A wonderfully curated selection of Brazilian cheeses and knowledgable staff on hand to help put…read moretogether the perfect cheese plate. A nice selection of gifts for the cheese lover in your like. Particularly enjoyable when the Los Menditos wine truck is parked out the front.

This place looks like a hole in the wall in Pinheiros market but they can literally get you any…read morespice, herb or tea that your voodoo hippie aunt can think of. I brought my friend here looking for ingredients for her homemade shampoo - wtf I know not a good idea but when you love someone you've gotta indulge their crazy. Everyone else told us we were nuts, but the owner here pulled out a book on herbs and helped us look up more info about homemade shampoos and which elements improve hair growth. He let us smell a hundred different things and was friendly to our puppy who we didn't want to leave in the car. He even let us take home a special booklet on herbs and offered to procure ingredients that he didn't have on hand. The guy was like something out of an old timey movie or children's book with all of his magical knowledge. Just not something you find in a supermarket. Along with a nifty owner, the place has an incredible selection of powders, spices, mixes and herbs. Some things I had no idea were edible or existed. I wouldn't hesitate to come here for special baking needs either, as they had different types of flour, sugars and flavoring. You could make a great set of mulling spices or tea from the great smelling dried herbs and leaves filling dozens of shelves of glass jars. The cheese and meat selection while prominently displayed in the shop was not so exciting. The other stall down the hall seems more the dried meats and cheeses guy while this is the spice wizard. I also wasn't super impressed by the cleanliness of the joint though in someways it added to that old timey charm.

Amüse is an interesting but slightly underwhelming corner establishment for food and drinks in Vila…read moreMadalena. I stopped by for a late afternoon drink and a bite to eat. The drink menu was quite limited and, like a lot of places these days, they seem to be geared toward gin-based drinks. Maybe it's a marketing push by Tanqueray. Meanwhile, the food was average, but maybe it's just a matter of luck to pick the right dish from the menu. There was a late afternoon/early evening party with a DJ playing some interesting stuff, but unfortunately I didn't have time to stick around. I guess I'll have to give it another try some other time.