There. I have slapped myself for saying I was going to miss all the American food yesterday. I fell in love with Brazilian food the first time I tried it. Sarah and I shared this Feijoada at a restaurant on the Ipanema beach called Astor. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite food ever but I appreciate the variety you are getting out of one “dish”(which is really like 7 dishes.) it comes with a vegetable I thought was sea weed, sautéed pork rib, some sort of salami thing, farofa which is a traditional Brazilian accompaniment on the table, rice, oranges and bean soup. It doesn’t look very exotic as it’s a noble and traditional Brazilian dish, but the flavor is in fact really rich. Lots of fat from the meat demands a good balance from the veggies and rice, and the soup lubricates and accompanies the dry-ness of everything else. You can’t get food-cultured without trying out the local drinks. The strawberry caipirinha and some cool mojito certainly added a strong summer and beach flavor to the meal as well. The platter of meat is called Churrasco, it’s essentially different types of grilled meat served together. It also came with farofa, rice and French fries, so it was more than enough food for four of us for a reasonable price at about 13 usd each. To a meat lover, Brazil is fantastic because almost every meal involves Carne (Portuguese for meat.) I’m certainly looking forward to feasting!