Tucked away on a Flamengo side street laiden with botecos, Tacacá do Norte looks like just another unremarkable bar, belying the simple slice of Parå or Belém that flourishes within. A list of native fruit juices with perplexing names adorns the walls to reward the adventurous, though the less bold can try the excellent açai in either a glass or a whole china bowl (R$9 or R$11 respectively) or a creamy brazil nut ice cream (R$8 for a small plastic cup).

The casquinha de siri crab meat served in a (fake) shell with an ice cold beer makes a perfect post-beach snack for those on their way back from Flamengo's nearby sands, though the random delicacies on sale here draw people from surrounding neighbourhoods, too. Be warned that the goo in the signature dried-shrimp stew, tacacá, takes some stomaching. It is apprently a perfectly natural manioc by-product, but the mind plays tricks... You can't, however, go far wrong with the deep-fried crab claw splashed with spicy butter sauce.