Embracing the Empanada – Buenos Aires’ Favourite Snack Food

Empanadas, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Embracing the Empanada, Buenos Aires' Favourite Snack Food. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

After a big slab of charcoal grilled bife (beef), our favourite thing to eat in Buenos Aires is empanadas. Although not in that order! In fact, many traditional parrillas or steakhouses offer a complimentary empanada to kick off a meal and whet your appetite while you’re browsing the menu and sipping a glass of Malbec. … Read more

A Boteco Hop to Rio de Janeiro’s Best Local Neighbourhood Bars

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A Boteco Hop – Rio's Best Neighbourhood Bars. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

One of the delights of going out and drinking and eating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is hitting the botecos or botequims – traditional, unpretentious neighbourhood bars. After a couple of weeks in the city we developed some favourites that we’d return to in a heartbeat. These are the botecos and botequims we think are Rio’s best neighbourhood … Read more

Finding Feijoada – Discovering Brazil’s National Dish

Finding Feijoada - Discovering Brazil’s National Dish. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Ask a Brazilian cook or chef who makes the best feijoada, Brazil’s national dish, and they’ll say “I do!” Nothing is more of a source of pride than making a delicious version of this pork and bean stew. Well, perhaps apart from making a mean caiparinha with their own supply of artisanal Cachaça! A ritual that’s … Read more

Cooking in Rio de Janeiro – A Brazilian Cooking Class With a Difference

Cook in Rio cooking course. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

When we arrive at the compact, down-to-earth Copacabana eatery, Tasco de Lido, the other three couples in our Cook in Rio cooking class are already chatting away cheerfully as they sip drinks. Bob Marley is blasting on the stereo and the restaurant’s vivacious owner and Brazilian cooking course instructor chef Simone Theisen is singing along … Read more

Perfecting the Classic Brazilian Caipirinha in Rio De Janeiro

Perfecting the Classic Brazilian Caipirinha – Cocktail Recipe. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

In our years of being semi-professional barflies and checking out bars around the world, purely in the name of research of course, we’ve developed a repertoire of favourite cocktails that we always order to test out the skills of a barman. One of them is a Latin American classic so during our recent stay in … Read more