The Brazilian Experience

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2009-04-01T10:48:00.001-07:00

2009-01-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

Acerola - Another Brazilian Superfruit

The acerola fruit is native to northern Brazil, Central America, and the Antilles.

Acerola fruits are round and similar to a cherry but with 3 distinct lobes. They are red in color with thin skin. The fruit is juicy, acid to sub-acid, and occasionally a sweet almost apple flavor. The fruit is high in Vitamin C. Unripe fruits have twice the Vitamin C level of ripe fruits. Acerola fruits develop to maturity in about a month's time.The best uses of acerola are direct eating, jellies and jams, and syrups. Fresh acerola juices, which are popular in much of South America, do not hold their taste characteristics for very long after they are squeezed, expect for freezing. The fruit can also be found in baby food, as a vitamin supplement source for Vitamin C, as an ice cream and pop-sickle ingredient, and in many home recipes.

In Rio, we have Juice Bars at almost every corner and close to the beach. It is a common habit to stop by and have a large glass of mixed fruits smoothie made with fresh fruits. It gives you a boost, wakes you up, and even helps getting a nicer tan.Acerola is one of the favorite fruits because of the high amount of Vitamin C and its anti-radical benefits.You can ask the "Bartender" to mix whatever you want, like some of my favorites below:

Mellon(fresh)/orange juice (fresh)/acerola (frozen pulp)
Orange juice (fresh)/carrots(fresh)/acerola (frozen pulp) - Now that's a vitamin C explosion and the Carotene helps getting a nice tan
Milk/strawberries (fresh)
Milk/banana(fresh)/oats - You won't be hungry for quite a while
Orange juice (fresh)/pineapple (fresh)

You can also ask for a bowl of fresh acai, another superfruit that is getting to be very famous in the US. Anything is valid! Mix and match, add or take. That's a great way to start your day and head to the beach, knowing your body is ready to spend an entire day in the sun, swimming, surfing, playing beach volley, and more!

Have fun!

The Place to Be: Florianópolis, Brazil

2009-01-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

PRINCE PIERRE CASIRAGHI of Monaco has paid tribute. The heartthrobs Ben Harper and Stavros Niarchos have partied on its beachfront dance floor. And on many Champagne-fueled nights, leggy models straight from the pages of Sports Illustrated and the Victoria’s Secret catalog have perched on its billowing banquettes.

Never heard of Praia Café de la Musique? Don’t worry. It isn’t the latest poolside lounge in South Beach or some new members-only club in Manhattan. In fact, the club is in a resort well off the radar of TMZ and checkout-aisle glossies: Florianópolis in the southern reaches of Brazil.

“It’s a mixture of St.-Tropez and Ibiza but without the attitude and without the prices,” said Jeffrey Jah, a former model and the impresario behind the New York City party spots Lotus and Double Seven. He opened Praia Café three years ago after he fell in love with Florianópolis.
As South American jet-set spots like Punta del Este in Uruguay lose their novelty, affluent Brazilians and in-the-know internationals have taken the party to Florianópolis and the 40-odd white-sand beaches of the 33-mile-long island that makes up much of the city. Caipirinha-soaked lounges, stylish beach bars and cavernous megaclubs have sprouted all over the island. Once a favored spot of the surf-world cognoscenti, Florianópolis, some 450 miles southwest of Rio de Janeiro, has emerged as Latin America’s hottest new party destination.
Each beach has its own personality and crowd. Party central is Jurerê Internacional, a chi-chi resort on the north end of the island. Rife with sports cars, Gucci handbags and the occasional private helicopter, it is home to the Praia Café (Avenida dos Merlins; 55-48-3282-1325; http://www.praiacafedelamusique.com.br/), where the parties go until 4 a.m.
Competing for the waves of deep-pocketed socialites is Parador 12 (Servidão J. Cardoso Oliveira; 55-48-3284-8156; http://www.eldivinobrasil.com.br/), a Nikki Beach-like club that opened a year ago and is awash in Champagne served to bronzed bodies on white canopy beds.
Making the biggest splash is Pacha (Rodovia Maurício Sirotsky Sobrinho; 55-48-3282-2054; http://www.pachafloripa.com.br/), part of a chain of megaclubs that opened a branch near Jurerê Internacional in November. According to one of the owners, Johnny Mansur, both Jack Johnson and Amy Winehouse are booked this year for Pacha’s 15,000-seat outdoor concert area. To fill the huge 3,500-person club, Pacha has assembled an impressive roster of D.J.’s, including Roger Sanchez and Dirty South.
The surfer set, meanwhile, flocks to Praia Mole, a long strip of talcum-like sand and world-class waves on the island’s east coast. Popular with wave riders, bikini girls and sculpted tanners, the beach is lined with oceanfront bars, notably the D.J.-fueled Barraco da Mole (55-48-3232-5585).

Inland, the boho-chic town of Lagoa da Conceição has become the choice for Brazil’s artists, intellectuals and media types. Niched in a colonial edifice and outfitted with vintage furniture, Confraria das Artes nightclub (Rua João Pacheco da Costa 31; 55-48-3232-2298; http://www.confrariadasartes.com.br/) is the pulsating epicenter of Lagoa da Conceição’s social scene.

With so many after-dark options to explore, concierge-style services have popped up to guide travelers through Florianópolis’s nocturnal sprawl. Nexus Surf (http://www.nexussurf.com/), for example, has expanded its surf school to include tours of the island’s night life. And with the scene in constant flux, the outfitter even has a night-life director dedicated to tracking new openings. “Florianópolis night life blows away night life in L.A. or New York or anywhere else I’ve been,” said the founder of Nexus Surf, Hans Keeling, a transplanted Californian. Formerly a corporate lawyer, he visited a few years ago and was instantly won over.
“Here you have the combination of Sunset Strip-style and Ibiza-style night life mixed in with the Brazilian proclivity for relaxing and having fun,” he said. “I looked around, and I saw better beaches, better night life, more beautiful people and cheaper prices. It was a pretty easy decision.”