At Bar do Momo in Tijuca, there are many things to celebrate, but the two dishes starring jiló are particularly magnificent – and show how this little gastropub punches well above its weight.
A green, meaty, slightly bitter cross between an eggplant and a pepper, jiló was brought to Brazil from West Africa during the slave trade. At Bar do Momo, the vegetable is served two ways: One is the jiló recheado, not unlike a chile relleno, stuffed with beef and mozzarella cheese that melts into a savory broth. The other is the only Brazilian guacamole worth your time: made from tangy pickled jiló, red onion, tomato, lime, cilantro, and Brazilian dedo de moça pepper. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a cold beer, be it a traditional Antarctica or Original, or a craft Rio de Janeiro lager called Hija de Punta, its citrus-and-passion-fruit flavor named for a girl who one of the creators met on the beach in Punta del Este, Uruguay, then disappeared before leaving her number.
Bar do Momo is known for the variations on Rio pub food dreamed up by chef Toninho (little Anthony), son of previous chef Tonhão (big Anthony). Since 1972, the bar has been charming residents and visitors alike of this North Zone neighborhood known for its relaxed pace. On the corner of apartment-lined streets, Momo and three adjacent bars spill onto the wide sidewalk with simple plastic tables and chairs that cariocas occupy as if they were thrones. In the daytime, you can lunch here; in the evening, ambitious drinkers line up icy 600-ml beer bottles on the table as they are emptied. On a Friday night during Carnival, teacher Gisele Andrade, 35, stopped by for a drink after marching in a local street parade. “I come here every single day,” she said, covered in glitter and sporting a Carmen Miranda headpiece. “It’s the kind of place that just makes you feel comfortable.” Andrade’s drink of choice that night was one of the bar’s lip-smacking batidas, blended ice and cachaça-based drinks made with ginger, passion fruit or – our favorite – coconut milk.
Toninho’s aunt and mother work the bar, wearing T-shirts with a quote from a prominent neighborhood musician: “If you get to Tijuca, you’re not going to pass Momo by.” Indeed, many arrive in the neighborhood for the purpose of going to Momo and to visit with Toninho and the lively staff. “The difference between bars in Rio and São Paulo,” says Toninho, “is that in São Paulo, people want to know they are getting the best, most professional service. In Rio, people want to walk into a bar and be treated like one of the family. They want a place with a soul.”
In addition to hosting Tijuca old-timers, who gather to play and watch at live music circles, Momo is becoming a growing hub for the city’s chefs as it continuously wins culinary accolades and participates in events such as Rio’s first gastronomic
al Carnival bloco. Toninho, whose full name is Antonio Carlos Laffargue, welcomes visitors of all stripes. “I feel like my process of growing up and learning things in life has been intertwined with my work in the bar,” he says. When he was 28, a customer named Taisa walked in for the first time. It took Toninho five weeks to ask her out, but he finally suggested they get a beer and presented her with the samba compilation CD “Samba Social Clube.” They married eight months later.
Momo’s latest events are a visiting-chef day on Wednesdays and a specialty hamburger night on Thursdays. Recent specialties include a burger with pickles made from maxixe (spiny cucumber), mozzarella, bacon and garlic; another with caramelized onion, provolone cheese and toasted garlic; and a third with spicy paprika mayo, cheddar and caramelized purple onion. As special recipes of all kinds come and go, some stick, such as the T-Rex (seared steak and eggs), the atolei do Momo (shredded beef topped with manioc puree) and the restaurant’s most requested appetizer, the classic Rio fried carbohydrate, bolinho de arroz. The crispy concoction of rice, parsley, sausage and mozzarella cheese, topped with parmesan, quickly disappears off platters.
Toninho ends many evenings at Momo long after the bar is slated to close, after chefs of pe-sujos (dive bars) and upscale restaurants alike have sought him out to swap compliments and chat about Rio bar news, after the team has been thanked and after the regulars have taken their expulsadeiras (the drink after the last drink).
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