Acarajé da Júlia

The scent of dendê oil frying in a clay pan marks Acarajé da Júlia long before the stall comes into view. Júlia set up this wooden cart decades ago, becoming a neighborhood fixture by perfecting a recipe for deep-fried black-eyed pea fritters. She spent years hand-peeling beans and whipping the batter until it reached a precise, airy consistency. Her daughter continues the work now, serving the acarajé with vatapá, shrimp, and a fiery pepper sauce prepared just the way Júlia insisted.