Boteco Food: What to Eat and Drink

Botecos are carioca’s answer to bars and boteco food is their answer to late night beer induced hunger. At some point on your trip, you will find yourself stopping at Boteco for a beer, snack, or both. So what would you like to order? You have no idea, do you? Choosing what to eat in a different country is never easy. That goes double once you have a few drinks in you. Thankfully you won’t have to worry about that once you’ve read this blog post. Today we will be going over some tried and true Brazilian boteco snacks and what you should be drinking with them.

Bolinho de Bacalhau

We know the translated name isn’t the most appetizing (codfish balls), but the snack actually is. It is essentially shredded Codfish and mashed potatoes mixed together, made into a ball, and fried. This boteco food is on the fishy side but still delicious. Basically if Codfish had balls that we could fry, it would taste like bolinho de bacalhau! [caption id="attachment_2083" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Eat this with an extremely cold draft beer or chopp as locals call it / source[/caption]

Pastel

You can never go wrong with pastels, especially when you have a picky eater in your group. Pastéis are a thin pocket-like pastry that are normally filled with either cheese, meat, or shrimp. Depending on the boteco, you can find a wide variety of pastels ranging from chic brie and peaches a slightly more health conscious napolitano that comes with tomato. This snack is a bite of heaven. One bite of the buttery outside will allow the delicious filling of your choice to slide in and take over your tastebuds. Make sure you let it cool though. The main difference between heaven and hell is the heat and this boteco food come out piping hot. [caption id="attachment_7585" align="alignnone" width="500"] Feel free to eat this with bottled beer, chopp, caipirinhas, coconut water, coca cola, or whatever drink your heart desires. Pastéis are one boteco food that isn’t that choosy about their mate / source[/caption]

Aipim Frito

Aipim is a classic Brazilian food. Not only is it a boteco food, it also stars as a side dish for many Brazilian Northeastern dishes. Cooked or fried, this root vegetable is like a denser version of potatoes. We highly recommend trying the fried version in place of french fries. [caption id="attachment_2081" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Weirdly enough, this fried vegetable goes amazingly with a caipirinha / source[/caption]

Frango à Passarinho

If chicken could choose which plate to die for, this would be it. Frango a Passarinho is the Brazilian take on American fried chicken, only better. Not only is the chicken crunchier, it is cut down into small pieces to make it easier to eat by hand. [caption id="attachment_7586" align="alignnone" width="640"] We would recommend water for this one. It’s salty and you need something to wash it down! Though if you are looking to pair it with alcohol, you would once again have to go with a ice-cold beer/ source[/caption]

Empadas

There is nothing like a savory pie stuffed with any kind of goodness you can imagine. These cupcake sized pies come in everything from shrimp with catupiry (a Brazilian cream cheese) to hearts of palm. As small as this snack may seem, it packs a punch. The flaky crust will remind you of Grandma’s cooking while the filling will bring you back to Brazil. [caption id="attachment_2080" align="aligncenter" width="610"] At this point it is quite obvious that all Boteco food goes well with chopps, but we would suggest a bottle of water to help wash it down. / source[/caption]

Linguiça Acebolada

Linguiça Acebolada is the perfect snack for those who aren’t afraid of a little fat, or perhaps a heart attack. This boteco food is fried sausage and onion and is usually served with toasted slices of Brazilian french bread. It is greasy, it is fatty, and it is delicious. [caption id="attachment_2078" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Wash this yummy dish down with some nice cold chopp / source[/caption]

Casquinha de Siri

Rio de Janeiro is a beach city, so why shouldn’t it offer a boteco food straight from the ocean? Casquinha de siri is a crab dish that only a country blessed by Yemaja could create! Normally served in a shell, or a shell shaped dish, Casquinha de Siri is a mix of crab meat and coconut milk along with other seasoning. It tastes like the perfect bar snack while visiting a tropical beachside city. [caption id="attachment_2075" align="aligncenter" width="610" class="lazy "] Crab meat calls for something a little classier than a beer. Enjoy this boteco goodie with a caipirinha / source[/caption]

Caldinho de Feijão

There is soup and then there is soup. In actuality, Caldinho de Feijão is not a soup but is the broth of black beans. If you don’t think that sounds interesting, it’s because you aren’t familiar with what Brazilians consider broth. This caldo isn’t thin like our broths, it is thick like a soup. Full of flavor, Caldinho de Feijao will give you a whole new appreciation for black beans. Try it with hot sauce for an added punch. [caption id="attachment_7587" align="alignnone" width="640"] Caldinho de Feijão: pair this treat with a delicious caipirinha / source[/caption]

Croquete de Carne

What do you get when you take ground beef, bread it, and fry it? You get croquete de carne. This snack will almost remind you of a fried hamburger and yes that does mean that it goes well with ketchup. [caption id="attachment_7588" align="alignnone" width="640"] Just like with hamburgers, grab a nice cold beer to go with these little balls of heaven / source[/caption]