It was my coworker’s birthday this past weekend, and I was all game once I heard that my coworker was bringing her Brazilian girl friends. We started off at Mangarosa, a fusion Italian/Brazilian restaurant in San Francisco. I thought my pork chop was great, but of course my Brazilian coworker didn’t approve of the food: not authentic Brazil. $30 will still get you a huge platter of beef though, enough to feed two, just prepare to get the salt and pepper shakers out.

I also tried a new drink called Caipirinha, made of lime juice, sugar, and cachaça (a Brazilian liquor). I’d say it’s close to a margarita, but with much more flavor and a lot less tequilla. At $10 a pop, it’ll probably cost a bunch to get drunk off of this stuff though.

But with or without liquor, Brazilians are mad fun. During dinner, there was a bunch of singing, clapping, and table pounding. At Bubble Lounge, everyone was dancing and having a good time, even though no one had alcohol and the music was… questionable. That’s a huge difference compared to most Asians who need to have 3-4 shots before they can even approach the dance floor.

Less standing, more dancing!