Botequim Carioca - CLOSED

• Cuisine(s): Brazilian
  Hours: Tue-Wed 12pm-10pm, Thu 12pm-11pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-12am
  Price: $$, $$$
  Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards
• Attire: casual
  Features: Delivery, Kid Friendly, Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Private Party, Takeout, Wheelchair Accessible
  Serving: Dinner, Lunch
  Alcohol: Full bar
• Reservations: Accepted, Not Necessary
  Parking: Meters, Street, Valet

Description

The restaurant is divided into two rooms with floor-to-ceiling glass windows fronting them, and outdoor tables sprawled on an elevated patio overlook Biscayne Boulevard. The entrance room features a colorful bar stocked with lots of cachaça for caipirinhas. Starters are mostly fried and feature half-moon pasteles filled with either cheese, ground beef, or shrimp and cheese; cleanly fried, savorily seasoned salt cod dumplings; and costelinha de porco, greaselessly fried pork ribs piled alongside thick sticks of fried yuca. Other appetizers include yuca fries with Gorgonzola dressing, barbecue sausage with rosemary toast, and grilled meat plates. Main courses are mostly steaks; the signature is an intensely flavorful cut of top sirloin called picanha. Here it's plated with dark, crunchy, delectable (if greasy) onion rings and "mystery rice" streaked with egg bits and imbued with bacon. It just wouldn't be right to visit Botequim and not sample the meaty black-bean stew called feijoada. Here the beans get simmered slowly with sausages, smoked pork ribs, and jerked beef; it's served with rice, fried pork chicharrones, shreds of refried collard greens, and roasted grains of manioc flour. Prices are as inviting as a Brazilian bikini: most appetizers $8 to $14, grilled meat starters for two $13 to $25, and main courses $16 to $28. The vibe is warm and friendly.