Maybe we just love to eat.  Maybe we just love to drink.  Maybe we just love having Brazilian friends.  Why?  Because then we actually get to indulge in the things we only see on the Travel Channel and Food Network.  Our favorita Brazilian, Mila, invited us to a bbq of sorts this weekend, and we were introduced to all that is Brasil.  For starters, cahaça, a liquor made from the distillation of fermented sugarcane juice, is like the unoffical national drink of Brasil.  And I know why: it’s g-double o-d.   In fact, it’s so good that Brazilians are keeping most of the drink for themselves.  Of the billion or so liters the country produces each year, only 1% is exported (mainly to Germany).  How do you say “stingy” in Portuguese?!  Haha!

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The most popular drink made with cahaça is the caipirinha.  The drink is simple to make as Mila’s dad quickly showed me (muddled lime & sugar, cahaça or vodka, ice), and fun to drink.  Think margarita-ish, minus the salt.  Alongside our caipirinhas, we filled up on rice (of course!), vinaigrette (like a salsa, and it tops your rice…sooo good!), grilled pork and picanha.  Now, picanha is the main reason we headed to this bbq.  While in California, we learned of a cut of beef known as tri-tip (read what the cut is here) – and apparently, it’s the hit in Brasil as well. 

Anywho, food + drink + friends = good times.

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