Grill from Ipanema

Tropicalia Brazilian Grill feeds you like you’re family.
by Deborah Klugman

Tropicalia Brazilian Grill is the kind of restaurant every neighborhood deserves to have: good food, reasonable prices, friendly service. The tiny eatery opened last September along with its sister establishment Vinoteca Farfalla-the latest in L.A.’s small but growing number of local wine bars. Both places, which adjoin, are co-owned by John Borghetti and chef Santino Coccia, Italians who grew up in Brazil. The offspring of immigrants, Borghetti recalls family dinners as an extended affair, where rice and beans and other Brazilian staples were served alongside quintessential Italian dishes. And here, with every plate, he fondly recalls his family dinner table.

Tropicalia is cool and sparse, but not drab, with tall windows and high ceilings. The walls are green and gold with redwood-trim.  The tile floor is brown, the butcher block maple tables unadorned except for salt and pepper shakers and an unassuming bottle of Tabasco.  Eight foot high wine racks stand on display; a small blackboard shows off the available wines, the house wines at $16 a bottle, and a full-bodied Sangiovese Pinot Noir ($21 a bottle, $7 a glass) that I was happy to have ordered.

The menu, like the space, is limited, with many dishes simply rearranging similar ingredients.  That’s not to say the food is ho-hum. An excellent ceviche ($6.95) consists of finely minced white fish and shrimp highlighted by a cilantro lime marinade and served with corn chips, guacamole and salsa.  The appealing fritos mistos de peixes ($6.95)-breaded calamari, zucchini and lightly dusted shrimp-come with a rich tomato sauce flecked with Brazil’s indigenous Malagueta chile.  Empanadas ($1.75-$1.85) are the largest I’ve seen: submarine shaped pastries crisply coated without being too dry, and the chicken empanada  is filled with diced meat, carrots and celery.  The piadina or Brazilian quesadilla ($6.95-$9.25) exhibits a pastry-like flakinesss; we ordered the seafood variety and couldn’t discern the seafood, but were happy with just the cheese and chile.  Among the entrees, I recommend the Brazipork ($8.95) which reminded me of Italian osso buco on a cool, wintry evening (which it happened to be, by L.A. standards). The preparation’s mix of meat and vegetables are served over a small cake of tasty fried polenta and with pao de quejo, a cheese roll which, when I nibbled it, seemed dry. Braziribs ($11.95)-also served with polenta and the roll-are another good choice; the menu says the ribs are marinated for four hours, and given their dark, smoky, melt-in-your-mouth richness, I believe it. As for seafood, Tropicalia offers moqueca de peixe, a northern Brazilian specialty prepared with cilantro, onions, tomatoes and a delectable coconut milk sauce, served over either white fish ($9.95) or shrimp ($10.95), or a combination of both ($10.50).  We had the white fish, which was bland, but given the sauce’s exuberance it hardly mattered.

Several times prior, I’d been in for takeout, the first time carrying away a big sturdy container filled with Bife Tropicalia molhado ($10.75) with generous sides of rice and black beans and some sweet plantains nestling about the meat. The grilled beef I found chewy but flavorful, nicely edged by its malagueta marinade. On other occasions I brought home the chicken Tropicalia molhado ($9.95), served with the same sauce (which overwhelmed it), and the Bife Tropicalia ($9.95), dressed with a tamer in-house salsa and salsa campanha, a Brazilian pico de gallo.  All these dishes come with plantains, rice and beans or fries, as well as farofa, or toasted yucca flour-grainy stuff that seems an acquired taste.

Desserts are not on the menu, but do ask: available are a classically creamy tiramisu ($8, but a huge portion) and a Brazilian “banana split” ($8), a yummy southern hemispheric ice cream sundae with chocolate and caramel.   LAA

Location: 1966 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz.
Phone:  323-644-1798.
Vibe: Neighborhood casual.
Service: Friendly.
Price: Appetizers $6.95-$9.95; salads $6.95-$10.95; sandwiches $8.50-$10.95; entrees $9.75-$11.95; desserts, $8.
Recommended dishes: Ceviche Brasileiro, piadina Brasileira, Braziribs, Brazipork.
Etc.: Open 7 days 11 a.m. to midnight.
Other Info: Adjacent to Vinoteca wine bar, minimal outdoor seating, takeout.
Credit Cards: Mastercard, Visa and American Express.
Overall: 3 out of 5 sporks