Comida de rua

In any large city, London, New York, or Tokyo with a foot mobile fast-paced hardworking population you'll find comdia de rua (street food). For New York it is pizza-by-the-slice, bagels with smear, knish, babka and other wonderful Jewish deli delights. In London you will find fish-and-chips, sausage pasties and rolls, and Greek gyros. Tokyo has its sticky buns. All items you can buy on-the-fly and eat on the go.

In São Paulo you will find exactly the same items that make for an inexpensive lunch between appointments or just off the subway. If anyhting, Paulistas prefer the savory to the sweet. This list of items will cost you approximately a buck a piece and go very well with a visit to the barraca de suco (juice bar) for incredible manga, passion fruit, pineapple and watermelon drinks.

Coxinha -- chicken and cheese inside deep fried dough

Empadinha -- pie-like crust filled with heart of palm and baked similar in name to Chilian empanata, however, can very widely depending on preparation

Pão de batata -- a potato bread baked with spiced chicken

Bolinho de queijo -- cheese filled dough that is deep fried

Pão de queijo -- cheese mixed with a bread-lke dough (no four however) and baked until golden and crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside

O PÃO NOSSO DE CADA DIA

Every morning the padaria makes crusty little loaves called pãozinho with an exquisitely golden brown crust that splits across the top and has a light soft white fluffy interior.

These bread loaves are so much like bread sold in France, Mexico, and that I remember most distinctively from living in England. Even the smell wafting down the street in the morning is as warm to the senses as sunshine. Wrapped warm in small brown bags, with blue inked crested logos and sayings like "Give us our daily bread" there is nothing like this bread to feel you've finally left America and with good reason.

On Mauro e Odelva's street you will hear each morning a variety of sounds and melodies as street vendors come selling aqua (water), propane gas (this truck plays a distinctive melody you might associate with ice cream trucks in the US), and tamales. Odelva tells me there are two different tamale makers and she listens to the call from the better of the two. Patricia laughs when I marvel at the convenience of having these mobile vendors come selling.

AQUA DE COCO

Coconut water is the magic rejuvenator of life. For roughly a buck and a quarter, a street vendor whether on the beach in Rio or walking the sides streets near Ave. Paulista will grab a green coconut fresh off the tree and using a Facão (machete) will whack off the head and foot, then cut a vee-shaped wedge to make a hole in the top and slip in a straw. With this in hand, the desperate feeling of heat and humindity seems less overwhelming. A good vendor will chill the coconut prior to cutting so tha water is cold.

Ah, the joys of big city life!