Brazilian Bowl
3204 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL
It seems appropriate that for our last post before leaving for Brazil we post about one of the newest Brazilian spots in Chicago, and one which has quickly become one of our favorites. So you may know that we have long been on the hunt for Acai away from Brazil. This hunt led us to Brazilian bowl, which opened up last summer in a convenient Lakeview location. Brazilian Bowl is a brightly-colored restaurant, whose focal point is a large ice cream counter and a “Brazil Bowl” assembly area (more on that later).
Much like Feel Rio in Lisbon, Brazil Bowl is bringing to Lanchonete to the Brazilian diaspora. The focal point is the “Brazilian Bowl” which is an assemble-yourself bowl of your choice of meat over rice, and with a wide variety of Brazilian-inspired toppings. ($6.95 for Steak, Turkey, Pork, or Sausage; Vegetarian is only $6.15). For main courses, Brazilian Bowl also has typical Brazilian classics like Feijoada (7.95) and a Bahian-inspired shrimp dish with yuca, dende oil and tomatoes ($8.95). M piled his Brazilian bowl high with fixings: opting for the steak, he paired it with a veggies, corn, lettuce, cheese, and a variety of spicy sauces. While the result was filling and tasty, it was not exactly brazilian. We doubt you will ever find the dish anywhere in Brazil. Perhaps Brazilian bowl is to Brazilian as Chipotle is to Mexican food? But at the same time, a tasty and filling inexpensive lunch spot is not a bad thing, especially with this variety of flavor options!
However, the real star of Brazilian bowl were the fruit options, including our favorite, the açaí bowl. There were two options – $6.95 a piece for either acai/blueberry/agave, or acai/banana/honey. The açaí was delicious, and definitely one of our favorite in Chicago – creamy and with a good amount of toppings. It transported us directly back to Bahia. You can also get smoothies for $3.75 with creative Rio-based names like Copacabana ( strawberry, banana and apple juice) and the Ipanema (Mango, banana, kale and coconut milk).
In terms of salgados (salty snacks) there are Brazilian Empanadas, Empadas, with a variety of fillings ($2.25) as well as the chicken-filled coxinhas ($2.25). We were also delighted to sample some pães de queijo (2 for $.195, 5 for $2.95, 10 for $5.49). We make a pact to try these at every Brazilian restaurant, but we are sad to say that these pães were almost a little too cheesy – who would have thought wed ever say that? Mainly because it threw off the typical tapioca-to-cheese ratio. Next time we will be sure to sample some of the exotically-flavored gelato in some unusual flavors ( such as açaí- yum, or goat cheese). For the açaí bowl alone, we will definitely be back to Brazilian Bowl, post-Brazil.
Eating The World 