The Brazil Travel Site

What’s in a Name?

Who wants to be seen eating at a place called “Big Piggy?” Well, when you get a glimpse of what’s on the menu at this high-end, rodízio-style buffet restaurant, you won’t care what it’s called. Porcão is without a doubt Belo Horizonte’s most outstanding and impressive dining experience. Located in the hills of the city’s upscale, south-center district, Porcão offers one of the city’s most majestic views. Open at 11:30 for lunch, you can look out over the city and the Serra do Corral Mountains. At night, the city is a sea of sparkling lights below you.

But you may have trouble taking your eyes off of the food. Porcão offers a banquet spread that would make any big piggy feel something like King Henry VIII. You’ll find every type of meat, chicken and fish you can imagine, in a buffet-style, all-you-can-eat splendor. Besides the buffet, there’s a sushi bar, fondue table and barbecue. The food continues non-stop from opening until the last customer leaves in the morning hours, with a buffet change for dinner at around 6 p.m.

Let’s talk about fish. Ironically, Porcão, famous for its barbecued meats, has some of the best sushi in the city, with Hamachi and Maguro served up in huge portions. Plus there are catches of the day, delicately cooked in a variety of ways; fish stew; and heaps of shellfish. If you’re particular, you can get any dish cooked to your specific orders. (Remember, this is all for one price—all you can eat.)

Should we talk about meat? Rodízio-style means the attentive waiters will be comin´ round to your table with various barbecued delights throughout the night. Just shake your head if you want a taste. You’ll get choice cuts of beef, pork, lamb, chicken and fish. To add even more color, the buffet offers various salads featuring pasta, greens, shellfish and more.

With its huge lunch and dinner buffets, off-the-menu dishes, scotch bar, wine cellar and views, you might want to just come in for lunch and stay all day. You probably won’t get around to sampling everything, even if you do. But you are welcome to try…and live up to the Porcão name.

One price buffet: R$39.90 lunch or dinner
Drinks and desserts charged separately
Scotch bar with dinner menu selections
Wine cellar
Playground for kids
Parking and valet

Av. Raja Gabaglia 2985
Open 11-midnight every day
Porcão also has four locations in Rio, and others in Brasilia, Recife, and Niterói.

Gondola to Pão de Açúcar in Rio de Janeiro

The best views of Rio de Janeiro and the entire coastline around it, are from the two view platforms of Urca and Pão de Açúcar, both part of the famous gondola ride. It’s worth going up once during the day and again after dark to see both aspects of the city.

Visitors Include Slums in their Tours of Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO–Over 4,000 European travelers were taken into “Rocinha,” Rio de Janeiro’s oldest slum, so far this year. And that’s just by one of several agencies specializing in the favela tour. Now, it seems, the city’s official tourism office, Riotur, is including the favela in their list of approved tours for international travelers. It seems visitors want to see “all” of Rio de Janeiro.

And see they will. The favelas in Rio de Janeiro are famous for their incredible views. They are located on the choicest highlands overlooking the coastline. Dangerous as they may be for the uninvited, the official favela guides have been operating these chaperoned visits for over a dozen years without a hitch. Tourism, in fact, is a legitimate and promising source of income for the favelas and it doesn’t hurt to have international visitors see, first hand, the conditions of the big city slums.

Marcelo Armstrong of Favela Tour is one such “official” guide and leads people into and around the Rocinha favela by van and on foot…through the street markets and all the way up to the highest viewpoint. It’s more than worth half a day while you’re in the marvelous city–if not for the eye-opening educational content, then for the panoramic ocean views.

Pan American Games 2007 Schedule

Get the official timetable in English here
The Pan American Games are to begin in Rio de Janeiro in July of 2007. The city continues to publicize their participation as hosts in a continuing hope that their success with the games will help them win the olympics in 2016. Rio has continually been turned down as an olympic site because of its crime and security challenges. The city is literally surrounded by dangerous slums–areas into which police do not dare enter, except during massive raids. All major highways that enter the city go directly through these slums and the highways are often shut down by the crime lords.

Well, I’m sure the Pan American Games will go just fine. Most important national or international events have a way of escaping incident in Rio. But if you are going to watch the games on TV, then I’ve put together a little translation of the official Rio2007 schedule.

Boa Sorte (good luck) to all the athletes and may the games be safe and successful!

(photo courtesy of EMBRATUR)