Welcome to Salvador, Bahia

My friend Sergei from California is visiting Salvador this weekend, and I am planning what to do with him.

Of course food is on top of the list. I think the most important restaurant to visit in Salvador is Paraíso Tropical, because it approaches the traditional cuisine of Bahia with gastronomic innovation. There are two locations; I prefer the original one in Cabula over the new fancy one in Rio Vermelho.

The reasons I prefer the restaurant in Cabula are:

1. the fighting cocks crowing in the background
2. Beto Pimentel, the owner and chef, walking around smoking cigarettes and talking to everyone
3. faster and friendlier waiters
4. more variety of fruit for dessert
5. you can take the leftover fruit home with you in a plastic bag
6. the differentiated charm of eating on plastic tables on a "laje", instead of an architected and landscaped space
7. a good excuse to get out of the usual tourist areas and see another side of Salvador
   

Sergei's visit will also be an excuse to go eat acarajé at Dinha in Rio Vermelho. Normally it's just not worth the hassle of parking and standing in line, when there are so many other reasonably good baianas selling acarajé all over town. I think the baianas in Pelourinho all make very good acarajé, and Cira in Itapuã is worth a stop when in the neighborhood. But every once in a while you have to go back to what is supposedly the best, to recalibrate your reference.

Contact info:

Paraíso Tropical
R. Edgar Loureiro, 98-B, Cabula
Salvador, BA
Telephone: 3384-7464

Acarajé da Dinha
Praça de Santana, Rio Vermelho
Salvador, BA