São Paulo – Kibbeh, safiha, taboulleh, hummus, dried skim milk, fava bean, Moroccan rice, roasted lamb are some of the delicacies of Arab cuisine that have become part of the project “Turismo Cultural Sabores da Costa Doce” (Flavours of the Sweet Coast Cultural Tourism), an initiative of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in partnership with city halls from the region known as “Costa Doce.”
“The region was formed by various ethnicities, so we suggested for participating enterprises to include typical dishes of African, Arab, German, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, Italian, Portuguese and local cuisines in their menus, in order for people to identify with the establishments,” criar says the project manager Jussara Argoud.
“The community of Arab descendents is quite strong in the region, especially in trade, and even a few restaurants that do not specialize in Arab food are including a few Arab dishes on their menus,” says Jussara.
The project brings together micro and small businesses in the fields of food services and artisanal producers of traditional foods in the municipalities of Arambaré, Barra do Ribeiro, Camaquã, Jaguarão, Mariana Pimentel, Pelotas, Piratini, Rio Grande, Santa Vitória do Palmar, São José do Norte, São Lourenço do Sul and Sertão Santana, in Costa Doce.
The city of Pelotas, for instance, is known for its sweets. A good way of tasting the delicious foods is to pay a visit to coffeehouse Jeske’s Casa de Café. The brainchild of entrepreneur Elizete Jeske, the store offers 50 options of Pomeranian origin, all elaborated by the owner’s family.
With the intention of offering healthy food to its customers and supporting the city’s economy, the dishes offered are prepared using natural ingredients and all of the products purchased from manufacturers from the municipality itself. The site is also a option for tourism. In addition to tasting the cuisine, visitors can learn something about the culture of the Pomeranians – an ethnicity of Slavic and Germanic descendents who helped colonize some municipalities in the south of the state.
The coffeehouse also features a museum, the result of nearly 20 years of research by the owner, who was seeking to become familiar with her origins. Elizete enthusiastically explains that she receives tourists from all over the world, in particular from Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, Germany, Italy, Poland and even Saudi Arabia. The coffeehouse serves over 50 varieties of drinks, sweets and snacks.
Time tunnel
Visiting Costa Doce, in the Far South of the country, is like going back in time and rediscovering the rich cultural heritage in the 19th century architecture and the region’s historical farms. The local handicraft and cuisine are present in all of the municipalities built by the banks Lago Guaíba, Lagoa dos Patos, Lagoa Mirim and Mangueira, which comprise Latin America’s largest set of lakes.
[[IMGNOT3]The small municipality of Barra do Ribeiro, for instance, attracts attention due to its calm, beautiful landscapes, exuberant flora and fauna, and sweet water beaches. At the farms, visitors may take horse rides and eat typical local dishes, such as carreteiro rice and barbecue. Adventure fans may take boat or canoe rides to see the region from another perspective.
Costa Doce is also known for its Banhado do Taim ecological reserve. With an area of 35,000 hectares, the station was established in 1986 and is managed and overseen by the Brazilian Environment and Renewable Natural Resource Institute (Ibama).
It is worth noting that the flora and fauna are é abundant and diverse. The region has one of South America’s widest variety of water birds. The reserve’s ecological importance attracts researchers and visitors from across Brazil.
Farroupilha Route
A reference among the most beautiful regions of Rio Grande do Sul, the Costa Doce and the Lowlands provided the setting for the Farroupilha Revolution, which lasted one decade, from 1835 to 1845. Now, visitors may take the Farroupilha Route, which preserves the memory of the farroupilha saga among fine landscapes. Each section of the route is part of the history of the state’s natives and of farroupilha heroes such as Bento Gonçalves, Gomes Jardim, General Neto and Giuseppe Garibaldi.
Along the way, it is possible to visit places such as the Sobrado Farm, in São Lourenço do Sul, and the São João Farm, in which the TV miniseries A Casa das Sete Mulheres (The House of the Seven Women), shown by the Rede Globo TV network in 2003, was staged. In the municipality of Pelotas, aside from the historical downtown area of Piratini, there is the Gomes Jardim House, where Bento Gonçalves passed away. The Port of Rio Grande, a strategic location during the Revolution, is also part of the route.
Contact
Jeske’s Casa de Café
Site: www.olhasoaqui.com/jeskes/
E-mail: jeskecafe@hotmail.com
Telefone: (+55 53) 3273-3652
Costa Doce
www.portaldacostadoce.com.br
* With information from website Portal da Costa Doce. Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum