A grill of sizzling coração de galinha (chicken hearts), linguiça (sausage) and churrasco (steak) exudes a plume of smoke that sets the perfect theatrical stage as a woman in a red apron swings from side to side, dancing to Brazilian funk. The meat smells delicious, too. Maybe just one espetinho (skewer) before we go… Sundays at Feira da Glória market in Rio de Janeiro are an all-out assault on the senses – and on shoppers’ willpower. The sight of fruit stacked high on tables is almost as vibrant as Rio itself.

Editor's note: To give 2015 a proper send-off, we're taking a look back at all our favorite eating experiences of the year.

It might have become one of the more fashionable places in Rio for a caipirinha, yet the name of this father-son joint – “Portuguese Kiosk” – suggests humility. Indeed, the pair got their start a decade ago in one of the numerous huts that line the city’s beaches. While the majority of their competitors served the tasty, tried-and-true Rio basics – traditional caipirinhas made with cachaça; beer and French fries – to sandy-toed beachgoers, Manoel Alves, now in his early seventies, wanted to offer something different. He tried importing cheeses from Portugal, his parents’ homeland (hence the venue’s name), but found that the international products went bad too quickly to please health inspectors.