Marites D.
Yelp
I have been looking for a restaurant that serve cherry juice and this restaurant has it. They call it Acerola ($3.49) and I was told it is very good. They use the frozen pulp of the Brazilian cherry and they prepare it like a refreshing smoothie. Although it is a lighter shade of red almost peach like in color, the flavor of the Brazilian cherry juice taste amazing. As for desserts on the menu, they offer only three: slice of cake, pudding, and brigadeiro which is a traditional truffle in Brazil. Sadly they ran out of cake and brigadeiro from the holiday. What remain is just pudding which is a flan made with condensed cream and milk, and it is very similar to what I know in my culture as leche flan.
Their appetizers include Coxinha which is a popular Brazilian croquette snack, they have Pastel which is a deep fried puff pastry stuff with your choice of filling, and they have Pastel Do Boca which is their traditional Brazilian empanada filled with cheese, ham, ground beef, eggs and olives. They offer specialties like parmegiana, milanesa, grilled chicken, swai fillet, smoked sausage, fajitas, and Brazilian steak and eggs. There is a selection of pasta, salad, chicken fingers and wings, sandwiches, and they have a kids menu too. For entree I chose Stroganoff ($12.90), it has succulent strips of tender chicken sautéed in a tomato seasoned cream stew and you get a choice of three sides. The sides they offer are pinto beans, mashed potato, rice, salad, steamed veggies, and fries. Mine I opt for the garlic steamed rice, shoestring potato, and a salad.
The stroganoff is serve hot in a small clay pot and the sides are delivered on a big plate. I thought I had ordered a salad and what was given to me was steamed carrots and broccoli. I'm thinking this must be a Brazilian version salad. When I address it to Hector, he apologize for the error and brought the actual salad which has hearts of palm, romaine lettuce, slice tomato, and red onion serve with olive oil, red vinegar dressing, and farofa. Farofa is a toasted yuca flour mixture that is eaten mainly in Brazil and according to Hector, it taste good when you sprinkle it over steamed rice. If you have ever tried furikake, the concept is similar to that in which the yuca flour is like a seasoning flavor (it almost taste like crushed chicharron) and when sprinkled over rice it makes the food delicious. You can even add yuca flour to stroganoff, meat, soup, salad, and steamed veggies. What's so cool is they have a shelf of selected import goods from Brazil that you can purchase like a bag of yuca flour, which is highly recommended for your kitchen pantry.
Overall I'm real happy I got to try good Brazilian food, that is a dish I can finally check off on my bucket list. Hector has been cheerful and super friendly throughout my visit and I was able to meet the owner, who is pleasant and always smiling. In addition, when you buy a meal you get a stamp card. After your 10th visit, you get a discount on your next meal. However, it does not apply on lunch special but you can order your meal anytime of the day. They also make Brazilian pizza and that is something I will try for my next visit. By the way, if you wonder about the restroom it is a shared usage for both men and ladies. It would be nice if there is a separate facility, but I did check and it does look maintained clean.