The potato king of Rio

January 11, 2021 • 2:45 pm

This video was “suggested” for me on YouTube, and when I saw this title I knew I had to watch the whole thing. Now I want to go to Rio, if for no other reason than to go to Batata de Marcehal and get a giant portion of fries and meat!

Ademar de Barros Moreira is a man who takes pride in his work, and doesn’t cut corners.

27 thoughts on “The potato king of Rio

  1. Did you know potato was originally the name for the sweet potato, that only later came to to be used for the South American (Andean) potato?
    😎🤓

  2. I have never thought to combine fries with meat in this way. A revelation.

    So here is a question: Fries from whole potatoes with the skin still on, or fries from skinned potatoes?
    There is only one correct answer!

  3. Yum…though when they showed the mayo, I couldn’t help remember Vincent Vega’s line from Pulp Fiction describing the use of mayo on fries in Holland. “I seen ‘em do it, man. They fuckin’ drown ‘em in that shit!” And Jules’ response: “Eew”. I’ve never tried it, so I suppose I shouldn’t knock it, but my gut response is “Eew”.

      1. After posting I also thought: “I love fries with Ranch”, so yeah, “flavored mayo” is probably delicious. At the same time, talk about adding fat to fat. Yikes!

        1. Sriracha Mayo is wonderful, as is Black Pepper Mayo. There are also a lot of local Indian places doing Curry Fries of various kinds. How can one go wrong with any of this? While going to Rio is surely a good thing to do, we can get wonderful fries right here at home.

          1. We love mayo flavored with Bufalo brand chipotle sauce (from Mexico). Magic.

            Also: Mayo with Trader Joe’s Green Dragon sauce: Frequent salad dressing in this house. Yum! My wife was blown away the first time she tried it.

            Typically, when I fry cod, we have lemon aioli and chipotle mayo on the side.

          2. I love Trader Joe’s Green Dragon sauce…have some in the fridge right now. I’m going to try that! Thanks for the tip.

      2. “French” fries are in fact a Belgian invention, no wonder they know how to make them.
        I think that choosing the right potato, as well as frying them twice and at the right temperature, are the most important details to get good fries.

        1. Traditionally, Belgian fries are deep-fried in beef fat.

          Fries with mussels is essentially the national dish of Belgium.

    1. Tartar sauce! Oh, goodness, it’s tasty! When I get fish & chips, the tartar all goes for the chips!

      (Though, these (carb-free) days, I only get potatoes 3-4 times per year.)

  4. Topping fries with meat and sauces is totally the thing in fast food these days. I’m sure most aren’t as good as this Rio version but I’ve had Salchipapas, a combination of hot dogs and french fries, a couple of times at a local Peruvian place. They’re good but obviously not something to indulge in too often. Many Mexican places around here are now topping fries with carnitas, carne asada, barbacoa, birria, etc. Seems likely it’s a thing in Chicago now.

  5. Last night I woke up at 12:30. Since I couldn’t sleep, I decided to eat and read a bit of WEIT. A smaller Russet tater in the microwave for six minutes. Liberally anointed with yogurt (no sour cream available), margarine and cracked pepper. One was not enough, so had a second. A couple of small tumblers of Chardonnay, resulting in what remaining quality sleep was to be had. A decently tolerable day followed.

  6. Mr. Moreira’s establishment is located in what Cariocas (Rio natives) call the “zona norte”, or northside, far from the glamour of the Rio’s ritzy beach neighborhoods to the south. It is authentic Brazil. However, the Batata de Marechal (Marshal’s Potato) is not far from either Rio’s federal university or the Instituto Oswald Cruz. The video was made before the pandemic broke out.

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