Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 24oC, hottish, sunny, and slightly overcast.
What an enjoyable Saturday! We went to a new cooperative outdoor food truck that looked more like a circus tent from a distance.
Since I have been living in Botafogo/Flamengo, I have noticed that at the weekends, a food truck with circus tarpaulins is erected in the square at the end of the street, facing Praia de Botafogo and Aterro.
What caught my attention at first were the various circus tarpaulins erected in front and around the leading food truck, the same style of tarpaulins used for the main circus tent. The tarpaulins erected high up using the trees and lampposts of the square with tables and chairs under them, quite a neat and singular arrangement.
The leading food truck faces onto the large open area with tables and chairs in front and tarpaulins suspended over everything. From a distance, it calls a lot of attention. When you get close, it is a hub of movement, with most tables and chairs taken and a plethora of waitresses in white uniforms running around taking orders and serving at a frenetic pace.
After working out in the morning and arriving home at about 11 a.m. with everybody awake, I told Yasmin and Nalva about this place and suggested we go there for a drink and a bite to eat in the early afternoon. Everybody thought it was a good idea, so at 2 p.m., we went there with most of the tables already full.
A young waitress met and greeted us very well and quickly took us to a high table and chairs in front of the main food truck, a perfect spot.
The young waitress, Isadora, is only fifteen and works in the family business on weekends. I have total respect and admiration for her. The setup involved about forty to fifty people working frenetically together to take and deliver orders quickly.
Curious, I asked Isadora many questions about the whole setup, as besides being very intriguing, it was also awe-inspiring, and Isadora was happy to comply. She told us that it is a family business and that everybody I see working here today is the same family from Maranhao, northeast Brazil.
Again, northeasterners are showing Cariocas how to do it. Only they could do something so creative and unique and be so professional in their service, too. They erect this whole gigantic and put it down when the sun goes down from Wednesday to Sunday.
I have often mentioned the people from the northeast of Brazil and how they migrate from the north to the south and work hard to build a future for their families. I have a lot of respect and admiration for them. Isadora and her family are a classic example.
Again, as I said at the beginning, their space from Wednesday to Sunday is endearing, charming, different, and singular. The square where the whole circus food truck is set up has a statue in its middle and is lined with trees around its perimeter, which also helps to give it a singular effect with the tarps.
The ground is covered with classic, beautiful Portuguese stones, all with a view of Praia de Botafogo and the bay from where you are sitting and with a breeze that sometimes moves the canvases above us with the trees rustling.
What was also very surprising was that there were all diverse kinds and styles of food, and all fresh and to a high standard—food from the northeast, Japanese food, Ceviche, fresh oysters, everything.
There were no limits to what you could order in small portions, and you always had to pay in advance, which is unusual in Brazil. Drinks were typical in Brazil, such as beer, chopp, caipirinha, etc., but they did not have wine, maybe because of the heat. Isadora promised me that next weekend she would have wine.
The food came quickly, efficiently, and fresh. During the two and a half to three hours that we stayed there, we ordered five or six different portions of food. We spent about R$300.00, which is not cheap by Brazilian standards, but it was very much worth it. Yasmin had drunk a cocktail; Yasmin Matte and I had four or five chopps.
We left happy and content. We are not rich, I could even say that we are poor at this moment in our lives, but I had not been to a good bar or restaurant for quite some time, so it was nice to go out to a quality place; it was thoroughly enjoyable.
I got the impression that the local upper-middle-class residents of Flamengo must go there every weekend, as, again, northeastern people know how to receive people very well.
I also tried to do the math to figure out how much the business was making a month. I calculated conservatively between three hundred and four hundred thousand reais for the monthly turnover, which is not bad for a small informal family enterprise.
Besides the excellent food, drink, and service, they provide a unique experience, especially a different one. Sitting in a square, eating and drinking under circus tarps, surrounded by beautiful trees with a stunning view of the bay, what more do we need?
It was a very enjoyable experience!!!
In bed by 10.00 pm.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.
Richard
