As a result, Paulistanos, as residents of South America's largest city are called, revere pizza much like the French cherish fine wine and Argentines love a good steak. Sao Paulo is so serious about its pizza that for the last 22 years the city celebrates "Pizza Day" every July 10. By some estimates, only New Yorkers devour more pizzas annually than Paulistanos. Sao Paulo is home to more than 6,000 pizza parlors that, in all, churn out close to a million pies a day.
Today, Sao Paulo is home to the largest Italian community in Latin America. Italians have had such an impact on local customs that even the brand of Portuguese spoken in this city has a distinct Italian lilt to it.
| Montreal Gazette - Montreal,Quebec,Canada |
| Todd Benson |
| From Reuters |
SAO PAULO - Forget "feijoada", the hearty pork and bean stew that is often hailed as Brazil's national dish. If you want tradition in Sao Paulo, pizza is where it's at.
Paulistanos, as residents of South America's largest city are called, revere pizza much like the French cherish fine wine and Argentines love a good steak. Sao Paulo is so serious about its pizza that for the last 22 years the city celebrates "Pizza Day" every July 10.
For many Sao Paulo residents, dinner with the family at the neighbourhood pizza joint is a Sunday night ritual. People of all ages line up for hours outside pizzerias to get their weekly fix.
By some estimates, only New Yorkers devour more pizzas annually than Paulistanos. Sao Paulo is home to more than 6,000 pizza parlors that, in all, churn out close to a million pies a day, according to the local association of pizzerias.
"We're talking about mountains of pizza," said Vinicius Casella Abramides, who manages Pizzarias Braz, a chain of popular upscale pizza parlours. "Sao Paulo and pizza go hand in hand."
Braz normally seats 400 to 600 people Sunday nights at each of its four outlets, serving up as many as 800 pizzas out of old-fashioned wood burning stoves. It also typically fires up over 1,000 more for home delivery, making Sunday the busiest day of the week.
Going out for pizza has become such a ritual in Sao Paulo that it has even worked its way into the Brazilian lexicon. When politicians charged with corruption escape prosecution, Brazilians say the investigation "ended in pizza," which conjures up images of the accused celebrating over a pizza.
Sao Paulo's love affair with pizza dates to the early 20th century, when Italian immigrants began arriving to Brazil in search of work on coffee plantations. By 1920, more than 1.2 million Italians had settled in Brazil, the majority in or around Sao Paulo.
Today, Sao Paulo is home to the largest Italian community in Latin America. Italians have had such an impact on local customs that even the brand of Portuguese spoken in this city has a distinct Italian lilt to it.
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Viva Italia
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