Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Surviving half a day in the Sambadromo


Taking care of yourself during the Carnaval parade is a developed skill. If you just show up empty handed and with a full wallet, you will spend a lot and drink warm beer. The food franchise with exclusive rights to the Sambadromo is "Bob´s," a McDonalds-like fast food joint. Horrible food.

Each couple in our group generally brings a lot of food and snacks to share. We are together for 10 hours or so. As a group we meet at an ice and beverage storefront near the Sambadromo and pack our thermal bag coolers.

This time around I think I over-shot the taste comfort zone of our friends. My sandwiches were not the crowd favorite.

Earlier in the day I roasted a couple red peppers on the stove. I mixed in some spices and a little creamy ricotta cheese and produced a sandwich spread. I did the same with carrots, and I made some egg salad. After trimming the crusts, I made little sandwiches and individually wrapped them. Ready to go!

But alas, the popular item was (and always is) mini salgadinhos.

Although, I brought a suprise box of chocolates that went over well.

If I had it all to do over again -- I would just bring more ice to keep our beer nice and cold through the night.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

You cut the crusts off.....what a nice daddy-thing to do!!!!

Jim said...

I thought the mini sandwiches were great -- but then, I´m a San Francisco foodie (in a past life!)

And Jennifer - I thought trimming the crusts would help bridge the gap between my savory spreads and Brazilian tastes. Alas...

But it was all good. I ate a few greasy salgadinhos and bland ham and cheese sandwiches. And certainly enjoyed what I brought (apparently, nearly all for myself).