December 22, 2011
December 21, 2011
Bisca, the Brazilian card game.
Aces are worth 11 points
7's are worth 10 points
Jack's are worth 3 points
Queen's are worth 2 points
Kings are worth 4 points
Any other cards have no point value.
Shuffle, then have someone cut the deck. The card you pull out when you cut the deck should not be worth points. If you pull a 7, Jack, Queen, King or Ace, draw again. This card serves as the suit of the table.
How to play:
Each person will put down a card. Who ever plays the card with the highest value wins the round. Lets say the suit of the table is diamonds. If someone plays a 3 of hearts, a king of spades and a 5 of diamonds, the 5 of diamonds wins. This is because the suit of the table has more value than any other suit. This is a great way to gain points. If you put your card down last and it's a table suit card but not one worth points, after someone else put down say an Ace of hearts, you just grabbed 11 points.
Who ever lays down the first card sets the suit of the round. If the first card down is a 2 of spades, then spades are most valuable, with the exception of diamonds still.
Each round after you've put down a card, you pick up a new one. At the end of the deck everyone counts out all the cards they've earned that have value. Who ever has the most wins the game.
It took me a little while to get all the rules down, but once I did we had a great time!
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| Mara, Bruno, Gustavo, Camila, Yuri and I |
Dinner At A Gas Station.
No pictures to post with this one. Last night we went to Bar Postinho. Here, gas stations are called posto de gasolina. So a postinho would be a little station. This is an actual gas station that is also half restaurant. Its busy every night.
They serve mostly an array of appetizers but also full combo plates or you can order churrasco style, where someone will come by with a massive skewer of meat and slice some off for you. We ordered some fried pockets of shrimp, ciri (which is a type of crab) and cod and some fresh squeezed fruit juices. Everything came out pretty quick and piping hot. They were so messy that we used up all the napkins at the table within 5 minutes of them arriving. Good stuff!
I can't describe to you how good juices are here. What the hell is wrong with America? Why do we not have juice like this??
We ran into tons of people. Everyone there is having a great time. What an idea, a restaurant attached to a gas station.
They serve mostly an array of appetizers but also full combo plates or you can order churrasco style, where someone will come by with a massive skewer of meat and slice some off for you. We ordered some fried pockets of shrimp, ciri (which is a type of crab) and cod and some fresh squeezed fruit juices. Everything came out pretty quick and piping hot. They were so messy that we used up all the napkins at the table within 5 minutes of them arriving. Good stuff!
I can't describe to you how good juices are here. What the hell is wrong with America? Why do we not have juice like this??
We ran into tons of people. Everyone there is having a great time. What an idea, a restaurant attached to a gas station.
December 20, 2011
Street food.
Interesting how in the America it's not always smart to eat food from street vendors. Here it's different.
Yesterday I had a churro filled with something similar to caramel. It was somewhere between warm and hot, rolled in cinnamon and sugar and the filling was oozing out the top. It was easily the most delicious dessert I've eaten in years, and of course unbelievably cheap. A dessert that could've been layed nicely on a clean white plate and garnished with a sprig of mint in an upscale restaurant in a busy city.
Later in the evening we stopped at a corner vendor for a kabob of meat. They had chicken ready so we bought one. Fresh off the grill, seasoned perfectly and so, so moist. I can honestly say I've never been to anyone's barbeque and had chicken that amazing. And again so cheap. This stand in particular has been on the same corner for about 15 years.
No one finds them dirty, or gets worried, or doesn't let their kids eat from these stands. It's the norm. I feel like this is sort of happening in the US with food trucks. This past summer I saw tons, and they were always busy. I can tell already that when I leave I'll miss this.
Yesterday I had a churro filled with something similar to caramel. It was somewhere between warm and hot, rolled in cinnamon and sugar and the filling was oozing out the top. It was easily the most delicious dessert I've eaten in years, and of course unbelievably cheap. A dessert that could've been layed nicely on a clean white plate and garnished with a sprig of mint in an upscale restaurant in a busy city.
Later in the evening we stopped at a corner vendor for a kabob of meat. They had chicken ready so we bought one. Fresh off the grill, seasoned perfectly and so, so moist. I can honestly say I've never been to anyone's barbeque and had chicken that amazing. And again so cheap. This stand in particular has been on the same corner for about 15 years.
No one finds them dirty, or gets worried, or doesn't let their kids eat from these stands. It's the norm. I feel like this is sort of happening in the US with food trucks. This past summer I saw tons, and they were always busy. I can tell already that when I leave I'll miss this.
Feeling Tropical!
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| This is Jabuticaba, aka the Brazilian Grape Tree. The fruit grows right on the trunk of the tree. They grow quickly and refuse to grow outside of Brazil. They are DELICIOUS. There are 2 trees where Yuri lives. |
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| I'm yet to get their names, but there are 2 "papagaios" or Parrots on the deck. Every morning Yuri's uncle gets up and talks and talks to them. They don't say words but BOY ARE THEY LOUD! I tried talking to them yesterday and I'm pretty sure they hated me. We'll become friends eventually. |
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