Entre Vilas - Enology and Gastronomy

The Slow Food Movement is alive and well in Brazil and I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to experience a part of it this past weekend.   I was visiting friends in the rural town of Goncalves in the state of Minas Gerais and they invited me to come along and experience this new restaurant.  Goncalves is located in the Serra da Mantiqueira (the mountains of Mantiqueira) and is a beautiful  town with lots of waterfalls, hiking, mountain biking and loads of organic shops selling jam, bread, cheese, dolce de leite (yes organic), salami, eggs and fruits and vegetables.   It's a mecca of health and well being.  Persons from Sao Paulo have second homes in the hills of this region to escape the concrete jungle and live a simple and healthy life on the weekends.  It's about a 3 1/2  hour drive 

from my house which is in Campinas, Sao Paulo to Goncalves, Minas Gerais. 

Goncalves MG, a view of the region.

Map of Brazil, there are 26 states. 

The drive from Goncalves to Entre Vilas Restaurant takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes, this is due to the small winding roads that you have to travel to reach the top of the mountain where the restaurant is located.

The drive is beautiful and you get to enjoy this spectacular waterfall on the way.

Incredible waterfall at the top of the mountain! 

Small winding dirt roads.

The restaurant is difficult to find and even the address on the business card doesn't really help.

Estrada da Campista x Pirangussu, KM 5.5.  ?? Really??  There are no street signs on these dirt road that I saw and honestly unless you are from the region I don't know if  you can find it.   Although having met the owner and learned about all his endeavors he seems quite famous so perhaps everyone knows where  Street da Campista crosses Priangussu at kilometer 5.5.  

But find it we did as my two friends, Aman and Jan who were introducing me to Entre Vilas had been there just four weeks ago. 

 The 'secret entrance' to the restaurant, vineyard and farm.

One more sign to show you are on the right path, located midpoint on the driveway, not super helpful.

The cosy restaurant, one seating only, reservation necessary! 

Aman and Jan

When we arrived there was a ton of activity going on, apparently two of the chefs were not in/didn't show up(??) so we were told the Slow Food was going to be a little slower then usual.  We didn't care, where did we have to be on a Saturday afternoon anyway?  What better place to be then this beautiful farm, vineyard and restaurant.

 The open kitchen.

 Milling around waiting for the meal to begin.

Chef Rodrigo Veraldi Ismael

We were seated and immediately served tiny marinated olives from the farm, red pepper spread also from the farm, a Grano Padano cheese made locally and a lovely prosciutto also made at a local farm.  That's the thing about slow food, all food is grown and made in the region or in this case at the local.  

We were curious to try the wine from the vineyard, all organic of course.  I am not a fan of organic wine as I have never had one that I really enjoyed.   The one we chose was a Cabernet Franc 2013, very new.   I have to say it was good, not great but a solid good.  It has an interesting spice in the flavor and it did get better the longer it had to breath.   But what was particularly outstanding were the fresh squeezed berry juices!!   Wow!  We had a pitcher of  fresh squeezed raspberry and white berry juice and it was AMAZING! So much so that we had a second pitcher!  Also our 'table neighbor' exclaimed how great his choice of juice was, pure strawberry, and even shared a taste with us, which of course we returned the favor and gave him a sip of our amazing juice.  The strawberry was heavenly but ours, I have to say was better, although I am partial to raspberries.

 Chef Rodrigo pouring wine from his vineyard.

Raspberry and white berry juice, heaven in a glass!

After munching away on the delicious delights of cheese, ham and olives we were served the next course.  A bruschette unlike any I have ever had (except in Italy of course), the tomatoes were sweet and just picked from the vine, the capers also harvested and cured at the farm, homemade bread and the sweetest, softest, velvetiest basil I have ever tasted.  The flowers from the basil were so sweet and added a layer of flavor I had never experienced before.  It tasted like a drop of honeysuckle. 

The bruschetta.

The next course was a 'field salad' with greens foraged from the land we were told.  It came in a parmesan bowl and and was dressed in an elderberry dressing with fresh elderberries on the side.  Apparently elderberries are a super food! 

Field salad with elderberries.

For the next course we were offered grilled trout with almonds toasted in butter served on mashed sweet potato with sweet elderberry sauce or a grilled white fish from the sea with mashed manioc (known as cassava or yucca in English) or ravioli filled with fresh ricotta and Brazil nuts served with a butter sage sauce.   I was very impressed that we could choose.   I chose the trout and Aman and Jan chose the ravioli.

 Grilled trout with toasted almonds in butter served on top of  mashed sweet potato with sweet elderberry sauce.

Ravioli filled with fresh ricotta and Brazil nuts with a sage butter sauce. 

I have to tell you I did not eat all my trout even though it was absolutely delicious.  I was a bit worried that I would not be able to eat/enjoy the main course as I was getting quite full.  I did get to taste the ravioli and it was as tasty as the picture above suggests.    Next up were told to choose between 

beef or pork, I could not believe we could choose again, this guy was very inspired I think!  The ladies chose the pork and I chose the beef.   The protein was to be served with grilled vegetables and potatoes brava.   Yuummm, potatoes brava.......then I asked how would that be prepared and I was told it's a special preparation.  Oh.  So I sat there dreaming about potatoes with a cream/butter sauce or perhaps roasted in the juices of the pork / beef all brown and crispy on the outside and soft in the center.  Hey, I am half Hungarian and half Lithuanian it would be an insult to my eastern European heritage not to adore potatoes! As we waited patiently for our meals to be cooked, remember everything is cooked fresh on the spot so it takes a bit of time, hence the second pitcher of amazing berry juice and we took this time to wander the farm and the cellar. 

Berry fields

Vegetables and Berries

Curing pork.

"Wine curing!!" 

Wine at the ready!

And then came the main course! A MASSIVE cut of grilled prime rib, lovely grilled vegetables and a peach chutney on the side.  It's peach season right now.  But where are the potatoes brava??  Hiding under the beef perhaps?  No, sadly there were no potatoes brava, the chef, we were told, "changed his mind".  Drat! I think perhaps he may have been a wee bit overwhelmed as he was two chefs down and cooking all of this on his own for approximately 20 people.  

 Prime rib......from the ribs of a dinosaur cow I think!

 OK, I used my fork and knife to attack it but I had to check underneath to see if the potatoes were hiding there.

The 'baby pork leg' was fairly large for one person, but everyone managed to eat their portions.

 Dessert was a blissful combination of cooked strawberries and raspberries, fresh whipped cream and toasted almonds. 

Cooked berries and cream

As we departed we purchased a few items from the cellar a red pepper spread, wine and farm fresh eggs.  Sadly there were no more strawberries for sale as he used them all up in our dessert!

If you would like to visit this wonderful place and you are up for an adventure in navigation here is the address:

Entre Vilas
Estrada da Campista x Pirangussu, KM 5.5
Serrano/Vila Maria
Near Sao Bento do Sapucai

Tel#: (12) 9 9745-9897

Hours: Sat. & Sun  2p - 6p  one seating only, reservations necessary.