I went to Vento Haragano's, a Brazilian Churrascaria or steak house, tonight for dinner. And I would like to say that I am drunk. Food drunk, that is. I've never seen so much food, and having five waiters serve you is overwhelming. Maybe there were more than five. I have no idea. On the table was a green card "give me more" and a red card "please, I can't take it" to signal the waiters to keep the meat coming.
To start, I ordered the famous Brazilian caipirinhia. I'm not sure what that word means exactly, but "damn strong" would be a good start. Geez.
Then, I made my way to the salad bar, and when I returned to the table, I put my green card in full view. I was ready. And that's when it started. Beef. Pork. Ribs. One of the waiters came over and said something to me in Portuguese. I apologized and said "I only speak English." That's when the fried food arrived. Potatoes, bananas, onion rings, and some other stuff.
At this point, I had to push the caipirinhia away, and order a Diet Coke. I needed the bubbles.
Out came more meat. Round steak. Ribeye. I sort of broke a sweat and took off my shoes. I needed some air.
And I turned up red card, and finished the meat, not the fried food.
I wanted to lay down on the table. Or get a wet cloth.
The head waiter seemed a little disappointed that I didn't want more, and he was really upset that I didn't get dessert. Or a beer. He insisted I have coffee, which was probably good. I needed to sober up. It's a beautiful evening in Sao Paulo, and I enjoyed my walk back to the hotel.
I'm still thirsty. And a little bloated.
***
I arrived in Sao Paulo late last night, and I could tell from the plane that it's a huge city. When I looked out of my window this morning, I was overwhelmed - it's a huge concrete jungle and home to 20 million people. Here's a look at my day.
Breakfast.
Walk in the neighborhood.
Gym.
Massage.
Pool.
Lunch.
More of Sao Paulo.
Dinner.
And now I'm watching the MTV Video Awards and laughing at Chelsea Handler. She's funny.