Dining out...

Churrascarias specialize in grilled meat. Mariu's (290 Av. Atlântica, Leme, tel.: 542-2393) is the city's most famous and but it is inundated with tourists. My favorite is Porcão (Rua Barão, 218, Ipanema. Tel.: (212) 2302-9150). I sat at a table in this spacious Ipanema restaurant and was amazed -- an endless procession of waiters ran around with skewers of meat. A tempting salad bar sits mid floor. I wandered over and piled my plate high with lettuce, cole slaw and vegetables. Remember, roughage is your friend. After my appetizer, the waiters stopped at my table and placed skewers of sausage, lamb, pork, roast beef, prime rib and various cuts of steak in front of me, slicing off portions and filling my plate until I begged them to stop. After dinner a dessert wagon made the rounds. That's when I finished off a bottle of Brazil's best beer, Cerpa (sweet, light, delicate; like drinking a vanilla soda). I paid $30 for a meal that lasted all night.

Satyricon (192 Rua Barão Da Torre, tel.: 521-0627), a gourmet fish and pasta restaurant, features shrimp, lobster, red snapper, octopus and other fresh local delicacies. I ordered whole fried red snapper. It arrived golden brown, meaty, tender -- the best I had ever tasted. The creamy ricotta cheesecake served with chocolate sauce appeased my sweet tooth. Yummy.

Bar do Mineiro (Rua Pascoal Carlos Magno, 99, Santa Teresa. Tel.: 221-9227) serves cuisine from the neighboring African Heritage state of Minas Gerais. I treated myself to Tutú à Mineria, a former slave dish which is now a national specialty: rice, beans, greens and a fried egg with bacon, slivers of sausage and a slice of pork loin. Absolutely delectable! This quaint downtown café is near a trolley car that will take you down to the business district. Go during the day when the streets are busy, not at night.

Zuka (Rua Dias Ferreira 233, Leblon. Tel.: 3205-7154) offers a pleasantly surprising seven-course dinner for a very reasonable rate. Delicate shrimp on a bed of risotto. 2. Cinnamon-crusted salmon, rare, over Mezza Penne pasta in apple curry sauce with nuts and raisins. 3. Sun-dried-tomato crusted salted cod on Tuscan sausage and potato ragù. 4. Skirt steak with white pepper caramel potato-leek ragù. 5. Rack of lamb with sweet pea, mint puree and a cardamom-mint reduction. 6. Foie gras steak with balsamic teriyaki sauce and sweet sake baked fruits. 7. Pumpkin with coconut and Chantilly with cinnamon. Quality dining at a reasonable price.

The Night Life

Happy Hour at the New Garden (631-B Rua Visconde de Pirajá, tel.: 259-3455) includes tap-dispensed beer at each table. Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30p.m. Brazilian music is played. Saturdays from 1p.m. to 5:30p.m., there is feijoada (a traditional black bean and pork Brazilian stew) and live music. If you want to sample the atmosphere that electrifies Rio during carnival, a night at Plataforma (32 Rua Adalberto Ferreira, tel.: 274-4022), a churrascaria in the Leblon section near Ipanema, features Brazilian folklore and samba shows.

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