Sao Paulo's Open Air Markets

As Lisa would say, Wednesdays are "heavenly" because it's open air market day in our neighborhood!  I don't necessarily agree with calling the market "heavenly", but it is a pretty neat concept: you get fresh produce, meat, and fish while supporting local families rather than supermarket corporations.  That's an idea I can get behind.  The market has fruits and vegetables, eggs, beef, poultry, fish, nuts, cheese, and pastels: deep fried pastries filled with all imaginable combinations of meat, cheese, tomatoes, corn, etc.  So as you shop, you can get something to nibble on.

The open air markets are open from 7am-2pm and the exact day depends on the neighborhood.  In Moema, we have two: Wednesday and Sunday.  Generally, the weekend markets are more expensive than weekdays, but you can catch really great deals towards the end of the day at either one.  The vendors will do a lot of shouting to let you know they have a great deal for you: 5 papayas for 2 Reais, great deal, great deal!  All this shouting personally stresses me out, but my Portuguese teacher told me it would be rude to say, "leave me alone," so I am trying to adapt or ignore.

You can test out the various vendors, but I say pick one and stick with them.  Your regular vendors will treat you more fairly if they recognize you from week to week.  They don't rip me off like they used to because they know I'm a repeat customer!  I'm still on guard though and always count my change.

The open air market is a great place to get a taste of different fruits and the vendors are always pushing a slice of peach, mango, pear for you to try.  Beware that some vendors will put sugar or sweetener on the fruit to make it taste sweeter, but when you get home it will taste normally sweet which is still great.  Just don't be fooled.

The vendors are extremely forgiving of my broken Portuguese and patient, which I can say is not the case at the big markets with their fancy processes and rituals.  Rarely, but sometimes, the vendors will open up and try out their English which is appreciated.

Overall, I think it's a great place to get the basics for your pantry for little money and a crash course in basic Portuguese.