Michelin Changes it up a Bit

In March, Michelin debuted their South America guide. Surprisingly, this is Michelin's first venture into the Southern Hemisphere! Brazil was the only country on the list, with 16 restaurants featured.

Alex Atala's Sao Paolo based D.O.M. received two stars (equivalent to "excellent cuisine, worth a detour") and was the highest rank awarded. Rio de Janeiro featured six restaurants; all receiving one star (equivalent to "A very good restaurant in its category"). The restaurants are Lasai, Mee, Olympe, Oro, Le Pré Catelan and Roberta Sudbrack.

You can be sure that we will be visiting them on our upcoming tour of Rio for Carnival.

Travel Makes Everything Taste Better

Is cappuccino really better in Rome? Is ceviche really more tasty in Peru? 

Sometimes, when I am home, I get an uncontrollable yearning for food just the way I had it somewhere else; usually on a sunny beach, a 2,000 year old piazza, a crowded fragrant market, or in the kitchen of an attentive cook. My yearning is usually followed with the conviction that we just don't know how to make a ceviche like they make it in Peru! Is it that the fish was literally caught hours ago off the coast of Lima, or is it that the limes used to cure and cook the fish, were grown in the Peru terrain and taste differently, or is it that my table was overlooking a 2,000 year old pre-Inca pyramid, and all these things came together at that one moment to heightened my senses, create an emotional response that triggered a tastier, more memorable ceviche than the overpriced version I can get at the fancy gourmet eatery in my home town?