby, and patient, and pretty soon he'll slide the door back for you to come in and enjoy the elegant service and excellent cocktails. I don't know about you, but when I'm in a country that produces a particular spirit, I want to drink a lot of that particular spirit, and believe it or not it's a little harder than you'd expect to find good cachaça cocktails in Brazil. Oddly enough, Brazilians prefer their caipirinhas with vodka or sake. That said, one of the best cachaça cocktails I had in my time in Brazil was the Ordem & Prosecco at Subastor, a bubbly and playful cachaça cocktail with Yaguara cachaça, Calvados and prosecco, created by beverage director Fabio la Pietra, a young, Italian transplant at the helm of both bars in Sao Paulo and Rio. And head bartender Plinio Silva provided some of the most thoughtful hospitality I've seen in any bar anywhere. Av. Vieira Souto, 100 – Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro; +55 21 2523-0085; subastor.com.br

Paris Bar is a bit of a mystery in Rio. Many people I asked hadn't heard of it, but then as soon as I described it would say, "Oh, that place — I've been there, it's cool!" Located on the parlor floor of a historic mansion that now houses the Casa de Arte e Cultura Julieta de Serpa, the spot proves a transporting experience. Head bartender Alex Mesquita may also work for Leblon Cachaça, so he knows his way around the local spirit, and by night, he's barrel-aging aquavit cocktails, adding fresh tangerine juice to his menu and compiling an extensive diary of cocktail recipes. It's a lovely, grand bar to enjoy a drink in a civilized setting and feel a little pampered. Praia do Flamengo, 340 – Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro; +55 21 2551-1278; parisbar.com.br

Have we mentioned that Brazilians love beef? Yeah, they really do. And recently they've started using some of that excellent beef to make excellent burgers. There is a veritable burger craze all over Brazil. One of the best versions I had in Rio was from a little "buteco" in the north part of Rio where tons of restaurant and bar staff go for late-night eats, and at Bar do Momo the food is anything but ordinary. In this popular little greasy spoon, the kind of place my Brazilian friend called a "pe sujo" — literally "dirty feet," meaning a super-casual place you can arrive at from the beach with actual dirt on your feet — the food is inventive, ambitious and entirely unexpected. The place is owned by a father-son team, but the talent behind the flat top is all the son, known as Toninho Momo (his real name is Antonio Laffargue). He's cranking out things like juicy burgers topped with watercress pesto, bacon marmalade and an oozing blanket of mozzarella, all brought to the table with a giant knife stuck through it. Don't neglect anything on the menu — it was all good. And lots of well-selected cachaça and Brazilian craft beer. All served out of a nondescript storefront that spills out onto the sidewalk and up the block on wobbly plastic tables and equally wobbly plastic chairs. It's worth a ride from Ipanema to the end of the subway line to check it out. R. Gen. Espírito Santo Cardoso, 50 – Loja A; +55 21 2570-9389; facebook.com/bardomomotijuca

If there is one universal rule of gentrification, it's that hipsters make good food, and they make it cool. You will see this on display all over the hip neighborhood of Botafogo, but I felt right at home in the bosom of Bushwick or Echo Park at Bar Void and its House of Food rotating pop-up kitchen. It's a sneaker/surf store on one side and a craft beer bar on the other, and next to that is a sliver of a kitchen that is a sandwich shop by day, and at night it is taken over by a rotating cast of different chefs and people with culinary inclinations. Chef Elia Schramm from Laguiole had taken over the kitchen for his birthday the night I went, along with his buddy Pedro Benoliel, who was described to me as the Guy Fieri of Brazil — if Guy Fieri were young and handsome and made food people actually want to eat. Lots of trendy spring rolls with unexpected fillings and Asian influences, and lots of young, creative people enjoying another night eating and drinking on the sidewalk. But the consistent (as in always there in the revolving door of pop-ups) and do-not-miss thing I found here was a local, Rio-made IPA called 3 Cariocas IPA-nema, a fruity, light-on-the-hops beer redolent of passion fruit. Enjoy it when you can find it —I didn't see it anywhere else, and it was exceptionally good. R. Voluntários da Pátria, 31 – Lojas C e D; +55 11 4172-9675; houseoffood.com.br

The most memorable bite I had in Rio was from this lovely restaurant in Leblon, Rio's most exclusive neighborhood. With restaurant after restaurant, bar after bar, the choices in the area are overwhelming. Let me help you with that — just pick Zuka.  If "American contemporary" is a unique category of food, then chef Ludmilla Soeiro is serving "Brazilian contemporary" cuisine, all prepared on open flames in an open kitchen. It's a welcoming combo of traditional and unexpected. If you want the best experience, let chef Soeiro send out what she wants you to eat; she likes it that way. "I pick and you eat. That's it!" is how she advised me to approach dinner, and she knows best. What about that memorable bite? Hearts of palm are everywhere in Brazil, and here chef Soeiro makes them into tagliatelle and serves them with a wasabi cream sauce and barely seared tuna, and it's spectacular. Her food is influenced by her travels all over the world, and she brings it all to the table, like her local, honey-glazed duck served next to couscous any Moroccan would be proud to serve. And for dessert, please get the tapioca ice cream served with coconut candy she buys from a local grandmother that reminded me of candy my grandmother always had in her candy dish, with a texture something like crystallized cotton candy. R. Dias Ferreira, 233B – Leblon; +55 21 3205-7154; zuka.com.br

Beef is a big thing in Brazil. So is pork, and so is meat in general. So when in Brazil, most people want to check out a giant, all-you-can-eat meat emporium, also known as a churrrascaria, and the choices can be overwhelming and expensive — like picking the best Irish pub in Dublin. Churrascaria Palace, steps away from Copacabana and across the street from the famous Copacabana Palace Hotel, is a good move. The selection of meats is massive, and everything is well grilled and well seasoned, including the giant hunks of Brazilian fish on swords. The waitstaff are friendly and solicitous (not always a given in Rio) and come by frequently, especially if you tell them you like something. There's also a salad bar of sides and other dishes that are very traditional Brazilian fare. Look out for hearts of palm; as I may have mentioned, they are everywhere and in everything in Brazil, and that's a good thing. If you're looking for an introduction to a well-curated cachaça collection, Churrascaria Palace has an excellent list of hard-to-find varieties from craft producers. I fell in love with the Santa Terezhinha aged in sassafras wood, paired with salty, melted Brazilian farmer's cheese off the grill with a drizzle of Amazonian honey, and an "ice cream" made from Brazilian super fruit cupuaçu, which is so high in pectin it was basically frozen-fruit puree that is impossibly creamy all by itself. You'll be reaching for the cachaça for your cheese courses afterward as well. R. Rodolfo Dantas 16, Copacabana; +55 21 2541-5898; churrascariapalace.com.br