Água Doce

Last night we went for the third time to Água Doce (in english "sweet water"), a Brazilian chain restaurant (in Brazil only unfortunately). They clasify themselves as a Cachaçaria which translates to be a "Sugar Cane Rum Bar", but it's much more.

What can I say? Impressive!!!!!!!

Below is an extract from their web site.

"No cardápio amplo e variado da casa são oferecidos mais de 600 itens que subdividem-se em 150 coquetéis com vinho e cachaça natural, cervejas, vodkas, whiskys e também uma infinidade de sucos, e coquetéis sem álcool para crianças"

Now that translates to be:

"Our more than ample menu offers more that 600 items divided into 150 cocktails with wine and sugar cane rum, beers, vodkas, whiskeys and also an infinite amount of juice, and non-alcoholic coktails for the kids."

But also the food is great.

I think they have about 85 franchaises and another four on the way.

Back to last night; there were four of us, we arrived at 8:00pm or a bit later, left at 12:30 and thought it was about 10.

Great food, drinks and atmosphere................................................

Well Done Brazil

Here is a "copy and paste" of a posting from Boing Boing:

Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Brazil rejects Bush's faith-based AIDS money
Brazil has rejected Bush's AIDS-relief money because it came with strings attached: a requirement to condemn prostitution, rather than working with sex-workers to promote safe sex. The Bush AIDS money comes with requirements to block abortion, birth control and sex-ed in favor of abstinence programs. Developing countries can't afford the luxury of hypocritical "faith based" HIV/AIDS prevention (e.g., if you believe hard enough, prostitutes will stop plying their trade), but Brazil is the first country with the guts to stand up to America's extraterritorial bullying. This is gutsy as hell -- bravo, Brazil!

Yesterday Pedro Chequer, the director of Brazil's HIV/Aids programme, said the government had managed to resist US pressure during negotiations on the Aids funding to focus on promoting abstinence and fidelity rather than condoms - another ideological battle being waged by the religious right. But the US negotiators insisted that the clause on prostitution had to stay.

"I would like to confirm that Brazil has taken this decision in order to preserve its autonomy on issues related to national policies on HIV/Aids as well as ethical and human rights principles," he told the Guardian.

You can go to the Boing Boing post here and to the full article from The Guardian here.