Random Things I Like About Brazil Part I: Truck Stop Food

---

In the U.S., dinner at a truck stop means the waitress at a Flying J, Perkins, or McDonald’s counter guy serves you soup from a bag, potatos from a box, and a hamburger from the freezer.

Not so here. Dinner at a truck stop means fresh food from their kitchen, usually an-all -you-can-eat or por-kilo buffet. On the hot buffet there will be a few kinds of rice, farofa (like polenta but made from yucca and eaten dry, with beans), beans, a variety of meats, and maybe stroganoff, or lasagna, or fried polenta or yucca. The cold buffet will have arugula (!!!) lettuce, beets, tomatos, onions, carrots....All for a price of about R$4 to R$9, or US$1.90 to $4.50, depending on the excahnge rate. ANd its really good. At some places they cook your choice of meat and eggs to order.

If its not a buffet, there will probably be a set menu. For about R$8 to R$12, you may receive up to 16 (!!!!!ludicrous!!!!!!) serving platters on your table in a matter of minutes, each with a different type of food. Enough for a family of five easily, tasty and nutritious and fresh and yummy. It boggles the mind and explodes the tummy.

---