Welcome to São Paulo City week´s menu.

It´s difficult to recommend one unique restaurant when the topic is to experiment the
rich “Paulista” culinary. Over the years, the dishes have evolved, and the menu of the
week in São Paulo allows for an anthropological study because of the complex mix of
culinary of the city. Some folklorist like Lilian Vogel, director of the São Paulo Folklore
Commission, researched the dishes’ tradition for each week’s day, as well the
researcher Rosa Belluzzo (author of the book 'São Paulo: Memória e Sabor').
Either of them present 'Virado a Paulista' as the dish served on mondays - a plate full
of sustenance - to start the week, Vogel, for example, explains that people eat what's
left over from the weekend. It can be beans, eggs, pumpkins, some meat or chicken.
The leftovers is poured into a broth and it turns, thickening with cassava or corn flour.
In São Paulo, this recipt became known as “Virado Paulista".
For researchers the origins of 'Dobradinha' (guts with white beans, bacon and sausage)
on Tuesday is less clear. However, it is a traditional dish from the north of Portugal,
having been the theme of the famous poem by Fernando Pessoa: "Dobrada à moda do
Porto”.
On Wednesday and Saturdays - when bowls pass bubbling with beans, sausage and
pork pieces, Vogel has an interesting theory for Feijoada’s day, she says that it’s
necessary to leave the meat to soak the salt, which takes time. So, it makes sense to
make these preparations earlier in the week, getting ready for Wednesday and again
on Saturday
Pasta, on thursdays and sundays, are signs of the strong Italian heritage present in the
city. In Italy, every day can be pasta day, but in São Paulo, the mandatory date of the
mass, in addition to Sunday, is Thursday. The influence comes from italians immigrants
that established new address in the city, according to the researcher Rosa Belluzzo,
author of the book 'São Paulo: Memória e Sabor.'
'Fish' on Fridays, for example, is an alternative to meat, and it is standard in any
Catholic country. Pope Nicholas, the first, created this ecclesiastical law in the 9th
century, predicting a day of abstinence in memory of Christ, who suffered and died on
that day of the week.
As we could see, São Paulo restaurants week’s menu has an amazing appeal. We can
say this common menu is the heart of any Paulista restaurant. It’s recommended to
anyone who would like to experiment different dishes with specific origins in São Paulo
city.

Claudio Roberto da Silva

IPT – Culture /Saturday-Morning