The best acai in Rio is served at Tacaca do Norte. Ever since we tried their açai we simply cannot eat it anywhere else, unless we go to Belem. On top of that, Tacaca serves various traditional dishes from the Amazon. It may be worth it to plan several trips to this place so you can try them all.
Tacaca Details
- Açai – frostly blend of Acai berries served on a bowl. They have two sizes pequeno (small) and grande (large). They will ask if you want açucar (sugar) or xarope de guarana (guarana syrup). We recommend pouca açucar or “little sugar”. They’ll also ask if you want ‘tapioca’ or ‘granola’ as a topping. Tapioca is similar to popped rice. It has no flavor.
- Casquina de Carangrejo. Fresh water crab cooked with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and some herbs from the amazon. It is topped with crispy manioc flour, which adds texture, but not much flavor. You can also add a spicy sauce made from the amazon. Be careful, it is very spicy.
- Unha de casquina – It’s a deep fried ball of manioc dough filled with fresh water crab (see above). Add a little spicy sauce to make it even more tasty.
- Tacaca – A soup made with jambu (a plant from the Amazon which slighly numbs your mouth), and tucupi (a broth made with wild manioc). They add dried shrimps and small yellow papers. It’s definitely for the adventurous and quite an acquired taste.
- Fruit juices – They have juices of amazon fruits: Bacuri, Magaba, Murici, Tapareba, Cupuaçu, and Camu Camu. We recomend Cupuaçu, which tastes like a blend of banana, orange, and pinapple.
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