arab food.

While my lack of appreciation for the abundance of meat in Brasil has been pretty obvious, I'm been meaning to tell you my utter joy over the amount of Lebanese-slash-Syrian-inspired food that can be found in this country.

Esfihas and kibes (the most common Arab snacks that can be found in Rio) were brought to Brazil by the Middle-Eastern immigrants, most of whom settled in Sao Paulo. The esfiha is a piece of flatbread covering some sort of seasoned ground meat or vegetable, while the kibe is bulgur wheat covering a same meat or vegetable, and then deep fried. The results are delicious, and the prices are amazing. For a city that has been just too expensive for me to comprehend, I find that most of these dishes rarely cost above 4 reais, and they are health and filling.

I've found a couple places in each of the neighborhoods that I've lived in that are worth visiting if you are in the mood for these snacks.

Botafogo: Seu Nacib

This one is in Rio Sul mall, on the second floor. The best part about this place, besides the convenience of where it's located, is that there's a hot sauce (ask for pimenta forte) that they make in-house. It's HOT, and it's got a kick that I haven't been able to find in any other place in Rio.

Ipanema: Restaurante Faraj

It's located at the very beginning of Visconde de Piraja, almost where Rua Francisco Sa ends. You can't miss it; there's always a huge group of people waiting for the fresh snacks to come out of the oven, and the owners do an amazing job adding lots of spices.