It was chef Antonio Mendes who, last month, took a group of chefs from different parts of the country to Piranhas, as part of the “Ruta dos Pescados” festival, to enjoy the Nalva, a temple of local cuisine, located in a typical local building, surrounded by two mandacaros trees and cacti that turn into butter, sauce, olive oil and puree and bloom once a year: the “Vachero” lasts only one day. “The idea is to highlight the river. The route is a way to show our input, the fish, the essence of São Francisco’s cuisine and culture,” Antonio sums up.
On the plate, shrimp with brown sugar teriyaki; piabuku (fish from São Francisco, which can be surobim); Or mac chico, cassava brioche, homemade fish sausage, fermented agave mayonnaise. Or do you go hot goat? Goat sausage, cassava straw and guava ketchup on cassava bread. Finally, a goat’s milk pancake, aloe vera gel and crunchy tangerines. “The food is thoughtful, well-made, delicious and incorporates the best of the region. It’s São Francisco on the plate. Exciting,” sums up Luiz “Betty” Santos, of Papo y Maria y O Boy in Rio de Janeiro.
By “voadeira”, a boat gliding along the river, you can reach within ten minutes the Ilha do Ferro, the sensation of Velho Chico, 500 residents who live off the art of embroidery, woodwork and ceramics, and whose bands play or play in small inns and restaurants. Sao Francisco is a gem.
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