Like much of the cuisine of South America, Brazilian cookery never quite caught on in these parts. There were some noble attempts, such as Rio’s in Albany Park, which put out a truly authentic spread for nearly ten years before shutting down in the early 90s. Rio’s drew on Chicago’s small Brazilian community but little more, possibly because the cuisine is too focused on beef for the diet-conscious and the seafoods are usually stewed in coconut milk, which is high in saturated fat.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
It is, rather, a fanciful, mytho-Brazilian setting serving a kind of crossover nuevo Latino cuisine–a bicoastal dining rage just getting under way here–invented by consultant Jamie Leeds, a former Lettuce chef who helped open a Brazilian-style spot in New York called Riodizio, and chef Scott Helm, who’s never been even close to South America.
The place itself is fun without going over the line into design overload. There is a colorful, glass-mosaic-topped bar and television monitors airing Brazilian soap operas and music videos, plus decorative perforated metal wall panels, a high, wood-trimmed ceiling, and exposed brick walls. Even the rest rooms have video monitors. Some rendition of South American music is always on the sound system–not overbearingly loud most of the time–and a changing battery of colored light patterns plays on the walls throughout the evening.
There’s also a wonderful sandwich of shredded pork roasted with chilies–hit with some cheese and slathered with lemon-cumin mayonnaise on a great bun ($7.25). This is served with crisp yucca chips; be sure to get the chipotle ketchup for zipping your chips.
