Churrascaria Brazil Grill & Pizza

Hartford Courant

Brazil Grill & Pizza, September 28, 2006

By Meir Rinde

The Brazilian government estimates that 1.25 million of its citizens left the contry during the difficult years of the 1980s. More came to Boston and the Northeast, creating large expatriate communities.

Among those who soon followed was Elaine Lima, who quit college, left Minas Gerais with her husband Romulo and moved to Boston im 1992. In 1994 they settled in the Hartford area, where Romulo has since worked in construction and demolition. Elaine raised their two daughters, cleaned houses and worked in restaurants. But she noteced how few businesses catered to the growing Brazilian population.

"They had stores, but jst little ones, selling some juwels," said Lima, sitting at a table in her restaurant last week. "We missed some things from Brazil, and we went to Framingham in Massachusetts to buy some, and was too far."

When a rare Brazilian store on Park Street closed, Lima decided to set up her own shop. Opened in 1998, it offered groceries, videos and to-go meals.She turned the store into a buffet restaurant in 2001, and three years ago took over the whole building at 1996 Par St. renovationg and putting in a traditional Brazilian grill.

"I wanted to xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx
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xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx "They like it that way." Lima said. The offerings on her grill include chicken hearts, pork loin and sausage, sirloin steaks and beef ribs.

Customers begin by taking greens, beans, rice and other items from a salad bar, and then they tell the grillman what meat they want. He pulls a heavy skewer from the grill, slicing meat off it onto their plate. Customers pay by the pound and the prices are low. A $7 or $8 plate would leave most diners groaning.

The meat and many of the other ingredients at Brazil Grill & Pizza come from Newark, N.J., which Lima described as a major Brazilian center. "We like picanha" - pronouned picanya - "meat with fat, because it makes the meat soft," she said. "You don't find much, because the American people don't much like fat. On the plate, you take the fat off." The picanha cut, also called rump cover, is usually divided into other cuts by American butchers.

The restaurant also offers daily specials such as frango de panela, a chicken stew with okra, and feijoada, a stew of black beans with pork. The pizza resembles American pizza but uses a Brazilian soft cheese.

Lima said she is seeing an increasing number of non-Brazilians in her restaurant. One afternoon last week the lunchtime crowd included a couple pushing a baby carriage, a talbe of police officers and a mand who appeared to be Sen. Donald Williams. Lima said last week the restaurant hosted an event for gubernatorial candidate John deStefano.

She hopes to draw even more dinner customers soon by introducing table service, and by having live music on weekend nights.