Chef Manoella “Manu” Ramos, leader of Restaurante Manu in Curitiba and the nonprofit Instituto Manu Buffara, joined The Standard Grill this week for an intimate dining experience that channeled New York’s spirit through the vibrant flavors of Brazil.
The Meatpacking District mainstay at The Standard, High Line welcomed the Brazilian chef for a limited-time culinary collaboration, giving diners a taste of Buffara’s contemporary Brazilian take on New York classics.
Chef Manu has gathered significant acclaim throughout her career. Named Latin America’s Best Female Chef by The World’s 50 Best in 2022, her work has long been defined by seasonality, sustainability, and her belief in the power of a shared table. Her return to New York embodied that belief, expressed via a limited-edition menu built specifically for one of the city’s most iconic dining destinations.
Rather than simply bringing her Curitiba kitchen to New York, Buffara re-imagined the city’s staples using Brazilian ingredients, techniques, and flavors, creating a menu that paid great tribute to the city while still being distinctly hers. In collaboration with Fredrick Aquino, The Standard Grill’s head chef, she designed the experience to be communal and immersive, rather than embodying traditional fine dining. Together they brought to life a vision centered around conversation, discovery, and connection through creation.
The meal opened with Buffara’s signature brioche bread and butter, affectionately coined “Manu Bread,” followed by homemade pastrami and chicken liver toast. Familiar flavors took on new life as the menu moved into dishes including raw fish with heart of palm and sea, and corn and baby squid.
One of the evening’s standout moments was Buffara’s NYC Shrimp Dog, nodding, of course, to the city’s beloved street-food staple. Re-imagined through her Brazilian lens, the dish paired the unmistakable New York hot dog with a sophisticated flavor profile, embodying the spirit of the collaboration: friendly and familiar yet starkly unique.
(Photo Courtesy: Leandro Justen)
The menu continued with a family-style feast of wood-fired Wagyu and slow-cooked pork, served alongside classic Brazilian accompaniments. Desserts brought the meal to a close with Blackberry & Coriander and Bolo de Bolacha & Burnt Chocolate, offering a final taste of Buffara’s ability to balance unexpected combinations with the comfort of familiar food.
True to Buffara’s style, the experience was never meant to resemble traditional fine dining. Though the food lived up to the standard of the chef’s international reputation, the atmosphere encouraged guests to relax, share bites, eat with their hands, and find connection in familiar favorites. The setting leaned away from the formality of a tasting menu and instead embraced an inviting atmosphere for guests to relax and let the menu guide their evening.
Keeping with the collaborative theme, the pop-up menu was also served alongside The Standard Grill’s signature classics, including the much-loved Million Dollar Chicken and The Standard Burger. The dual-option menu offered guests the chance to enjoy the best of both kitchens at a single table.
For Buffara, the collaboration also continues the sustainability and seasonality ethos that has defined her career. Her cooking draws inspiration from the places, people, and memories that surround her, and in New York, that meant looking to the city’s streets and familiar flavors as a starting point. Each dish reinterpreted those memories through Brazilian ingredients and techniques, creating something that felt at once nostalgic and entirely new.
Ultimately, the collaboration captures the very foundation of Buffara’s talent: it didn’t ask diners to choose between sophistication and comfort, nor between Brazilian and New York cuisine.
