By Joel Levin, New Jersey Newspaper Group JL@NJNewsGroup.com
Berimbau: Brazilian party cooked in 12-foot caldeirão
Berimbau
43 Carmine Street,
New York, NY 10014
Reserve at (212) 242-2606
or at opentable.com
berimbaunyc.com
Right around the corner from one of Manhattan’s remaining classic Italian neighborhoods is a 12-foot wide bastion of classic Brazilian cuisine. The giddy diners and enthusiastic staff seem to make it a perpetual party…
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…but it’s about more than food; it’s about a hectic, fun-filled cosmopolitan vibe. Berimbau in Greenwich Village makes no pretense of serving trendy fare except for the pretty swirls and dots of sauce on entrée and dessert plates. Rather than gilding any lily, selections are exactly what one would expect: simply-prepared, hearty, and soulful, but the contact high from the party mix of Brazilians and Anglos makes everything taste better.
Our recent experience was one of highlights and lowlights, and left us wondering what we had missed – as in the Broadway maxim: “Always leave ’em asking for more.” An appropriate corollary would be “asking for better.” The good dishes were no fluke; the care expended on them by Chef Carlos Inacio was evident, but some other choices were frustrating in their sub-par execution. This inconsistency was maddening.
We were ushered into the railroad-car-proportioned eatery by a bubbly female host/server and one of the owners, the very genuine and proud Mario Espindola, and seated in no-nonsense chairs at a polished wood table with views of Carmine Street and the two very close walls – one of original brick and the other a smooth, shiny white.
The walls, 12 feet apart, were sparingly hung with colorful abstract art. These features, plus a high ceiling, negated any possible claustrophobia, but all the hard surfaces made quiet conversation impossible – and made loud talking a necessity. Apparently, the capacity crowd in the 45-seat place didn’t consider the noise a handicap; it lent a certain excitement and energy to the happy mix of Brasileiros and Norte Americanos.
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The cocktails were adult-style, meaning minimal sugar, more refreshing that way and allowing the spirits to speak and not be muted by sweetener -- case in point, the mandatory caiprinha. Even the novelty tropicocktails played down the sweetness. Score one for the bar, making up for limited choices with its expert mixology.
We started with Salpicão, a green salad of pulled chicken and ham for $8.95. It was fine but called out for seasoning. Next time, we’ll go for spinach salad with cashews, bacon, and goat cheese, or the interesting-looking soups.
Cheese bread, Pao de Queijo, looked like baby cream puffs, appearing good enough to eat. They were. Two bites dispatched these doughy treats of delicate sweetness. The cheese was integrated into the dough, quietly sneaking up on the palate, light as a dairy-flavored breeze. A portion is $6.95.
The Acarajé appetizer, $8.95, a blackeyed pea-based distant cousin of latkes, was satisfyingly starchy and served with the traditional vatapá (thick, spicy sauce of nuts and coconut milk) and tasty shrimp. All happily shared.
Fried calamari, Lula, $9.95, a 21st-century staple of so many places, is a good test for a kitchen’s finesse. In this case, the kitchen scored high, turning out rings, tubes, and tentacles of perfect outer crispness and an inner tenderness that wasn’t mushy, but just soft enough to almost chew without teeth. This was the essence of squid; no need for the just-OK accompanying red sauce.
Our shell steak slathered in Madeira-sauced mushrooms couldn’t have been better. The $21.95 Bife com Mandioca frita arrived hot – no seat in Berimbau is more than 10 steps from the efficiently-designed open galley kitchen – with doneness exactly as ordered. And that was a feat, since we ordered half rare and half medium rare – no kidding.
It was a succulent treat large enough to share, rare for me and medium rare for a companion. The yuca fries were big, soft wedges lacking in crispness and taste. There are ways to hype the flavor of this delicate starch, but that didn’t happen on this night. We noticed however, that all around us, patrons were gobbling them, so perhaps our gringo palates were misleading us.
The $21.95 classic seafood stew over rice, Moqueca a Baiana, lived up to its reputation but didn’t have to be so bland. And Brazil’s national dish, Feijoada, seasoned mainly with ground coriander seeds, should have been spectacular, but we’d have to rate it as merely satisfactory. It was hot and hearty as meat, beans, and ground vegetables should be, but what stood between merely good and success was a lack of snap.
The vegetable mélange, Prato Vegetariano for $15.95, a dish whose green and yellow squash, sautéed collards, fried bananas or plantains, and rice & beans take naturally to aggressive seasoning, had almost none. The julienned greens were reminiscent of Easter-basket grass, but crisper and unchewable.
Dessert pastries were nice and the Brazilian coffee was good, but Berimbau is not about sweets. For our next visit, we’ll save our appetite for chicken Strogonoff, fish, short ribs, and a couple of fish entrees. The menu descriptions were all intriguing.
The bottom line for Berimbau: the music and the patrons are the most important ingredients in a fun night out exploring a cuisine that you don’t find on every Manhattan block. Engaging service is a plus.
© November 2011 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
Issue:
January
2012