Cachoeira Tropical (Itaim Bibi)

Cachoeira Tropical
Rua Joao Cachoeira 275
http://www.cachoeiratropical.com.br/restaurante.htm

Carol, Mary, and I ventured to Itaim to eat brunch in this all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet restaurant on the recommendation of Carol's dentist, who works in the area. For a place that looks like it belongs in a hospital or high school cafeteria, this restaurant kind of surprised me. Most of all, I was psyched for Mary, who is a vegetarian...it was a great choice for her in this meat-centered city.

It really doesn't look like much from the outside OR inside. A little dingy, old furniture...something from the 80s. But head into the second room towards the back, and...there's the food (same furniture and bad lighting, unfortunately). Two full buffet counters of vegetarian food...one whole side of salad stuff (including veggie sushi), and one whole side of beans, rice, feijoada (carrots and brussel sprouts!), and various meat-substitute items. Plus, there's a "hot food" table with pastas, veggie kibe, pizza, and surprisingly good and spicy veggie sausage.

This place was CROWDED. And interestingly enough, thre were people pf ALL ages in the restaurant...a lot of OLD people, plus young hipsters, families, and lots of kids. (Kids under 8 eat for 1/2 price, by the way.)

My opinion:if you have 15 Reals, this is the place to spend it. All you can eat, HEALTHY, filling, hearty, and mostly tasty eats. Drinks (filtered water, natural juice, coffee, tea) are included, as is the entire dessert buffet (fresh fruit, cakes, puddings, and fresh ice cream). I don't know if I would be rushing back there anytime soon without a vegetarian friend to take...but if you have non-meater in your life AND/OR you are on a budget, this is the place to go.

Yogurberry (Jardins)

Yogurberry
Alameda Lorena 1428
Jardins
http://www.yogurberry.com/

A few years ago, my friend, Tracy, took me to Pinkberry in LA. Pinkberry was calling itself "frozen yogurt", but there was some controversy over whether or not it WAS actually yogurt (live culture count, science talk, etc.). I don't remember the details, but just wikipedia-d it and found out that Pinkberry changed their recipe to meet the "yogurt standard" in April of 2008. That being said, I was excited to see the appearance of a similar franchise in my favorite neighborhood.

Not much on the menu...Original Yogurt or Green Tea...small, medium, large....and your choice of fresh fruit on top. The best words I can use to describe it? Healthy, delicious, refreshing. You can enjoy a frozen treat without all of the guilt that usually goes along with dessert at the end of the night.

The storefront itself is tiny, the lighting is bright, and the seating is limited. My suggestion: Get a large and take it to go...you'll be craving more by the time you get back to the Metro.

Pros: Zero fat, fresh fruit, "good bacteria", 100% natural