brasitas

brasitas restaurant is an oasis of quality nuevo latino spanish cuisine in the east end of stamford. founded in 1999 by the late jaime guerrero, a graduate of the french culinary institute in new york, the bustling restaurant continues jaime’s legacy through his family, who now oversee this location and its sister restaurant in norwalk. jaime’s vision of creating a vibrant atmosphere to showcase his dream of melding nuevo latino cuisine with the authentic latin american traditions of his native columbia is alive at both locations and the love is evident in thefoodand his children who continue his tradition.

a few days ago i got an invitation to attend the wine dinner at brasitas restaurant in stamford, in honor of brasitas 15 years anniversary. the invitation came through by ways of the connecticut bloggers group, run by wendy and greg limauge (if you live and blog in connecticut, you definitely want to be a part of this group). now, take your wild guess – do you think i accepted the invitation? okay, that was a dumb question, so let’s move on – closer to the greatfoodand wine.

the restaurant doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside the atmosphere is warm, friendly and festive. thefoodis nuevo latin and it not only tastes delicious, the presentation is beautiful. it's classy without being uptight. it was easy to understand why they've been in business for 15 years. it is a gem.

brasitas offers latin fusion cuisine with a few mexican dishes as well. they also have another location in norwalk, connecticut. unfortunately, the dishes that we were being served for this celebration were created especially for tonight and currently not available on the menu. i will say this now though, hopefully the brasitas will add all the dishes we had to the menu, as each one was superb. more about brasitas: braistas latin americanfood954 e main street stamford, ct 06902 brasitas.com facebook | twitter as we drove up to the restaurant, what caught our eye was the outside bar and patio. it looked like a great area to enjoy a cocktail or a meal on a fine summer evening. an added plus, in my book, was the valet parking. the building was made of adobe and gave the impression that you were visiting

last week we attended a 5 course wine dinner in celebration of 15th anniversary of brasitas in stamford. we were invited by brasitas general manager ingrid and wendy of connecticut bloggers . accompanying us were fellow connecticut bloggers whom we met for the first time: alicia from localfoodrocks , anatoli from talk-a-vino , bonnie from home place , and greg and wendy from connecticut bloggers . the evening started off with toast and group shot of our flutes, a tradition wendy follows at blogger dinner events. dinner started with glass of codorniu brut cava, penedes paired with  ensalada catalana (baby spinach, manchego cheese, golden raisins, pinenuts, caramelized quince, blue cheese and sherry vinaigrette). this salad is perfect for summer. sweet shredded manchego cheese, sweet and tart quince, rich blue cheese, crunchy pinenuts - and sherry all complemented each other. ensalada catalana for the second course, we enjoyed pulpo a la portuguesa (roasted portuguese octopus, baccala

went there with clients.foodtook about an hour to be served. then the hosts had the audacity to ask us to move to the bar an hour later because they need to seat other people. how embarrassing for us and there business. not recommending that our friends or business go there and find themselves in the same situation.

hidden gem. this is one establishment that proves location isn't everything! tucked away in the east side of stamford, the exterior may not catch your eye, once you inside you will find yourself embraced in latin flare. from start to finish im in love. lets start at the oh so convenient valet parking, friendly welcome as you enter to the - must eat every last complimentary plantain and salsa upon seating ! i frequent this establishment often and find thefoodto always be fresh and flavorful ! a must order is the red sangria ! just delicious ! prices are fair to quality and the staff has always been friendly !

thefoodwas scrumptious, the presentation was eyecandy delicious, the server was friendly but a little inattentive. overall, the experience was very positive and we would go back again.

excelent all around. can be loud at times but not their fault, it is the native crowd that like to hear themselves.foodis first class, from their house salad that is unlike anything you ever had to the ceviche ( best i had ever had) to their entrees , my favorite is camarones al ajillo ( shrimp in garlic sauce ) served over a bed of lightly steamed spinach with a side of rise. all washed down with fine caipirinias ( excellent) and a desert of flan. as afoodconosour i give brasitas 4.5 stars since i do not believe in perfect. carry on brasitas.
cheers.

had not been in a while. place was slammin'. had the pork chop special. it rocked. the emanadas are more like egg rolls, not that authentic, but tasty.

service is, how should we say it, relaxed. but dishes are very flavorful.


-----13 mar, 2011-----

my new fave!!!. have been here twice in the past couple weeks. could probably eat here every day (ok, maybe every other day).

thefoodhere is interesting. it is very authentic tasting latin type menu. but the presentation is more refined. so the arrepas are not folded over, but open faced. nicely seasoned pulled chicken, with some avocado on a johnny cake sort of polenta thing. really, really good. the empanadas are more like meat (chicken and beef) eggrolls. there pretty good, but not a much have.

steaks are typical brazilian/portuguese style. that means the less expensive more flavorful cuts of meat, marinated to make more tender. not spicy, but adds flavor. they even do the fried egg thing over it.

the mixed grill is great. steak, chicken, pork and delicious chorizo sausage. lots of food. i split it with another person, along with a few appetizers, it was more then enough food.

maybe the most surprising dish was the salmon. you dont think seafood (other than shrimp) for this sort of cuisine. but they did the grilled salmon very nicely.

in other words, a winner all around.

waited 25 min for drink orders to be taken and then another 15 min for the waiter to come back w the drinks. we ordered, a runner brought the appetizers & entrees-foodsalty & over sauced. oh we had to ask the runner to bring us utensils. our waiter didn't come by to see if we needed more drinks, after our table was cleared offood& drinks we waited 18 min for the waiter to bring us our bill and that's only b/c we asked another waiter to go find our waiter. we gave the tip in cash to the runner as he earned it. overrated, poor service - will not be back.

delish! i wasn't expecting to be impressed but thefoodwas perfect

the owner of this establishment is erogant and very rude. the restaurant is dirty and thefoodis atrocious.my experience was nothing but horrible!

don't judge a book..... had my first dinner at brasitas this week and all i can think is, how did i miss this place? the location is not exactly prime and the outside decor made me think if was another small latino restaurant serving unremarkable food. was i in for a shock.

yes, the prices are high, but thefoodis so well prepared, so delicious and beautifully presented, that i will gladly go back to try everything on their menu. as another reviewer wrote, the salsa and plaintain chips are amazing, a good indication that someone in the kitchen knows what they are doing.

i had the blackened red snapper, so sweet, moist and cooked just perfectly witha little crunch to the coating, on top of a mound of mashed potato and avocado with corn, on top of a delicious, delicate sauce that my companions kept swabbing up with their forkfuls of arroz con pollo and chicken carribeno (both excellent, the arroz chicken the moistest and juiciest i've ever had with just enough garlic to pack a punch, and the carribeno with a light curry sauce and tropical flavors).

the flan was okay, the tres leches cake sweet and satisfying without being too heavy. even the house pinot grigio was good.

only nitpick: the lighting is so dim it can be hard to read the menu, or figure out what is on your plate (is that a chunk of plaintain or beef?). other than that, i was impressed with the food, service and casual but friendly vibe.

pricey, but thefoodis excellent. i have been to both the norwalk and stamford locations. both have been great. i've always noticed that consistently good restaurants have small menus. this place is no different. they have a relatively small menu, but everything is fantastic. my girlfriend and i have had most of their fish, chicken and steak dinners and have loved each one.