Eating The World

How time flies! Our time in Rio de Janeiro has drawn to a close, and we are in Salvador da Bahia now, which means it is time to tabulate the results for the best açaí bowl in Rio. We had a lot of fun sampling açaí spots all over the city, and you can see all of our reviews below. Along the way we learned the difference between regional styles of açaí and sampled more granola and tapioca puffs than we’d ever imagined. So without further ado….

The winner of the best açaí in Rio de Janeiro is: Tacacá do Norte

Incidentally, the best açaí bowl in Rio, at least according to our metrics, was the last bowl we tried! Tacacá do Norte had near-perfect Northern-style açaí, with a good price point. Our top Carioca-style açaí was at Polis Sucos.

The Results (Highest to lowest score):

Tacacá do Norte: 36 / 40
Barraca do Pará: 34 / 40
Polis Sucos: 34 / 40
Amazônia Soul: 32 / 40
Bibi Sucos: 31 / 40
Vero Suco: 30.5 / 40
Kicê Sucos: 27.5 / 40
Pioneiro dos Sucos: 22 / 40

The Winner: Acai at Tacaca do Norte

Tacacá do Norte
Rua Barão do Flamengo, 35
Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro

Our trip to Rio de Janeiro introduced us to the Northern style of açaí popular in Pará. Tacacá do Norte, named for the unique Northern Brazilian soup, “Tacacá,” is tucked away on a quiet street in the residential neighborhood of Flamengo. Tacacá do Norte is a small diner-like affair, with seats wrapping around a circular counter. The menu is small, and the sign advertises “Sucos e Artigos de Belém do Pará (Juices and articles from Belém in Pará)” which includes northern favorites like Tacacá soup, casquinha de siri and of course açaí (in either 400 or 600 ML bowls). There was also a small section of Northern goods for sale, including the classic cuia gourd bowls for serving Tacacá.

A view of Tacacá do Norte

Value: 1/5. Our heaping bowl was very generous for R$ 14 for 400mL and R$ 16 for 600mL. It should also be noted that the restaurant is cash-only.

Taste: 15/15. There was pure açaí flavor at Tacacá do Norte – but they pre-added the sugar for us! This was awesome – since at Barraca do Pará we always felt we had too much or too little when we mixed in our own sweetener. At Tacacá do Norte the sweetness level was just right!

Texture: 10/10. The açaí at Tacacá do Norte had the best texture we experienced anywhere. It did not melt at all, and was smooth and creamy throughout.

Açaí at Tacacá do Norte

Granola: 5/5. The topping was, no surprise, tapioca. It came in a pour container and was the best tapioca of the bunch so far.

Extras: 5/5. There was a very friendly atmosphere at Tacacá do Norte: bustling environment, convenient seating, Amazonian menu, unlimited toppings and 2 spoons – we’re in love!

TOTAL: 36/40 – Tacacá do Norte takes the lead with a strong showing.

Pioneiro dos Sucos
Av. Treze de Maio, 23
Rio de Janeiro

In the heart of Centro (our neck of the woods) we visited Pioneiro dos Sucos, which is a really basic, local, stand-up only açaí place, mentioned on Todo Rio. The juice bar always seemed to be full of locals and office workers so we figured it certainly would be worth a try. This type of simple stand-up juice bar is prolific in Centro. People go to these kinds of places to get a cafezinho or a juice and snack before/after work and at lunchtime. There are also sandwiches and more substantial items, but the majority of people just grab a snack and go.

Value: 5/5. Açaí was $5.80 for a 300 mL cup – with R$1 extra for granola. This was the cheapest price so far for a 300 mL cup in Rio. No complaints so far.

Pioneiro dos Sucos in downtown Rio de Janeiro

Taste: 10/15. Pioneiro do Sucos had a nice açaí flavor with a generous mix of fruits (probably strawberries and blueberries).

Texture: 7/10. The açaí had a decent texture, but tended towards icy and a little grainy.

Granola: 0/5. This is where our visit screeched to a halt. Now this was definitely a basic type of place, so we went in with modified expectations. However, everything went sour when we found a small black bug (beetle-ish) in our cup of granola. Gross! We stopped eating the granola right there, hoping it was a fluke. We figured the bug could have flown in from the street. However, we then discovered a SECOND bug deep in our cup of granola. That was it for us.

Pioneiro dos Sucos Açaí Cup

Extras: 0/5. So we were prepared for the lack of seating and bowls, and receiving no spoon, however the unclean atmosphere ruined the experience for us. Bugs in granola = bad vibes.

TOTAL: 22/40 – Probably best avoided.

Barraca do Pará
Feira de São Cristóvão
Rio de Janeiro

We had our first experience with Northern-style açaí at Amazônia Soul in Ipanema, and we were hooked. When we visited the Feira de São Cristóvão, a fair full of Northeastern Brazilian culture, music and food, we were expecting carne-de-sol and other savory northern specialties, but somehow didn’t think about açaí.  However, we were overjoyed to stumble across Barraca do Pará in the labyrinthine Feira. As its name implies, this little restaurant specialized in cuisine from the northern Brazilian state of Pará, such as Tacacá or Vatapá, along with delicious Northern-style açaí. We actually visited this Barraca on two separate occasions and we were pleased by the quality and consistency each time.

The state flag of Pará greets you at Barraca do Pará

Value: 0/5. Our heaping bowl was very generous for R$ 15.

Taste: 14/15. Again, the açaí at Barraca do Pará had very strong flavor, similar to what we had at Amazônia Soul. This is pure açaí, with none of the fruit blend at Southern-style places. In order to get the desired sweetness, you were given a large tub of sugar, and you added your own amount. Regrettably, we never really reached the perfect sweetness level.

Amazonian Acai at Barraca do Para – add your own tapioca and sugar

Texture: 10/10. The açaí had an amazing texture. Absolutely no melting, even when we got to the bottom of the bowl.

Granola: 5/5. Again, we opted for the tapioca as the açaí topping, which was excellent. We also loved that the tapioca came to the table in a giant pouring container, so you can add all you want.

Extras: 5/5. There was tons of seating, a full menu of Paraense cuisine, unlimited toppings and 2 spoons – we’re in love!

TOTAL: 34/40 –  A very good showing. This is our favorite Northern-style place yet.