It’s the merry month of May, restaurant month is in full swing in our fairest of all communities, and I say “muito obrigado” – many thanks – to Maria Mazon and the wonderful Brazilian food she puts out of the kitchen of her increasingly popular Taste of Brasil Café and Snack Shop. This quaint and unpretentious café does, in fact, offer a taste of Brazil that, to my knowledge, is not available anywhere else in the metropolitan Chicago area.
That’s not to say there are no Brazilian restaurants out there. Churrascarias – Brazilian steak houses – have been cropping up in major cities all over the country in recent years and Chicago certainly has its fair share with such restaurants as Fogo de Chao, Brazzaz Brazilian Steakhouse, and Churrasco Brazil. These restaurants offer a truly unique dining experience – more meat than you can imagine and a stupendous salad bar for a fixed price of around $50 for dinner, $30 for lunch – in what I can only call a meat-lover’s paradise.
But there’s a lot more to Brazilian cuisine than roasted meat, and for that you’ll just have to come to Oak Park. Located at 906 S. Oak Park Ave., south of the Blue Line el stop, Maria Mazon, along with her son Marco and his wife Ana, specialize in making salgadinhos, those small, light and savory pastries that can be found all over Brazil.
A reasonably priced sampling of their menu might include Coxinha De Frango, chicken croquettes with onions & olives; Kibe, beef croquettes made with ground beef and Bulgur wheat; Risoles, savory croquettes with either chicken, shrimp or artichoke hearts; the famous Pastel, flaky Brazilian empanadas filled with either ground beef or cheese; or the intriguing Romeo & Juliet, a Pastel filled with guava and mozzarella cheese. Small pies – tortas, especially the one filled with hearts of palm – are especially tasty, and Maria’s Torta Fria, a vegetable and chicken creation that looks more like a cake is one of the most intriguing items I have seen lately.
Speaking of cake, Maria’s true love is baking and all of her desserts are made from scratch. Rice pudding and large slices of chocolate/coconut cake, flan cake and strawberry cake are available daily, but not to be missed are the dochinos, small sweets such as the famous brigadeiro – chocolate truffle – or the beijinho, a coconut truffle.
All of these items are designed more or less as snacks, but on Saturdays you can order Feijoada, the celebrated black bean stew made with beef and smoked meat that is the national dish of Brazil. This is an entire meal that comes with rice, collard greens, a salad, and the unusual and tasty farofa, a condiment made from lightly toasted manioc flour that Brazilians serve with almost every meal.
Last but not least – it’s a café after all – are the beverages. Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, as well as a wide variety of fresh squeezed juices are available, but for something truly new, you might try an ice cold can of Guraná. Brazil is the third largest consumer of soft drinks in the world and Guraná Antarctica is their most popular soft drink. My daughter, Anna, introduced me to this super pick-me-up when she returned after a year of study in that amazing country, and now I don’t have to travel into the city to buy it.
Once again, Maria, welcome to Oak Park, best of luck to you and your family, and muito obrigado!