Blame It On Rio
South America rises again.
Catch that bossa nova beat. If the recent wave of
Brazilian-themed restaurants, recordings and assorted other
products is any indication, South America's biggest country is
hotter than ever here in the United States. Brazilian cuisine, in
particular, is gaining in both profile and popularity.
Which isn't news to Ivan Utrera, co-founder and president of
Rodizio Restaurants International Inc., a Littleton, Colorado-based
chain of Brazilian eateries. "For many years, there was a
total lack of knowledge of what Brazilian cuisine is,"
explains the 37-year-old entrepreneur, who launched the first of
six Rodizio Grills in 1996. "Brazil has never done a good job
of marketing its cuisine."
Enter restaurants such as Rodizio Grill, which specializes in
cooking a wide variety of meats over wood fires. "The way the
meat is prepared in Brazil, the spices are very light, so they
highlight different flavors of the [meat itself]," says
Utrera, who projects 1999 sales in excess of $10 million.
"It's a familiar--but refined--flavor to the American
palate."
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As for America's cultural palate, it's embracing the
strains of the bossa nova, as well as movies like "Central
Station." For soft-drink aficionados, there's Bawls
Guarana--a beverage produced from a popular Brazilian berry.
Perhaps the most unique item in our America-goes-to-Rio files,
however, is a new Brazilian restaurant in Atlanta whose waiters
dress in drag. We just thought you'd like to know.
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