What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
A serendipitous restaurant encounter in São Paulo.
“Cooking is an [integral] part of the tradition, its art, its culture, but above all, prayer.”
I work at a West Coast nonprofit, that is to say a place where we’re encouraged to bring our full selves to work and connect on a deeper level beyond just due dates and deliverables. To that end, we often start our meetings with check-in questions and one of my favorite ones is “Tell us about the best meal you’ve ever eaten.”
My go-to answers have been:
1) The lamb ragu my friend Davide’s mom made in 2010. I was studying abroad and had the opportunity to visit him, an exchange student at my university and his family welcomed me into their home and gifted me with the best pasta I have had until this day.
2) Also in Italy, an excerpt from a travel email I sent to a group of loved ones at the time. “After some of the best gelato I've ever had, and walking and seeing beauty all the afternoon, we returned to San Felice where we prepared for dinner with Davide's friends. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the nicest people ever. There was a language barrier and confidence barrier at first (several of them spoke English ,but were shy),but after the food started arriving (and kept coming) and after I kept trying a mixture of both languages the ice was broken and the night flowed with laughter, food, drink and laughter. I can't remember the last time I ate so much (oh wait Christmas) at one point, I was offered more meat and just couldn't possibly manage it and one of the guys says, relatively loudly, "Oh, so you don't like Italian food?" the whole table begins making disapproving noises and laughing. That neverending meal stays in my mind like the sharpness of the grappa Davide’s friends made me try.
That was before my most recent trip to Brasil (Brazil). At some point I’ll write a post about Rio, but I’ve got to start with this meal in São Paulo-a best meal I’ve had.
I am fortunate to work at an organization that prioritizes rest and after producing a conference for teen poets and artists in late July, we had two weeks off to rejuvenate. My husband, who was also mostly able to take off from work, was eager to join and so we went to Brasil. After a long flight from LA (where I first stopped to see Arsenal v. Barcelona, duh) to Lima to São Paulo to Rio to Iguacu Falls back to São Paulo. More on that in a different post. Peut-être…
When we arrived in São Paulo, I was a little sad.
It was the tail end of our vacation and I was regretting having not maximized my beach time in Rio as much as I could have, was a little grumpy by the chaos of the airport we had flown into, and honestly probably just tired. Nevertheless, there was a massive city to explore. After a welcome to our hotel with beijinhos (a cocont version of brigadeiros (chocolate fudge balls) and a decent night’s sleep, we set off to explore some of São Paulo.
We visited the famed Batman Alley (which did not live up to the hype to me) and wandered in and out of art galleries, a tradition we’ve made part of travels in hopes of finding beautiful, meaningful pieces from local artists. After yet another gallery that didn’t resonate with me, I noticed a beautiful pink and orange building I’d come to know was Altar Cozinha Ancestral - São Paulo a restaurant created to honor the orishas. A feeling of serendipity flooded me and I said little prayer of gratitude. In Rio, on my Little Africa tour my tour guide homie, Eddie pointed out a restaurant and cultural space, Casa Omolokum, that was only open Fridays through Sundays. I already have it bookmarked for my next trip to Rio. Inshallah.
The atmosphere of the place is so joyful and affirming and I can’t help but think it’s because the owner, Carmem Virginia, is living her truth and faith in honor of her and all orishas.
When I approached the restaurant I wasn’t sure what it was and I wasn’t quick enough with Google Translate (a godsend on this trip!), so the lovely greeter found someone who could speak one of the languages I speak. I quickly learned that this was a special, sacred place.
Altar Cozinha Ancestral in Sao Paulo is the second location for Chef Carmem Virginia Barbosa dos Santos whose original restaurant is nearly a decade old in Recife. It’s a labor of love and homage to the roots of Afro-Brazilian and Northeastern Brazilian cuisine and also to orishas. Altar Cozinha Ancestral has been recognized with the El Espíritu de América Latina award by The World 50 Best, but the most important endorsement to me was the feeling of joy and recognition I felt when I visited.
We started with the acarajé.
Acarajé reminded me of hushpuppies. I don’t need to have a cultural reference for the food I eat when travelling, but it’s always nice to be reminded of my place in a Diaspora of survivors, dreamers, and creators. They are essentially black eyed pea fritters with a direct line to West Africa with a delicious paste and little shrimp on top. In addition to being delicious, Acarajé represent economic freedom and opportunity as they were sold by enslaved Afro Brazilian women to “earn” their freedom and then by formerly enslaved Afro Brazilian women in Bahia state, a region in northern Brazil with the country’s biggest black population.
Abundance from the sea
Moqueca de frutos do mar de Dona Lô (Camarão, Polvo, Lula, Mexilhões, marisco e sururu) (right) This dish reminded me of paella and was super flavorful. The rice was almost risotto where paella is a little drier.
Peixe a Inajá – Peixe em espelhado de moqueca de camarões, capitão, arroz de coco, com queijo coalho e banana da terra. (left and bottom center) I thought the rice (bottom center) we ordered was coconut and plantain rice, instead of a savory bite, I was greeted with a sweetness I wasn’t expecting. It’s sweetness offset the savory flavors of the sauce the fish was in and was perfect. Practically diving.
Both dishes were amazing, but we easily could have split them. I wish we had had room for dessert, but alas.
Our waiter was lovely and was able to communicate with me in French. They also had an English menu that you could use to point to, if needed, but their menu in Portuguese is beautiful-kudos to the designer!
If I’m blessed to return to Brasil, and I sincerely hope I am, I will definitely return to this edifying space.
Muito obrigada, Carmem Virginia.
Altar Cozinha Ancestral was recently featured in Vogue, so you don’t have to take my word for it (if you’re someone who needs the co-sign of Vogue).