Tag Archives: Brazil

 Restaurante Paraíso Tropical
Rua Edgar Loureiro, 98-B, Resgate
Cabula – Salvador, Brasil

In general, it seems that Bahians do not like to eat at restaurants. Street food, little hole-in-the-wall places, vendors on the beach, these things Salvador does and does well; but the idea of dressing up and heading to an expensive restaurant for a long meal does not seem to be in the wheelhouse of most soterpolitanos. Which is why, as Chicagoans, we had to give Salvador’s most acclaimed restaurant a try.

When we read Veja Salvador’s annual food issue and their glowing reviews of Paraiso Tropical (Best Moqueca in the City! Best Chef in the City! ), we knew we had to go. That would be the difficult part: tucked away in the central Cabula neighborhood, the restaurant is almost impossible to get to from Barra. We had to take a bus to a large shopping mall and from there a cab – gasp! – through the only road leading to the isolated bairro. A confused cab driver to boot, and a trip of nearly two hours and R$40 (about US$25) and we were finally there.

But no one else was. We were so sure to make a reservation, we had to laugh when we arrived at 5:30pm on a Wednesday – about four hours before Bahians usually eat – to a huge, and largely empty restaurant. Inside, though, it was something of a paradise. The dress code seemed typically Bahian, with the only other couple donning jeans and tennis shoes. Simple wooden tables surrounded a central area of greenery. Our second floor table looked over the restaurant interior, while a large jabitiquaba tree’s branches nearly touched our plates – and oh how we wanted to grab some of the fruits!

The menu was extensive, with many moqueca offerings. Beto Pimentel, the Chef, has done a masterful job putting inventive and welcome touches on Bahia’s most famous dish. His offerings were divided into traditional and special moqeucas, and we opted for one of the special shrimp moquecas, to split. To this day, we are not quite sure of all that was in it. Fibrous nuts, tomatoes, peppers, any number of small sea creatures, long noodles of gelatinous consistency, and much more dendê oil than we were accustomed too (and we believe less coconut milk). Accompaniments were shockingly good farofa, with an orange peel added to absorb a little moisture and add flavor; spicy sauce made of malagueta peppers (good for M and his spice addiction), dried yucca; and rice.

All of which was fantastic. The combinations of flavors of the moqueca felt more like intriguing contradictions we were pleased to be eating. The many different textures and shades of foods all cooked together was a seeming metaphor for all Bahian cuisine in one dish. Unwaveringly complex and yet consistently delicious, we know this would easily be the best moqueca we would have in Bahia, or at bare minimum, the most inventive. We were sure to eat slowly, savoring this dish, as we knew we would not be back anytime soon. But, of course, there was dessert!

Paraiso Tropical, in addition to moquecas, is famous for its roscas: think of these as fresh fruit juice, frozen, and then very lightly thawed to a smooth but icy consistency, then piled high on a dish. We opted for the mango. Admittedly there was not much to it – essentially frozen mango juice, but still smooth and fresh. We had to be sure to eat quickly, otherwise it was going to melt all over our hands.

Our best surprise of the evening: a second dessert. With the check, the waiter brought us a tray of fresh Brazilian fruits and a plastic bag. We were baffled about what to do with them until we saw the restaurant’s other patrons putting the fruits in a bag to take home. We were happy to oblige, picking up a week’s worth of fruits: guavas, pinhas, and a mango.

To be honest, if you only have a few days in Salvador, this is not a place you should go. Stick to the wonderful beach and street food and the more famous parts of town, where you can meet more locals. But if you have a lot of time, and are willing to splurge, meander your way to Paraiso Tropical and experience the finest dining the city has to offer. The ambience is definitely Bahian upscale – read: American casual – and your taste buds will not leave disappointed.

Our favorite part? We only learned upon trying to pay they didn’t accept credit cards, only cash. We had no cash, and no ATM. The solution – apparently a common problem – was to give us a sheet of paper with the chef’s bank account number, and instruct us to just deposit the money tomorrow. We could have left getting this meal for free. But for food like that we are more happy to pay, so the next day I walked into Banco do Brasil and deposited R$160 (about $90) into the account. Well worth it.

Sorriso da Dadá
Rua Frei Vicente, 5
Pelourinho, Salvador, Brasil

One of my first days in Salvador, I knew I wanted a moqueca. The word flows off your tongue smoother than the dende-oil infused coconut milk that is the backbone of this traditional Bahian seafood stew, and garnished with farofa (toasted manioc flour, usually with a little dende) and vatapá, there really is nothing like it. I was walking through Pelourinho, operating on the recommendation from a friend to try Panela da Bahia, a place he told me to go if I needed a “moqueca made with love.” Boy, did I!

But, sadly, the “love” would have to wait another day. Panela da Bahia was closed on this Monday, and I had to settle for the restaurant next door, another moqueca-specialist place called Sorriso da Dadá (“Dadá’s Smile). It was not until after my meal, returning home, that I discovered Dadá has one of the most famous restaurants in Bahia. So, to give the readers a luxury I forgot to afford myself, please read the following reviews and ask yourself: would you have gone to this restaurant? From Frommer’s, via NYT:

Dadá has made quite a name for herself and contributed to a renewed appreciation of Bahian cuisine. Brazilians and foreigners come from far and wide to taste her food, journalists write articles about her, and gourmet magazines rave about her restaurant. Her food certainly showcases the best of Bahian cuisine, specializing in seafood moquecas, vatapá, and bobó de camarão. However, Dadá may be coasting a little bit on her success. We found service uninspired and the prices higher than at other restaurants — typically 25% more than elsewhere. The food, however, was still as delicious as ever.

An OK review, I suppose. I’ll take uninspired surface as long as the food is justifiably delicious. However, my own guidebook, Bradt (2010), had this to say:

The restaurant takes its name from the perpetual smile of the former queen of traditional Bahian cooking, Aldaci ‘Dadá’ dos Santos. She began her career selling acarajé on the streets of Salvador. In her heyday Tropicalista & culture minister, Gilberto Gil was a fan of her moquecas & Dadá was serving her spicy, Afro-Brazilian dishes to distinguished visitors to Bahia, including Hillary Clinton. But when we ate here last, Dadá had either taken her eye off the ball or was busy in one of her other restaurants in Salvador or on the Costa do Sauipe. The food was bland, lukewarm & over-priced.

So, what to take from these two reviews? Potentially bland and lukewarm food with uninspired service? Turns out that is exactly what I got. And while the food was acceptable, it was a little pricey for what was received, and I would recommend to anyone they try any number of other solid moquecas in Salvador (three of which will have glowing reviews on ETW in the coming days).

Dadá’s restaurant is not an uninviting space, but I also didn’t find it the most welcoming. The windows to the outside don’t do the best lighting job, and I found the eating space surprisingly dark for always-sunny Salvador. On this day I had the restaurant to myself; an American couple were finishing up their meal just as I arrived, but otherwise the place was empty. Service was a little inattentive by Bahian standards (where service is usually inattentive; it is seen as impolite to bug the customers unless they want to be bugged), though Pelourinho usually operates on a more touristic agenda for the Europeans and Americans coming through seeking an authentic meal.

I decided quickly on a traditional fish moqueca, with a white fish filet cooked in coconut milk and dende, garnished with tomatoes, green peppers, and cilantro, and served with vatapá. It was not, however, served with farofa – something in the coming weeks I would come to cite as a cardinal sin.

Though this was my first moqueca in Brazil, and the flavors were new and inviting, I could tell there were problems. A lack of flavor punch, a watery moqueca broth, and the fish a tad undercooked for my taste (perhaps stemming from the thin broth, which probably needed more time to cook down). “Watery” is a word one should never have to utter in reference to a moqueca, as water is not an ingredient. But it tasted watery to me, and lucky for the restaurant I am not a Bahian, otherwise someone may have made a scene. Portions were generous, more than what was needed for one person at R$39 – but less than what one usually gets in Salvador for the same price, and better quality, elsewhere. The uninspired food left me hungry for what I knew were better moquecas in the city. And our next three posts will let you know: boy, did we find them!

St. George (Oxóssi) stands guard over the cash register at Sorriso da Dadá.