Gabriel Gasparini is better known by his Instagram username, @gaspaindica. But not all of his more than 200,000 followers on the social network, eager for gastronomic novelties, know where the codename he adopted came from, since 2014, when he was still working at a multinational.
Graduated in Business Administration, Gaspa has always been a gastronomy enthusiast and used to be the person who recommended restaurants to family, friends and co-workers. At that time, he gathered all the news from magazines, newspapers and specialized websites and ended up creating a database of places he intended to visit.
And that’s how it was, after deleting his personal photos on Instagram and betting on a profile full of tips on where to eat well-executed dishes in Sao Paulo and in other cities, the Gaspa Indica appeared for real.
Gaspa is proof that a hobby can become a profession and he took off even more in 2019, when he won the reality show “O Aprendiz”, on TV Bandeirantes, and started to undertake in the area.
At the beginning of the pandemic, he created the project Tomorrow’s Menu, which works as a voucher sales system to help restaurants maintain a low-volume cashier. In addition, he became a member of the bar Gutterin the Brooklyn neighborhood.
As a good gastronomy lover, Gaspa scores in the main restaurants in the capital of São Paulo and, at the request of the CNN Travel & Gastronomyshares your favorite addresses in the city:
pier
for me the pier is the restaurant that best treats fish and seafood in São Paulo. It’s located in a nice little house in the traditional bohemian neighborhood of Vila Madalena, and it makes contemporary and unusual dishes, making full use of the fish.
The menu changes frequently, depending on the availability of the sea. My suggestion is to try some fish sausage and be sure to ask about the specials of the day.
Rua Fidalga, 314 – Vila Madalena, São Paulo – SP / Tel.: (11) 3819-6282. Reservations via site / Opening hours: lunch – Wednesday to Friday, from 12:00 to 15:00, and Saturday and Sunday, from 12:00 to 16:00 / dinner: Wednesday to Saturday, from 19:00 to 23:00.
Tan Tan Noodle Bar
I believe it is the restaurant that best combines cocktails with first-class food. My suggestion on Tan Tanwhich was the only Brazilian among the 100 best bars in the world in 2021, is to go in four people so that everyone can taste the entire menu.
The menu is filled with recipes from “chuka” cuisine, a branch of Japanese cuisine with Chinese influences. I say that few cooks are as talented and meticulous with what they serve as Thiago Bañares, the local chef.
Rua Fradique Coutinho, 153 – Pinheiros, São Paulo – SP / Tel.: (11) 2373-3587. Reservations via site / Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, from 19:00 to 23:30, and Saturday from 12:00 to 16:00. It does not open on Mondays.
Borgo Mooca
Creativity defines this oasis of good food that is the Borgo Mooca, located in the typical neighborhood of Italian immigrants in the city. Thus, with a mostly Italian influence, chef Matheus Zanchini travels assertively in the creation of all the menus that change weekly.
There is always a special crudo and maybe a different bolovo for you to try, my unmissable suggestions from the house.
Rua Comendador Roberto Ugolini, 129 – Mooca, São Paulo – SP. Phone: (11) 97574-3213. Reservations via Whatsapp. delivery via site.
Cepa Restaurant
Have you ever heard of product cuisine, a gastronomy niche that values the ingredient to the fullest, more than the preparation itself? Well then, it’s when the raw material is so good that it doesn’t need to receive much interference to get a spectacular result.
And guess what? The restaurant Strainin Tatuapé, does this in a sensational way in its authorial menu that changes according to seasonality, with homemade sausages, crudos and dishes prepared with precise techniques.
Rua Antônio Camardo 895 – Tatuapé, São Paulo – SP / Tel.: (11) 2096-0687. Reservations and delivery via Whatsapp./ Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday, from 12:00 to 15:00, Saturday and Sunday, from 12:00 to 16:00.
Santiago artisan bakery
Simply my favorite bakery I’ve ever been to. Whether to have a nice breakfast on the sidewalk or to buy bread to take home. THE Santiago makes beautiful.
The rosemary and coarse salt bread is mandatory and addictive, going with everything, as is the almond praline pie with chocolate ganache, caramel and fleur de sel.
Rua Tavares Bastos, 750 – Perdizes, São Paulo – SP / Tel.: (11) 3864-7416. delivery via iFood. / Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, from 8 am to 7 pm, and Sunday, from 8 am to 2 pm.
EXTRA TIP ON THE NORTH COAST OF SÃO PAULO
Taioba Gastronomy (Camburi Beach, São Sebastião, SP)
O Taioba, Praia de Camburi, in São Sebastião, is my favorite restaurant on the entire coast of São Paulo. In addition to being very friendly and carrying out beautiful projects with young people from the region, chef Eudes Assis cooks a lot.
From the restaurant, my suggestion is to order the mussels, the zucchini flower (when available) and the seafood stew. They are unmissable!
Rua Tijucas, 55 – Praia de Camburi, São Sebastião – SP/ Tel.: (12) 98807-6971 / Opening hours: Thursday to Sunday, from 12:30 to 22:00.
Source: CNN Brasil
