Sao Paulo is seen by most people as a 'workhorse' in contrast to Rio, but it is also a massive foodie destination. Aside from some of the best restaurants in Brazil (and the world) and a varied nightlife, it has a huge number of cafes, especially in Jardins. They range from tiny rooms with plastic tables and chairs and no menus, to big airy cafes with posh snacks, wifi and an intimidating list of coffee choices.
Two cafes that we visited really stood out. The first was Suplicy. It's big and modern, with minimalistic decor and (welcome) air conditioning. The coffee was strong and delicious and they had lots of cakes and biscuits to chose from. The coffee was available to buy, either ground or as whole beans, and you could also buy t-shirts and mugs. It was recommended to us by the couple we stayed with in Sao Paulo, and we liked it so much we bought them a bag of coffee before we left.
'O melor bolo de chocolate do mundo' translates as 'the world's best chocolate cake' and is the name of a tiny cafe in Jardins. It is part of a chain of cafes opened by a Portuguese chef. The original is in Lisbon, but it did so well that there are now branches in Brazil, New York and Madrid. The cafe serves only coffee, tea, hot chocolate, chocolate cake and, appropriately, port.
The cake itself is a flourless, no-cook dessert, with thin layers of chocolate meringue (think honeycomb texture) sandwiched together with rich chocolate mousse and covered with dark chocolate ganache. It comes in traditional (53% cocoa), dark (73% cocoa) and low-sugar. We went for traditional. The textures were perfect, it wasn't overly sweet and it went beautifully with coffee. I probably need to taste a few more slices of this cake, and others, before I pass judgement on whether it's the best in the world, but it certainly gets top marks for now!
Kate
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