Brazucas! A Taste of Home Cooking at Brazil By the Bay

 

By Sandi Masori 

SAN DIEGO — Just behind the Pechanga Arena is a little market and restaurant that you might just pass by if you didn’t know any better.  But do yourself a favor and drive slowly next time so you don’t miss Brazil By the Bay.

They specialize in Brazilian home cooking and comfort food, so while they do have some grilled meats on the menu, this is not another Brazilian steakhouse.  I had an appointment in the area, and while looking for a place to eat I happened onto their Yelp page.  The reviews seemed good and a quick click on their menu left me intrigued.  I’d never had non- barbecue Brazilian food before.

The restaurant is tiny, but cozy.  There’s a decent size patio for outdoor dining, and a market attached if you really want to feel like you dropped into Brazil for the day.

I didn’t catch her name, but the waitress was very friendly and took time to explain all the different dishes to me and to make recommendations.  I explained that I couldn’t eat pig, so sadly couldn’t try the popular Brazilian national dish of Feijoda  which is multiple kinds of pork (who knew that was more than one!?) and beans.

Instead she suggested a dish from the Brazilian state of Bahia, Moqueca.  It’s a curry-style fish dish (I asked them to hold the shrimp) that is served with rice.  While there’s no actual curry in it — because the sauce is made with coconut milk and has bell peppers — the flavor reminded me of Thai food.  It was a little sweet, but also savory from the bell peppers.  Pretty good actually.  The waitress explained that the secret to it was the dende oil (palm oil), which she said gives it its color and some flavor.  But be careful when cooking with it she said, a little dende oil can go a long way and too much can give you tummy trouble.  I figure I’ll leave it to the professionals and enjoy it in the restaurant.

She also recommended that I try the ultimate in comfort food, and what she claimed was a birthday party staple in Brazil, similar to the ubiquitous pizza we might have at a kids party here.  That was the fried appetizers, that look like empanadas or kubbeh.  The kubbeh shaped one is called Coxinha (kow-sheen-yuh) and is a dough ball with shredded chicken in it.  It’s crisp on the outside and very mushy inside- much like Japanese croquette.   I liked the flavor but it was a little too much squish factor in my mouth for me.

I really liked the Risoles on the other hand, which had a similar texture but were made with hearts of palm.  Since the empanada-like shape was flatter it didn’t feel as mushy in my mouth and I liked it better.  It resembled a fried dough pocket with a filling that had the consistency of spinach artichoke dip inside.  The flavor was a little reminiscent of that as well, although there was neither spinach nor artichokes in it. The waitress recommended eating both of them with my hands, and adding malagueta peppers.  The tiny peppers are sweet on the first bite, but the heat comes on very quickly and they are spicy.  I’m a bit of a wuss with hot peppers, so I couldn’t give you a great comparison to other hot peppers, I’ll only say I was really happy to have the Pao de Quejo on the table.  That’s the Brazilian cheese bread that is made only of cheese.  They were crispy on the outside and very cheesy and gooey on the inside.  The texture is easily addictive though, so I was glad she suggested getting only five instead of ten.

Rounding it all out, I had to taste the desserts of course.  She recommended the Pudim De Liete (flan), and the Brigadeiro (chocolate)  and Beijinho (coconut) bonbons.  The Pudim was amazing, sweet, with a firm custard texture, but not overwhelming.  I asked her what the difference between Mexican flan and Brazilian flan was, but neither she, nor the Mexican cook had an answer.  I couldn’t tell either, but I will say it was one of the better flans that I have ever had.  The bonbons were very sweet, and the consistency was a little like a frosting ball.  I actually found the chocolate one too sweet, which surprised me as I rarely think anything is too sweet.  The coconut one I really liked the flavor, but the texture, again, is a little to squishy for my palette, but I found that by taking small nibbles instead of big bites I really liked it.

I know it seems like a huuuuuuge meal, but never fear dear reader, I don’t eat it all at once, I sample from each dish and bring the rest home as leftovers.

The family-owned restaurant has been there for about 20 years.  They get an even mix of Brazilian and non-Brazilian guests, so don’t worry if your Portuguese is not up to speed.  Also, something I found notable is that the prices seem to be the same that they might have been pre-pandemic, or perhaps only slightly higher.  Unlike so many restaurants of late, they did not double their prices to raise the minimum wage, and they don’t charge a service fee or any other silly additional fee, which is very refreshing.

All in all, it was a treat finding this restaurant.  I enjoyed exploring the market and tasting the traditional dishes, and look forward to trying something else new next time.

Brazil By the Bay is at 3676 Kurtz St. and is open 11am- 8pm daily.

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Sandi Masori is a theater and food reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.