Paladino

Description:

• Is Paladino a deli, with racks of spices and jars of capers and artichoke hearts? Is it a liquor store, as the hundreds of glass bottles lined up in gleaming wooden cases seem to suggest? Or is it, as the crowds seem to indicate, a bustling lunch bar with some of the best draft beer in town? Is an exact definition really important? Probably not. What matters is that the beer is clear and cold and comes at the wave of a finger, the atmosphere is that of Rio in the Belle Epoque, and the sandwiches and snack plates are delicious. Pratinhos, as the latter are known in Portuguese, cost next to nothing -- R$4 to R$8 (US$2-US$4/£1.10-£2.15) -- and come loaded with sardines (whatever you do, order the sardines!) or olives, cheese, or great heaping stacks of smoked sausage. For about the same price there are also sandwiches, packed thick with cold cuts or cheese. All of this delectable nosh is served up by old-fashioned waiters in black pants and white shirts. Since 1907 an eclectic mix of lawyers, shopkeepers, workers, and executives has come here, and though none have ever succeeded in defining exactly what it is, they've never stopped coming.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010