My late arrival plus it being 2 hours earlier on my body clock meant my start for the day began a bit later than anticipated. It was for my first lunch in Rio which of course meant it was picanha time. Fortunately, there was a highly regarded churrasqueira a mere two blocks from my place.

I entered into Churrasqueira RJ and was immediately hit with the intoxicating aromas of grilled meat. Honey I’m home. There was a handy diagram of the various cuts of meat and a video explaining the same. Suffice it to say, vegetarians ciudades!

I was here though for just one cut – the picanha, which is a Brazilian staple. It arrived on a sizzling hot plate with some fries that had onion and paprika seasoning. The picanha, on the other hand, just had salt and that’s all that was needed. Perfectly cooked, it was tender, juicy and very, very tasty. The fries were almost as good with that very interesting blend of spices. A great first meal in Rio for sure.

As I walked back to my place, I heard the familiar sounds of bossa nova in the background. It turned out to be coming from a bar/restaurant across the street. In fact, even as I returned home, it was close enough to still be able to hear after opening the window in my living room, which also exposed the view above – not too shabby.

After a quick recharge of my iPhone, I venture out into the beach promenade of Ipanema to walk off the picanha. The beach was full of activity despite the cooler than normal temperature. I didn’t mind that though as it made for a very pleasant walk.

Since it’s winter here, the sunset was very early so I walked back towards my place to get a nice view of Sugar Loaf Mountain looming the background.

I decided for dinner to check out Vinicius Bar and Restaurant where I had heard the music earlier. It was now a different singer and the vibe had change as well. This was as old school as it gets including dressed up waiters and flambés table side.

This old school approach also included my dinner selection – trout meunière with broccoli rice and potatoes in a brandy shrimp sauce. The last item was prepared table side, lighting the brandy on fire and then pouring it over the fish for a classic touch

I was so charmed by the atmosphere I would have been perfectly happy if the dish was just OK. Instead, it was the best thing I had so far in Rio. The fish was perfectly cooked and very fresh with the sauce pairing beautifully with it. The potatoes were light and fluffy, and I became an instant fan of the Brazilian staple broccoli rice. Delicious.

I was having such a good time I decided to try another Brazilian classic – pudim de leche which is their version of flan. My server seemed disappointed he didn’t get to do his flambé trick but that’s never been my jam. The flan was slightly more bitter than the Spanish variety but very tasty. A nice capper to a lovely dinner and a show.

I had passed by a lively spot in my walk earlier so I headed down a couple of blocks for a night cap. In keeping with what had become a theme of the day of Brazilian classics, that meant I had to try a caipirinha.

This version was a bit more tart than I’m used to getting stateside but was still very refreshing with a pretty generous pour of cachaza. I enjoyed the people watching as I sipped my drink and took in the overall festive mood of Ipanema on a Saturday night. Tudo bem.