Oswaldo’s PastelRio de Janeiro Not a pastry shop, but a pastel stand. That’s the custom: good pastel is from the fair, sold on the street, eaten on a stool, with knees leaning against the stainless steel counter, hot sauce in hand. If the person watching over the frying pan and skimmer has slanted eyes, it…
Seu Jorge’s boiled corn RIO DE JANEIRO It would be fair for the cart on the corner of Catete and Corrêa Dutra streets to carry the following sign: “Only strike up a conversation if you have plenty of time.” Jorge doesn’t mind being lengthy when he starts telling one of his stories. And they are…
Rio de Janeiro
Grande’s BarbecueRio de Janeiro Ricardo, “O Grande” (The Great): with a name worthy of a king, this carioca (person from Rio de Janeiro) displays all his nobility from Flamengo to Lapa, where he is the most sought-after barbecue master in the area. The same ease with which he makes friends on the street is the…
Louise’s CornshaftRio de Janeiro Colorful fabrics, colorful clothes, colorful food – everything is joyful at Louise’s stall in the gastronomic fair of immigrants and refugees where she serves her Cornshaft, a typical stew from Cameroon. Having been in Brazil for six years, she came here in search of a better life after being rejected by…
Lateefat’s JollofRio de Janeiro While Nigeria suffers at the hands of Boko Haram, an Islamic organization that has been terrorizing the country for ten years, Nigerian culture thrives in Brazil through the hands of the friendly Lateefat, who has been living in Rio since 2015. Lateefat, a refugee from the civil war, cooks and sells…
Baiana’s Cassava BallsRio de Janeiro For over 40 years, every sunny day, Dona Maria Helena walks along the stretch of Ipanema Beach between posts 8 and 9, carrying her basket of snacks. She sells empadas, pastries, and sandwiches, but it was her cassava balls filled with jerked beef, codfish, and ground meat that gained fame.…
Haitians' KremasRio de Janeiro “People think Haiti is only about war and earthquakes,” says Bob, a Haitian who has been living in Brazil for two decades. Although it was an earthquake (the most severe in the history of the island, in 2010, with around 300,000 deaths) that brought him and his family to Rio after…
Rossela’s PanzerottiRio de Janeiro Rossela never imagined she would be happy selling food on the street when she embarked on this “adventure,” as she calls it. “When I had the idea of making a panzerotti cart, I thought of having someone else make them for me. But then I realized that I enjoy being on…
Nelly’s Papas RellenasRio de Janeiro One day, when Nelly was still a child, she thought about joining the now-defunct paramilitary army of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Little did she imagine that in the future, she would emigrate from her country, escaping the violent daily life imposed by the FARC themselves. Today, seven…
