Archive · 25 Sep 2026
Anthony Bourdain’s São Paulo Love Affair With Mortadella Sandwiches
Anthony Bourdain visited a busy market in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2007.
He was filming an episode of his travel show.
At Bar do Mané, he tried a large mortadella sandwich.
The sandwich was served on a soft Portuguese water roll.
It contained almost half a pound of fried mortadella.
Melted yellow cheese was added too.
The sandwich became famous because it was much bigger than the original version.
The stall made it larger to compete with other sandwich sellers in the market.
Anthony Bourdain encountered a famous mortadella sandwich in São Paulo in 2007.
He visited Bar do Mané while filming an episode of his travel show.
The stall operates inside São Paulo’s Mercado Municipal and opened in 1933.
Its sandwich contains nearly half a pound of pan-fried mortadella and melted yellow cheese.
The oversized sandwich reportedly began as a competitive response to other market sandwiches.
- Who
- Anthony Bourdain and Bar do Mané.
- What
- Bourdain discovered and enjoyed an oversized mortadella sandwich.
- When
- In 2007.
- Where
- Bar do Mané inside São Paulo’s Mercado Municipal in Brazil.
- Why
- The sandwich was made unusually large to compete with other market sandwich options.
- Location
- Mercado Municipal, São Paulo, Brazil
- Establishment
- Bar do Mané
- Established
- 1933
- Visit
- Anthony Bourdain visited while filming in 2007
- Main filling
- Nearly half a pound of pan-fried mortadella
- Cheese
- Melted yellow cheese
- Bread
- Soft Portuguese water roll