Rio Brazil Cafe, an L.A. Gem. Feasting on Feijoada, Batidas, and More

Rio Brazil Cafe is perhaps a hole-in-the-wall many people, including myself, would miss if it weren't for the internet and blogger friends. Located in a strip mall in Palms, the overhead signage simply said "Brazilian Food".

Street Gourmet LA set up a tasting dinner for me, Gastronomy, and Food She Thought to get the word out about this little 15 month-old gem run by a native Carioca, Luciene Peck.

If you can't go without alcohol during your meal, you'll be happy to know that Rio Brazil Cafe has a BYOB policy with no corkage. As an extra treat for that night, Street Gourmet LA brought us two bottles of artisanal cachaça: Isaura from the Minas Gerais state that he had brought back from Brazil (not available in the US), and Weber Haus from Rio Grande do Sul, available at BevMo.
If you bring your own ingredients and mixers, Luciene will also let you make your own cocktails. If you have never had a batida, though, I highly recommend you have her make you either the batida de coco (coconut) or the batida de maracuja (passionfruit). Or both.

The batidas are made with cachaça, condensed milk, and of course the fruits in question (either passionfruit or coconut cream+milk).
Sweet and creamy, these batidas are quite dangerous for a Monday night.


As starters we got a couple of little savories. The coxinha de galinha translates to "little chicken legs" and is a drumstick shaped savory filled with shredded chicken. While here they serve a smaller "party-size" portion, in Brazil they're typically closer to the size of a real chicken leg. The
risolis/risoles is the crescent-shaped savory you see below, filled with cheese, meat, chicken or shrimp.
An interesting note is that in Indonesia we also have a savory called risoles, though they're typically rectangular and filled with creamy chicken and vegetables. It's no mere coincidence since Indonesia was a Portuguese colony for a bit.

They were served with Luciene's own pimenta which held a lot of flavor.

Most things in Brazil are served family style with rice, so we did the same thing here. A set of entrees came with a plate of arroz (white rice), including:
1) abobora com carne seca (butternut squash with home made beef jerky)
2) Bobo de camarao (shrimp in a yucca cream), succulent shrimp in manioc meal, coconut milk, dendê oil(palm oil),
3) feijao-black beans cooked with pork meat, bay leaf, onions and garlic.
Everything was quite delicious, the fresh shrimp in yucca cream had an interesting thick texture you don't normally find in other cuisine. The abobora com carne seca is typically made with Brazilian pumpkin but since that's not available in the states, butternut squash was used instead. The beef jerky was meaty and smokey. Even the beans were very flavorful.

Moqueca de peixe (fish stew): cod with peppers and tomatoes, dendê oil, and coconut milk. This dish originates from the state of Bahia, but the Rio version is lighter since it's made with less dendê oil.
A wonderful dish, again with very bold flavors and is perfect eaten with the fragrant rice.

The climax of the meal was one I had been waiting for all along:
Feijoada completa(complete feijoada), the national dish of Brazil traditionally served on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The feijoada is a black bean stew made with pe' de porco( pork trotters), rabo(tail),costela( ribs), carne de porco (pork meat), carne seca (beef jerky). Cooked for a long time with onions and garlic, we could smell this from the kitchen, whetting our appetite while waiting for the dish to come out.

The completa meal included couve (collard greens).
As with all other dishes, the feijoada is meant to be eaten with white rice. Sprinkle some farofa (manioc meal) on top to complete it.
A rich and flavorful stew is comfort food at its best. An immensely satisfying stew dominated by the flavors of the beans and pork. With so many different cuts of meat in this dish, there's something for everyone.

For dessert we shared three different types of sweets:
Coconut Cream with boysenberries, mousse de manga (mango mousse), pudim de leite (Brazilian style flan).
From the light and tart mango mousse to the rich and heavy Brazilian flan, we got our sweet tooth satisfied. My favorite is probably the coconut cream which wasn't too thick and had a distinct coconut flavor, and even chunks of the fruit itself. I could've gone for it all on my own.

Rio Brazil Cafe is a wonderful little place serving up some delicious and authentic Brazilian Carioca food. With a live music performance on Saturday nights and a BYOB policy (they're also going to start a Cachaça club where you can keep a bottle there), there's no reason this place should stay hidden. Do give it a try.


Oh and by the way, they are also on restaurant.com so you can get a gift certificate to make your meal even cheaper from this link:
Rio Brazil Cafe

Rio Brazil Cafe
3300 Overland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 558-3338

Need Party Snacks? Get Some Acarajé from Sabor de Bahia Catering.

What is acarajé? Street Gourmet LA called it "Brazilian falafel". Acarajé is deep fried fritters made from peeled black eyed peas, fried in dendê oil - the reddish palm oil stemming from Africa.

Acarajé is typically found in Nigeria and in the state of Bahia in Brazil (think Salvador), where the African culture is strong.

During our meal at Rio Brazil Cafe (review coming as soon as my Photobucket account is back up and running), Bill brought a special treat of acaraje from a mom-n-pop catering service called Sabor de Bahia.

The acarajé is served with vatapá - a creamy paste made with shrimp, coconut milk, and more - tomato salad, and pimenta (melagueta pepper sauce).

Here's how you eat it:
Split the acarajé in two with a knife. Fill it with vatapá and tomato salad. Dash some pimenta to taste.

There are so many bold flavors going on here but they all worked together so well. I can see why this is a staple street food in Bahia.
The fritters are wonderfully moist inside but fried crispy, the vatapá is fragrant and flavorful. The tomato salad cuts all the grease and richness. The pimenta? I don't normally eat spicy but I couldn't do without the pimenta, it just completes everything.

If you've never tried acarajé, you really need to. And why not make your coworkers be a bit more adventurous during your next office potluck?


Sabor da Bahia, The Authentic Taste of Bahia
near Venice Blvd and Overland (call for address)
310-841-2729
pick up only, cash only

If you want the full story of Sabor de Bahia, plus the cooking process of Acarajé, check out Street Gourmet LA's post.

Recipe: Maine Lobster In Its Own Butter by Brian Redzikowski of BondSt

My latest visit to Bond St. was highlighted by the Maine lobster, served in its own butter with preserved lemon. The succulent lobster pieces were swimming in the buttery broth.

Since the dish turned out to be pretty easy to make, Executive chef Brian Redzikowski has graciously shared his recipe for this Maine Lobster dish!
The only thing to keep in mind is that it does take time to make preserved lemon (preserve for 6 months, see bottom of post).


Maine Lobster in Its Own Butter, with Preserved Lemon Julienne
- Brian Redzikowski, Bond St. Beverly Hills
Photo courtesy of Chef Brian Redzikowski

The Lobster:

1 Lobster

Blanch in boiling water for 10 seconds to kill.

Separate claws from the body. Blanch large claw for 4 minutes 10 seconds. Blanch small claw for 3 minutes 10 seconds. Blanch tail still attached to body for 1 minute, 10 seconds.
Shock all. Remove and dry all meat from shells.

Gently melt butter in a bowl. Be sure it does not separate. Dip all lobster into butter and reserve.

For the Sauce

600g lobster scrap cut into 3 cm cubes

300g sake

300g white wine

50g celery sliced

1 garlic clove

1 sprig thyme

600g water

100g carrot

50g onion

Bring all to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. infuse for ten. Strain through a coffee filter. Reserve 100g for recipe.

To finish:

Place buttered lobster pieces into a cold pan covered. Gently warm until cooked through. Heat up reserved lobster stock. Whisk in 10g heavy cream and 30g butter. Blend together.

For garnish:

Squash, Carrot and leeks: cut small/dice.

Meyer Lemon:

10 meyer lemons

300g Salt

100g Sugar

Combine and let sit for 6 months

Use only the skin

Julienne the skin only.

Place lobster into a bowl. Top with vegetables and meyer lemon julienne. Top with frothed sauce.

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Visit Bond St. Restaurant at 9360 Wilshire Blvd. (310) 601-2255.

Read my BondSt Review.