Monday, July 24

Cool Story: Renata and Rogerio.

Before getting an apartment in Vila Madalena I took up residence in the Hotel Concorde, located in the Bela Vista area. Being that I did not have a space to cook in, my meals consisted of bar food, hot dogs, and meat pastries, with the occasional juices. When hunger would hit, while at the Hotel Concorde I'd step out and walk about 20 yards to Bar Metaforas. This is where I met Renata and Rogerio, a couple living together in Sao Paulo and working together as owner-operator-cook-bartender-server of Bar M. I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever been made to feel so welcome at a bar/restaurant before in my life. Bar M was to me what Cheers was to Norm. Serious. Aside from having great service, they had the intangibles that can't really be taught.

First off, you feel like part of a family there. Renata and Rogerio are clearly in love, and that positive energy just invades the whole bar. Second, Rogerio went out of his way...actually maybe it wasn't a stretch for him...maybe he's just cool like that...but I digress. In the couple of times that I've been there, Rogerio has given me apartment leads (asked other customers, if they knew of any leads), recommended me to another bar that I should go to, where his friend from the past runs the bar. Seriously. He said and wrote for me on a napkin, "go to Finnegans Pub, and ask for Lineu. Say you're a friend of Renata and Rogerio from Hot Dog." I mean c'mon. Does that really happen? It does at Bar M. After receiving this last gem of a recommendation, I broke down and started inquiring about his life and what the hell was Hot Dog all about. Turns out, Rogerio is a lawyer and Renata is a psychiatrist. About 2-3 years ago they both quit there jobs to open up a hot dog stand in the Pinheiros area. Over the course of a year and a half they sold enough hot dogs (about 300 a night) to save up and open up Bar M. I'm not surprised. Needless to say, I'll be going back to Bar M to have a Skol Gelada, a burger with fries, and pick up more gems of advice from Rogerio and Renata. Oh yeah. They call me by name, remember what type of beer i drink and Rogerio drinks out of his own chilled glass that used to be his great grandfathers. need I say more?