Taste of Brazil Market (seriously good food)

I’m excited to be partnering with Taste of Brazil Market, located in the City Market as one of the stops on the Original River Market Food Tour. They offer original Brazilian eats and a small supply of groceries. Besides co-owner Marco Rabello being a fantastic person with a quick smile, he makes authentic, Brazilian food. I am seriously in love with his cheese bread.
 
Rabello and his partner Cristian Maciel are both from Sao Paulo, Brazil. When Rabello first came to the U.S. on a volleyball scholarship at Park University, he couldn’t speak English. He had to take classes at a community college for a semester to learn the language before officially starting at Park. After he graduated from Park, he planned to go back to Brazil and get a good job, but decided to stay in the U.S. He worked at Hotel Phillips and also as an assistant coach at Park.
 
“During that time that time I was always thinking I needed to open my own business,” said Rabello. “I love food.” He learned how to cook in the States. In dorms. His apartment. Anywhere he could find a stove.
 
Maciel and Rabello decided to cold call the City Market staff one day with the request to set up shop. About six months later, they opened up Taste of Brazil Market. Rabello and Maciel have been open for three years, adding another authentic taste to our neighborhood.
 
They now have a bar, and will be extending to summer hours soon. Before long, when you visit the City Market, you’ll see people walking around holding a coconut, slurping up its water with a straw. Rabello sells those refreshing coconuts during the warmer months. He’ll even drill the hole so you can tuck in your straw.
 
On the food tour, we’ll stop at Taste of Brazil and a few other places I’ll be blogging about over the next couple weeks. If you can’t take a tour soon, stop in Taste of Brazil for the cheese bread, or anything else on the menu. The food is amazing. The cheese bread though…it’s warm, chewy yumminess in a pillow-puff of gluten-free goodness. Just make sure to leave some for me.