Marius

As many of you may already know, my mom and I went to Brazil for a week - this time with visas. Of course, the main attraction was Marius, a restaurant Mom has raved about for years, always emphasizing how delicious and yet how simple it was. The meat there, or so she claimed, was absolutely heavenly, despite lacking fancy sauces or interesting flavors. While all her attentions made me feel that perhaps Marius was over-hyped, I have since discovered that I could not have been more wrong.

Setting the scene is crucial to a description of Marius. You walk in, and are immediately struck by the pure energy of the place. There are two large rooms; the one to the right is for seafood, and to the left is the carnivorous area. We ate in the meat portion every time. The room is large and filled with long oak-like tables, and the ceiling is strewn with all types of paraphernalia: boots, large shiny lamp things, boxing gloves, even a gold painted urinal filled with candles. Then, there's the fact that all the waiters are dressed in a vaguely pirate-like manner, sporting shirts with large anchors on them and topping off with bandanas and other sea-faring gear... although one man was wearing an army helmet, so I'm not entirely sure that pirate was the only dress code allowed. They roam around the restaurant with giant haunches of meat speared on metal skewers, and despite their vagabond appearance, are always extremely polite when they ask if you would like some. The answer, of course, is always yes.

Aside from the fact that Marius is just an all around fun place, the food they serve is amazing. Their ribeye is absurdly good; juicy and tender, with just the right amount of pinkness and steak-y flavor. It must be the Argentinean beef. The huge slices of sirloin are equally delectable and flavorful. Mom's favorite dish was the chicken, served in pieces spiked onto a large skewer. It too was beyond compare in taste and juiciness; honestly the best chicken I have ever eaten. Then there were the pork sausage links, also served from a skewer, that were absolutely fantastic: smoky, dripping with delicious meaty flavor, and pretty much divine. I can't forget the enormous langoustines that they served on the last night we were there - they were huge, flavored with a bit of butter and garlic, and totally amazing. All the food was amazing, but the manner of cooking was (as the kitchen later revealed) very straightforward: simply dunk it in salt water for an extremely long time, and then stick in a very hot oven for a bit. I'm not entirely sure why then, it was all so fabulous, but I'm not really inclined to ask.

Attention must also be paid to the salad bar, with which the meal is opened. Plates of salads, shrimps, potatoes, artichoke hearts (which my mom adores) - you name it, and it was there, and in abundance. Obviously, this was a really awesome way to soften the bite of hunger while waiting for the meat.

And last, but not least, the desserts. Dessert is important to both my mother and I; despite have consumed about an entire cow each, we were always eager for the finale, and Marius never disappointed. My personal favorite was their chocolate mousse. It had that perfect, smooth-but-not-mushy texture, wonderful chocolate-y flavor, and was all topped off with some chocolate chips. There was also this really amazing chocolate cake; extremely thick, it required some sort of beverage but was nonetheless fantastic, with a rich flavor to match its creamy texture. Mom loves the passion fruit (Maracuja, they call it) mousse, and we will share the recipe on BirdDroppings shortly, and the lime mousse is a close second. The amazing array of fruit is also unparalleled, although this seems to be a widespread phenomenon in Rio.

All in all, Marius lived up to extremely high expectations - in fact, surpassed them, which explains why we ate there three nights out of four. If you ever get a chance to go to Rio, do not miss this restaurant!!!