A Mystical World

Tony experiences Salvador da Bahia and experiments with local cuisines, culture, and religion in this episode. True to form, Tony wanders to a local market to acquaint himself with the cornerstones of Bahian cuisine: fried shrimp, palm oil, chili peppers, and coconut. After a hearty and mysterious meal of meat, he saunters off to a ?mocoto? stand to experience this typical Bahian meal, yet again starring mystery meat. Tony then broadens his horizons by taking part in a traditional Candomble ceremony ? a religious tradition where a new member is welcomed into the cult. Through song and dance, members of the group enter a trance-like state. Feeling quite woozy, Tony heals his hurts with a plate of post-ritual grub and heads to the hotel to sleep. The next day, Tony heads to Sorriso da Dada, where one of the best Bahian chefs, Dada herself, will prepare a traditional meal fit for a king. Despite her enormous success, Dada still oversees every detail herself. She serves such standards of Bahian cuisine as red fish wrapped in banana leaf, and colorful moqueca, a seafood and coconut stew featuring fiery dende palm oil, infamous for wreaking gastro-intestinal distress on unsuspecting tourists. The dende oil makes Tony sweat incessantly, so he cools off with Dada?s seemingly endless variety of Caiparinhas. Then, Tony, against his will, stops in at a local ice cream shop to continue cooling off. With the help of a local, he deciphers the flavor menu and tries flavor after flavor of delicious ice cream. Unfortunately, he also tries flavor after flavor of horrid-tasting ice cream and isn?t shy to tell us about it. Tony heads to the beach for some sun, relaxation, and, of course, food! Toasted cheese, sugar cane and shrimp ? all served on sticks - tide Tony over until the quail egg lady arrives. Then a hunky waiter in a Speedo appears to take Tony?s order. Minutes later, a dish of many fried little fish is brought to Tony, complete with head, bones, skin, and all, much to Tony?s delight. Tony, slipping comfortably into Bahian life, decides to try another Bahian staple, acaraje.