Brazil

My first visit was in 2015 to make pizza for Roberta’s. We were hosted by the restaurant group Cia Tradicional do Comércio, kind of as ambassadors of Brooklyn. The first stop was Rio de Janeiro, the city and culture most Americans think of when they think of Brazil. But Brazil is huge (just 13 percent smaller than America), and the next stop, São Paulo, was reminiscent of New York City (it even has its own Empire State Building). It’s immediately apparent that there’s a large Italian community and strong pizza culture. Paulistanos call their city the “pizza capital of the world” (they can fight over that title with Old Forge, Pennsylvania). But considering only New York City has more pizzerias by total number, it’s a valid claim.