Eating The World

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.

Polis Sucos
Rua Maria Quitéria, 70
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Now that we are back in Brasil our açaí quest has been renewed with full force. Though there were a variety of options for açaí in Salvador, Rio is really the place for the açaí-lover. There is a juice bar on nearly every corner, and some of the most famous açaí shops are located throughout the Zona Sul beach area. We did a little research beforehand, and compiled a list of açaí places to try. First on our list: Polis Sucos. Polis Sucos is one of the most popular places for juices and açaí in Rio; and the Ipanema location is the most famous.

You can spot the distinctive Polis Sucos corner store from blocks away, and when we approached the place was already full! The counter was stocked with fresh fruit, and the menu is appropriately composed of mainly fruit juices, smoothies (vitaminas and batidos) and açaí blends. Polis Sucos is conveniently located right next to an Italian gelato place if you want to follow up on your açaí with another sweet treat …maybe next time. 

Visit 1: Polis Sucos Batido (granola mixed in)

Value: 3/5 We got an açaí granola cup for R$11.50, for 500 ml.

Taste: 15/15. This açaí was easily one of the best we have had, anywhere in Brazil. It had great açaí flavor without being too sweet, with just the right amount of berries mixed in.

Texture: 9/10. Polis had an excellent, smooth texture that held up well, even with a little melting. We had previously ordered a batido – which meant the açaí was blended with granola, which had an excellent texture. We decided to try it this time non blended – and the texture was still great.

Visit 2: Polis Sucos, Not Blended

Granola: 5/5. The cup came with standard-issue granola (no extra charge), which came in a separate plastic cup.

Extras: 2/5. This was a mixed bag. In addition to the range of juices, there are other more savory option like sandwiches and hamburgers (cheesefrango, cheddaregg, etc), so you are set for choice.  However, Polis Sucos is a popular place, and there is no seating, so prepare to stand, unless you can squeeze into one of the surrounding benches that are shared by Polis Sucos and the gelato place next door. There were also no bowls of – only cups.

TOTAL: 34/40 – Polis is our front-runner so far. We enjoyed our açaí at Polis, and it is definitely worth a trip if you are in Ipanema.

Amazônia Soul
Rua Teixeira de Melo, 37
Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro

So we consider ourselves at this point to be (sort of) açaí experts, but we were totally floored by our completely different experience at Amazônia Soul in Ipanema, right off of Praça General Osório. Northern açaí is completely different from its Southern variety since the emphasis is on pure açaí flavor. Amazônia Soul is a store concept from the northern state of Pará – and along with delicious Northern-style açaí – it also has a selection of typical Northern dishes including tacacá, crab and maniçoba and Nothern-style feijoada. Don’t forget to wash your meal down with a Guaraná Jesus – a popular regional soda brand. The store itself is very inviting – with a distinctive abstract frog mascot (we think it is a frog) and a little shop inside selling Amazonian products including jarred sweets, ceramics, stoneware and jewelry.

Value: 0/5 Our pequena small bowl was definitely less than 500 mL (we think it was 300 mL), and it was extremely expensive. Total: R$ 16. We had a little bit of sticker shock on this one.

Taste: 12/15. Amazônia Soul presented us with the purest açaí flavor yet. Northern style açaí is simply açaí and ice, instead of an açaí/berry/ice blend which we have come to learn is standard at most Zona Sul places. The taste of pure açaí is extremely strong, and not necessarily sweet, so it is typical to add your own sugar to the bowl. At Amazônia Soul you are given sugar packets to sweeten things up.

Texture: 10/10. Perfectly smooth, this açaí did not melt at all. It also seemed like there was less ice in this formulation – which means less melting.

Granola: 5/5. In this case the topping was not granola at all – but a bowl of puffed tapioca – which is standard for Northern-style açaí. There was a surcharge for the toppings of $R 2. Though we think we prefer granola over tapioca, we felt we had to go for the authentic experience.

Extras: 5/5. There was a nice indoor seating area, along with wooden tables outside. A plus – we got two spoons on the first try.

TOTAL: 32/40 – Again the value hurt them, but there was a narrow lead.