I tried these stalls at the East End Market on Corrine Dr on Tuesday at lunch. I started downtown, but, the Weekly was wrong about Wave Sushi being open (still weeks away) and The Drake's menu was way too heavy (and $) for lunch and no one was at Los Tres Golpos. I'm kind of glad that I was finessed over here.
Boxer & Clover - Just started this week after a soft opening period. The Hinckley Meats people. In the back on the left. I tried the two meats with two sides for $20. I had brisket, ribs, potato salad and beans (supposed to be collards). Four slices of brisket and four ribs. Brisket was from the lean side. Still moist and tender and broke apart (and held together) as it should have. Nice bark. Pepper rub. Smoky. A thin bead of buttery fat. Excellent. The ribs were a tiny bit worse. Just because I like them less resilient. I'll bet that they use a high quality breed of pork though. Compared to Briskets, the meat was firmer. More attached to the bone. But, that could be because it was fresher. I think they brined it. It was too salty. They kept on the silver skin. Short length. Not a ton of meat per bone. Pink. Salt and pepper rub. Nice crust. Smoky. The bbq sauce was excellent too. Thin. Vinegar. Slight heat and sweetness. Pepper. The potato salad was incredible. Fingerling potatoes with skins on. Properly boiled. Non-sweet mayo. Scallions. Some herb I can't place. It reminded me of this great chicken salad my college food court had. I have never been able to find its equal since. The beans were great too. Tangy. Onions and tomatoes. Some heat and sweetness. Needless to say that this will be a Favorite. It's a stall, so, no seats or decor to speak of. They have a few more items on the menu. Pulled pork, etc.
Skyebird - I'm not sure if I have ignored their existence for the seven years they have been there. I don't remember buying anything before. Maybe a drink to cross them off the list? I tried an avocado spread with chickpeas wrap for $10. It was meh. Raw, wheat tortilla. They said the avocado was Haas. I'm unsure. A bit citrusy. They could have added that element though. Whole chickpeas with some diced tomato and shredded lettuce. Just dull. No flavor. They sell other wraps and drinks. All vegan stuff.
Dochi - Another location of the 50 at Mills mochi place. I had a $3 ring of churro/chocolate. It was good. Still fresh.
Travel Notes - Brazil: I flew to Sao Paolo thru Panama City and Bogota (return) on the shitty Copa (Co-lombia/Pa-nama) Airlines and back on Gol and the shitty (chintzy like Frontier) Avianca Airlines for $669. I checked in online and even with that the kiosk wouldn't print a pass (after scanning my passport) and made me move to the long check in line and the guy there must have made some mistake because they checked my passport again at the gate. And then we waited 45 minutes for late arriving passengers bags to be loaded. No tv on Panama to SP segment. None on either flight back. Avianca pawned my first segment onto Gol. They didn't give me a locator number for them. So, I could not check in online with Gol. And Avianca's web site wouldn't check in the Gol part. And the pdf for their segment wouldn't download. And there other issues I won't go into. Gol was a better airline anyway. Actually gave you two meals (and free drinks). The airlines were by far the worst part of this trip. They gave my endless anxiety for no reason. And it was never the flights themselves. Mostly on time and reliable. I learned after booking that US visitors would need a Visa again starting five days after I arrived. I could not get official info on whether I was grandfathered in if I arrived before hand. I assumed I was. It seems I was. But, I was under the fear that it would be an issue until I left the country. If I would be allowed to. In Sao Paolo, I breezed through customs and used the ATM. I learned that they have real banks in Terminal 2. I tried to find the shuttle or other bus at Terminal 3. I didn't. Only ones going where I didn't want to go. I saw a sign for Bus Station and I walked from Terminal 3 to 2. I ended up taking the $44 Reals (their currency) shuttle bus (www.airportbusservice.com.br) from the onibus "terminal" in Terminal 2 (Domestic) just across the car lanes. 5 Reals to the Dollar. The idiot at their booking counter said the next bus was two hours away. Glad I ignored her. They made me use a credit card (nao Ingles issue), but, I paid cash on return. There are four ways into (I don't acknowledge Uber) the city. It was hard finding out correct/current/non-contradictory info (in English) online. Taxi ($). Train (turned out to leave you off far away from center and you needed a transfer to the station at the airport). Bus (I could never find the one with number I needed and it left you far from center too). I would take the shuttle. Find their route map and stay at a hotel near it. I stayed at the Novotel Jaragua (Expedia 8.4) in the old city center because it was on the shuttle bus route. I stayed in that part of town because some idiot online said that (area) was the best for a first timer. It was a nasty area filled with druggies and homeless passed out all over the place and no commensurate attractions to make it a wise choice. The hotel cost $148 for two nights. It was 70+ years old. Queen Elizabeth stayed there. I hoped a big hotel like this could get me in early (I arrived at dawn). Nope. I walked around (plazas, metro, library, theater) and had McDonald's (I ate there 80% of the time) until check in and then finalized the rest of my agenda online. I grabbed dinner and wine at Carrefour. The next day I walked up to Avenida Paulista (where I should have stayed). They closed it off on Sunday. It was a nice walk. Very crowded. Saw a tightrope walker, MASP (Modern Art Museum), Parque Trianon, lots of buskers and singers, etc. More dinner and wine from Carrefour. The next day, I found out where the shuttle picked up and took it back to the airport to Terminal 2. From Terminal 2 onibus area, I found the hourly hotel shuttle to the airport Comfort Hotel (Expedia 8.6 for $71). Nothing there. Right under the flight paths. Took the shuttle back in the morning. I took LATAM to Manaus for $567. It would have been around half that if I had pulled the trigger even just a few days before. But, I didn't want to be all in if I had Visa trouble. The gods love to fuck with me when I do that. LATAM was a pain in the ass too. So unlike Chile. I think the website was different for Brazil too. At the end of the online check in they said that they wouldn't give me a boarding pass until they saw my Visa. That was a sleepless night! It ended up being unnecessary. The agents just gave me the boarding pass when I told them the story and when I tried the kiosk on return, it never asked for a Visa. Manaus is where the Rio Negro (et al) converge into the Amazon. A cab from the airport into the center was $70R. I think I misheard the quote. He probably said $60R. That was the price going back. Oh well, nice gratuity. Internet said it was $40R. I stayed at the lovely, new Hotel Casa do Bispo (Expedia 8.8) for $52. It was next to the nicest plaza where the Teatro Amazonas (old rubber money) is. Great roof deck. I walked through town to the port and river and mercado. Not much to appreciate. Grabbed terrible wine and food at DB Market and consumed it on the deck and listened to the music from the plaza. I was going to take a river cruise the next day. But, it was too hot and too expensive. I just got to the airport early and had Estraganoff Carne with rice and fries and beans at The Cheff. The pilot was a doll and flew over the Amazon. I took amazing pics and vids from my window. Made me doubly glad I eschewed the river tour. Got some pics of the rainforest too. One day was enough for Manaus. I did that because an extra day would have cost way more in airfare. A three day boat tour to Belem or up river may be worthwhile. In Sao Paolo, I stayed near the airport again that night. Sleep Inn (Expedia 8.2) for $65. They had a shuttle too. Next to Comfort Hotel. I wanted to see who was better. Still unsure. Shuttle back to the airport in the morning. Off to Foz (Mouth) do Iguacu on Gol for $166. I booked this with my Sao Paolo ticket. This is why I was here. WATERFALLS! It lived up to the hype. Like every waterfall in North America in one. It spans Argentina and Paraguay too. $100R park fee. Cash or credit card. Machine kiosks and booths with people (for the cash). They said they took dollars too. They have a bus that takes you 13km to them. A walk of a mile or so. I spent three hours there. You could pay more to take a boat on the river. I think it was $60 US. I have never taken as many videos and pictures of any single thing in my life. A guy's online web site said it was going to be ungodly crowded. This time of year it wasn't. I even went around 11am. That's probably the worst (busiest) time. Even though it was their Fall, the water levels were just off their peaks. Saw Coati (racoons) and some bird of prey I have seen in zoos. Many people took tours. I think they got ripped off. It didn't do the town. It was 17km away. There seems to be a lake up there too. I stayed at the Hotel Colonial Iguacu (Expedia 7.6) for two nights at $92. It turned out to be 1km from airport and 1km from park entrance. Perfect location. Good job by me. They had a free shuttle. But, he didn't show. I had to find a guy with a mobile to call them. I also tried the #120 Bus (every half hour) outside the hotel for $5R before I realized how close the park was to the hotel. I walked home. The jerks at the hotel suggested I pay $30R for a taxi. The bus also goes downtown for the same $5R. You can stay downtown and get to the park cheaply and I guess from the airport to there to. I came back to the hotel and went swimming and laid out. Once again, I wasted most of the next day doing nothing. It was rainy anyway. Just went to the airport. Met some guys from Denver who did the park right. Boat 2X and Argentina side too. Flew back to Sao Paolo and stayed at the Sleep Inn again for $66. I wasted twelve hours in the airport the next day waiting for the flight out. My penultimate anxiety attack came via the check in guy who asked for my yellow fever vaccine documents to get into Colombia (the stupid transfer location). Luckily, a few months ago I fished out some ancient document I got when I went to Africa that listed my shots. I had been seeing too many article about countries becoming vaccine happy. I started packing this just in case. It's probably total expired bs, but, it confused the guy enough that he gave me my boarding pass. I think I checked online a while ago and those shots last forever. I'm still unsure if I needed it because I came from Brazil and not the US. I never have been asked before and I have been to Colombia three times. I was worried all day that they would double check the document. They did start calling people to submit some documents before boarding. I thought I was going to pass out. The final anxiety inducer. I escaped though somehow. The gods are only so sadistic. The trip was one anxiety attack after another. But, I knocked Iguacu Falls and the Amazon of my list. I think some areas southwest of downtown Sao Paolo might be nice. I doubt I'll go back again (I avoid Visa countries) to find out. FYI - I had already been to Rio. It was a pain communicating in Portuguese. Just different enough from Spanish to be confusing. I brought a phrase book I bought for the Rio trip. The women weren't as avocado shaped as in Chile. Lots of cushion though. Not alot of people seemed to smoke. And no weed stench either. Not many fishing lures in the nose. Nary an American about. Mostly Euros (if not Latin). Chinese, Japanese too. One in ten spoke some English. Weather was like Orlando. I never needed my umbrella, sweater or poncho. I had Esfiha Carne (psuedo meat pie) at Il Forno Pronto at the airport and some tortas (meat or veg filled layered pastry cut into squares) and a white sweet potato at the breakfast buffet at Hotel Colonial. Otherwise, not much Brazilian fare.
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