Food Trends

Rio's soul on a plate: an inky black bean stew slow-cooked with pork ribs, sausage and smoked cuts until silky. Served Wednesdays and Saturdays with rice, toasted farofa, sauteed collard greens and bright orange slices that cut the richness.

The king of Brazilian churrasco: a triangular top-sirloin cap crowned with a thick fat cap that bastes the meat as it sears over coals. Sliced juicy and pink, it arrives with rice, black beans, farofa and tangy vinaigrette.

Rio's beach fuel: frozen Amazonian acai berries blended into a thick, deep-purple sorbet, sweetened with guarana syrup. Heaped in a bowl and crowned with crunchy granola, sliced banana and strawberries, it is cold, energizing and gloriously refreshing after the surf.

Bite-sized clouds of chewy, gluten-free goodness: cassava-starch dough whipped with eggs and tangy minas cheese, then baked until golden and hollow. Crisp outside, stretchy and warm within, they are the carioca breakfast and the perfect cafezinho companion.

A sunset-orange seafood stew that perfumes the table: firm white fish and plump shrimp gently simmered with tomatoes, onions, peppers, coconut milk and nutty dende palm oil. Bubbling in a clay pot, it is ladled over white rice and pirao.

Brazil's favorite savory snack: a teardrop of soft dough wrapped around shredded chicken and creamy catupiry cheese, breaded and deep-fried to a crackling golden shell. Shaped like a little drumstick, it is the boteco bite that pairs with an ice-cold beer.

The crackling star of every street fair: a thin, blistered dough pocket deep-fried until shatteringly crisp, then stuffed with melting cheese, seasoned ground beef, shrimp or sweet banana. Eaten piping hot and washed down with fresh sugarcane juice.

The unmistakable cry of "Olha o Globo!" rings across every Rio beach. Airy, ring-shaped cassava biscuits, salty or sweet, melt on the tongue, paired with chilled sweetened mate tea poured from clinking metal barrels. Pure carioca beach ritual.

A velvety Afro-Brazilian classic having a moment on Rio menus: plump shrimp simmered in a creamy puree of cassava, coconut milk and dende oil, perfumed with coriander and palm. Rich, golden and faintly smoky, it is spooned generously over fluffy white rice.

Brazil's beloved fudge bonbon and the soul of every celebration: condensed milk slow-cooked with cocoa and butter into a glossy, chewy truffle, rolled in chocolate sprinkles. Dense, sweet and intensely chocolatey, gourmet versions now crowd Rio's trendiest dessert windows.