By 
Note: This place is permanently closed! If you want to enjoy Brazilian bbq, you can go to @bbq.brazilian in Sawtelle. Brazilian BBQ is not affiliated with Brazil BBQ Team. On the other hand, if you want a freshly made sugarcane juice, @the_brazilian_taste, also on Sawtelle, remains open (see details below).
If you ask any Brazilian in LA about the best place to get Brazilian food, you will get the same response: Pampas Grill. When I first moved here, this restaurant was introduced to me by my Brazilian friend, Cintia. We used to go there EVERY weekend. Fast-forward to a few years later, although we don’t go nearly as much as we used to, it holds a special place in our hearts.
I don’t want to play favorites, but a new Brazilian place has recently won me over. I was in Manhattan Beach with a group of Brazilians, and one of them casually mentioned a pop-up called The Brazilian Taste located in a parking lot on Sawtelle Blvd. We all went on Instagram and looked at the delicious pictures of pao de queso (cheese bread) and caldo de cana (sugarcane juice), both staples in Brazil. The following Sunday, Cintia told me the owner of The Brazilian Taste had opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in a strip mall in Hollywood that day: BRAZIL BBQ TEAM. I was lucky she invited me to the restaurant opening.
Both places are owned by Brazilian couple duo Bruno and Vanessa, who couldn’t be any nicer! When I got there, Bruno was already there greeting her. I arrived at 12:00 pm, which was perfect because a huge line of Brazilians formed behind us minutes later. The menu is very simple: you choose your meat and then your sides.
The business space consisted of a huge kitchen and a few dine-in tables. There is an outdoor seating area in the parking lot, but since it is a no-frills, fast-casual restaurant, the food there is served in takeout containers, and is meant to be eaten off the premises. With this being said, Brazilian BBQ Plate isn’t the place to go for a sit-down experience. I’m not complaining because the food at Brazilian BBQ, as well as at the pop-up, was too good for words and most importantly, teeming with Brazilians.
I was surprised by the fact that even though the food here is served in takeout containers, they don’t skimp on the quantity! As you can see in the picture, the portions are very generous.
Picanha is Brazil’s most popular meat, and I always like mine medium-to-well done. Look at these beautiful grilling cuts. The picanha was juicy, tender, and oh, so perfectly buttery. I’m a rice fiend and theirs was cooked to perfection.
The bean stew was also outstanding. It had the perfect amount of salt and the texture of the stew was smooth and creamy, which is something that not many places do right. After we were done with our meats, my friend and I scooped the beans and the farofa into the rice section and devoured it. There is nothing more comforting to me than rice, beans and farofa. I discovered the latter when I started going to Pampas Grill. For those who don’t know what farofa is, it’s toasted yucca flour that is Brazil’s most common condiment. Its nutty flavor and crispy texture pairs excellently with meat and rice.
Before I got there, my friend had already ordered and she offered me grilled cheese skewers, which was completely new to me. She said she remembered going to the beach in Brazil and seeing people line up to get these. She gave me a piece, and wow, good is a big understatement. The total for my order was $16, which is a bargain considering the amount of picanha we had. I love Pampas Grill, but don’t go there and expect to have the same amount of picanha I had at Brazilian BBQ for less than $20. The price at Pampas Grill is by the pound. They give you a heavy plate and before you get to the meat, you have to go through a long buffet, from which I always choose the same three sides I had at Brazilian BBQ: rice, beans and farofa. At Brazilian BBQ Plate, they really cut straight to the chase. Go to the website here!
For drinks, if you want to try out Brazil’s most famous soft drink, get Guarana. That drink always takes me back to my childhood when I used to spend summers in Brazil.
After the amazing meal, my friend had to work and I went to Long Beach. I kept thinking of the caldo de cana (sugarcane juice), which was sold at their other location (The Brazilian Taste) in Sawtelle. I drove from Long Beach to Sawtelle on the 405, which was a complete breeze on a Sunday. Upon arriving at the parking lot, I saw two stands thanks to the Brazilian flags.
In the same parking lot, there is another stand called called Brazilian BBQ but this stand IS NOT AFFILIATED with The Brazilian Taste.
When I headed over to the caldo de cana stand, (The Brazilian Taste), a Brazilian girl also ordering was raving to me about it in Portuguese, which thankfully I can more or less understand. They will ask you if you want it with ice or no ice. I asked the man which one he liked better and he said ice, so that’s how I ordered it. They have a sugarcane juicer right there!
Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane. The last time I had sugarcane juice was with my dad at the Dole plantation on Oahu, Hawaii. But it didn’t blow us away. This is because not all sugarcanes are equal. There are a few factors that come into play like the country of origin and variety.
Mind-blown. It was a hot day in LA and I cannot put into words how much of a difference the ice made. I chugged it down so fast. Delicious is a big understatement here. It was so rich in flavor that my taste buds were actually in shock. No offense to the sugarcane juice I had in Hawaii, but this was another level of goodness. It was naturally flavored and mildly sweet — so deliciously refreshing! I highly recommend going if you’re looking for authentic, premium sugarcane juice in LA. Surprisingly, there are only a few places in LA that serve sugarcane juice, and most of them market it as a wellness drink, not as a Brazilian staple.
@the_brazilian_taste
The stand also offers Brazil’s most popular snacks like chicken coxinhas, which are Brazilian chicken croquettes. The payment is either cash, Venmo or Zelle. For your information, you can also get these menu items at their brick-and-mortar on Vine Street (except the caldo de cana).
Right after I wrote this post, I came back to Brazil BBQ Team and just like the first time, it didn’t disappoint! Bruno and Vanessa gifted me freshly warm chicken coxinhas. The warm shredded chicken on the inside was perfectly tender and the outside was warm and crunchy. Simply delicious!
If you’re looking to have an affordable, authentic Brazilian eating experience, go and check out The Brazilian Taste in Sawtelle, or the brick-and-mortar Brazil BBQ Team in Hollywood.
Original Brazilian BBQ Team – Permanently closed
Address: 1253 Vine St, Los Angeles, California
The Brazilian Taste
Address: 2949 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, California
