Regional

Paulo Martins, the proprietor of Lá em Casa (Blvd. Castilhos França, Estação das Docas, tel. 91/3212-5588, www.laemcasa.com [1], noon–midnight daily, R$20–30) is considered an ambassador of Paraense cuisine. Having learned everything he knows about local cooking from his mother, Martins travels throughout Brazil [2] and the world introducing foodies to the aromas and flavors of the Amazon [3]. In Belém [4], he serves up classic recipes such as pato no tucupi and grilled pirarucu along with the new concoctions he is always creating in his kitchen laboratory.

Recent inventions include shrimp with bacuri, black maniçoba pasta with Paraense haddock in a curry sauce, and diced tambaqui served with jambu rice and fried bananas. Desserts will blow your mind, especially the doce de cupuaçu gratinéed with creamy buffalo cheese from the Ilha de Marajó [5]. Aside from the airy riverside Docas restaurant (which features a lunch buffet), a second restaurant, festooned with jungle fronds, recently opened in Umarizal (Travessa Dom Pedro 1546, tel. 91/3223-1212).

Strangely enough, restaurants specializing in Amazonian fish (as opposed to meat or seafood) are hard to come by in Belém. A glorious exception to this rule is Remanso de Peixe (Travessa Barão do Triunfo 2950, Casa 46, Marco, tel. 91/3228-2477, 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 7–10 p.m. Tues.–Sat., 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Sun., R$20–30). Despite this restaurant’s off-the-beaten-path location—hidden away in a pleasant villa in the residential bairro of Marco—both locals and tourists have no problem seeking it out in order to savor dishes made from fresh fish purchased daily at the Mercado Ver-o-Peso [6].

By far the most popular dish is the moqueca paraense, a bubbling stew of local filhote, crab legs, and shrimp, cooked in a broth of tucupi, jambu, tomatoes, and herbs, and served piping hot in an cast iron pot. Its success is such that the owners patented the recipe. Leave room for desserts such as cappuccino pudding with preserved bacuri.