Brazilian food – Pão de queijo

I only drink coffee in the morning. And the coffee at my hotel in Rio was awesome. Hot rich milk mixed with dark rich coffee.

Near the end of my stay the restaurant greeter brought me some as you shouldn’t leave Brazil without tasting them. 🙂

Pão de queijo (“Cheese Bread” in Portuguese) is a small, baked, cheese roll, a popular snack and breakfast food in Brazil. Pão de queijo originated from African slaves like many other Brazilian foods. …

Pão_de_queijo

Norte Grill Churrascaria, Rio de Janeiro

North Grill Steakhouse near Olympic City provides me a full buffet meal with desserts for less than C$10.

Plenty of choices. Great barbecue. 🙂

grill

Sushi

buffet

I typically have whatever is hot off the grill. Sushi with the fixin’s. Ham & cheeses. Fried garlic. Hummus. I try to resist dessert. Not all that many vegetables … I am paying by the 100gm. 🙂

Greek restaurant – Olive Tree in Petrofka, Saskatchewan

Best and most entertaining meal I can recall in many, many a year. If you get the chance, drive north from Saskatoon to check out Mike’s unique restaurant – The Olive Tree. 🙂

10 intriguing restaurants in rural Saskatchewan

wine

do you like empanadas?

Rockin’ Ronnie is into them right now.

I tried many in Chile. Too bready. Not tasty enough for me. I do like the olive, however. It’s a treat.

empanada

An empanada (Spanish pronunciation: [empaˈnaða]; also called pastel in Portuguese and pate in Haitian Creole) is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin Europe, Latin America, the Southwestern United States, and parts of Southeast Asia. …

 

why I don’t like Chile

Chile is 2600 miles long and never more than 110 miles wide. From the main north/south highway it’s easy access to fantastic wilderness.

how could Rick not LOVE Chile
how could Rick not LOVE Chile?

Chile should be a tourist destination as good as New Zealand.

But it’s not. 😦

I’ve spent about 2 months total in Chile traveling most of the 2600 miles. Costs are similar to Canada … but quality of goods and services are poor by comparison.

If you find something of qualityCasa Azul hostel, for example – chances are it’s run by a foreigner. Probably German.

Most of the expats I met in Chile were frustrated by Chilean society.

People on the trail are good. But I’m not much impressed with the interactions I have with Chileans in the towns and cities.

A currency exchange guy tried to give me only half my money one time. (I’ve seen scummy practice like this in Italy recently, too.)

smokerThe World Health Organisation (2013) says over 40% of Chileans smoke, compared with 27% of Argentines and 17% of people in Brazil, where curbs on smoking began in the late 1990s. Chile’s health minister, Jaime Mañalich, says that treating tobacco victims takes a quarter of the $10 billion public health-care budget.

Chile’s smokers are getting younger. According to the Tobacco Atlas, a study of the industry, nearly 40% of girls aged 13-15 in Santiago, Chile’s capital, smoke cigarettes. That is up from just 20% in 2003, and is the highest rate in the world. …

The population looks unhealthy. Walking the streets reminds me of walking in Mexico. A very high percentage of people are conspicuously overweight. This is new to these nations.

Chile ranks 23 on a 2007 list of fattest countries with a percentage of 65.3% of its citizens with an unhealthy weight …

The diet is poor, I think. They still love hotdogs in Chile.

It’s a land that still (mostly) drinks instant coffee.

Internet access is slow Or non-existant. This is a land without enough competition between corporations.

The best reasons to visit Chile are outdoors adventure. And wine.

Otherwise, there are plenty of better destinations for the foreign tourist. I like southern Spain much better, for example.

I liked Chile better my 2004 visit

related – Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile (1999) by Sara Wheeler

improved slaughterhouses

If you eat mammals as I do, there’s some good news.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thousands of animals are slaughtered for meat every second. Who is Temple Grandin and how has she helped to reform the meat industry and improve the welfare of livestock?

Alzheimer’s and me

I’ll need these soon. Christmas 2016, perhaps. 🙂

Compassionate new spoons and plates make it easier for people with Alzheimer’s to eat

thumb-eatwell-mashable

(via Mashable – 26 incredible innovations that improved the world in 2015)