Wow, this evidently is THE place to be if you're in the Asa Norte area! I drove by several nights,…read moreand it was just jumping with people...you could feel the energy from the car!
I actually came during the day, and no one told me about here, I just found it on a quick Google search for traditional Brazilian food on my first day in town. Obviously, I'm in Brazil, so EVERYTHING is Brazilian food. I wanted traditional though, but as I thought about it, I'd be able to experience traditional every day, so when I found Bar Beirute, and saw that it was a fusion of traditional and Middle Eastern, I was very intrigued. While ordering, I was torn between two dishes, one featuring steak and the other lamb. Brazilians are known for steak, while Middle Eastern cuisine is known for lamb. Again, seeing as how I knew I'd get traditional Brazilian food the rest of the trip, I opted for lamb, and man was this an excellent choice. My dish came with a sizeable boneless lamb, rice with kale and green peas, eggs with farinha (cassava flour), fries and a fried banana. The meal was absolute heavenly indulgence. My first meal in the country, and it as a homerun! Never tasted farinha before, and as my trip went on, it would show up on my plate a multitude of times. Brazilians love their cassava flour! It doesn't really have a particular savory taste, but the texture works well on many things, and it was great on the eggs here. That also was different, having eggs with a lunch meal, but again, it worked extremely well. And don't even get me started on the fried banana...wow.
As great as the food was, my first Caipirinha may have even been better. Like the farinha, I ended up having Caipi's several times more on my trip, restaurant and homemade. None would even come close though to the one I had at Bar Beirute. The presentation was aesthetically pleasing with the many lime slices filling the cup. More importantly though, the flavor and strength of the lime juice, sugar and cachaca liquor made for a strong cocktail that woke me up out of any jetlag and properly introduced me to Brazil.
WINNER!!!!!
