Going Brazillian

For awhile now there has been a Brazillian bar in Lexington that I walk past and say, "Hey! We should eat there!"

Well, Friday night peeps, we did. And it was fan-freakin'-tastic.

Devassa is in Victorian Square downtown right across the street from Triangle Park. You can get a seat outside when the weather is nice and watch the fountains, and the people and pretend you're in Europe (or you know, whatever does it for you).

The interior is a bit small, though quite cheerful and um, Brazilly. For a Friday night, it was an absolute ghost town inside. The kitchen is the approximate size of a bathroom stall. Service was efficient and cheerful, and we never wanted for anything.

(On a side note, does it annoy anyone else when servers sit down at your table with and get all buddy-buddy? It makes me a little uncomfortable, because I'm there to enjoy the company of the people in my party. I'll make new friends later. You know? Just bring me the food. You'll get the same tip. Promise. edit: This did NOT happen at Devassa! Yes, I've made this clear now, Chef.)

The first thing we had was a caipirinha, which according to their menu is a "traditional Brazilian drink made with Aqua Luca Cachaca, muddled with simple syrup and lime." They're freakin' tasty is what they are. But we didn't ask how much they cost, so at $7.99 a piece for a rather small drink, we both felt a little used and dirty.

The food menu has a special of three tapas for $19.99. We began with three, which was plenty for me, but since the Chef hadn't had his daily allotment of swine, he got another later and declared himself plesantly stuffed.

The camarao ao alho e oleo was a delightful plate of plump, juicy shrimp in a bright sauce of garlic, butter, and lime. It was served with crisp bread. I attempted to make little sandwiches of the shrimp and bread, but found it was much easier to just eat the shrimp and use the bread to soak up the sauce.

Next was what we found to be both of our favorites, little teardrop shaped hushpuppies stuffed with chicken, jalapenos, tomatoes, and onions called coxinha. We played around with the sauce with which they were served, and I think we determined that it was heavy cream and a bunch of herbs. It was green and light and complemented the coxinha quite well.

The last tapa I had was empanadas, which reminded me of little shrimp pot pies. They were topped with a white sauce of some kind that was creamy but not cheesey. They were full of flavor and heat, but just enough to really add to the flavor. Don't you just hate when things are hot for the sake of being hot? Not these. The crust was flakey and light, which was a very nice complement to the spicey center.

Chef also had carnitas, which was shredded pork and lime juice. They were served with tortilla chips. Since I avoid pig (except bacon), I passed on this one, but he seemed to enjoy it quite well.

For dessert we had more caipirinhas. I don't even know if they had a dessert menu.

Our bill total was about $56 not including tip. It would have been much, much less if we had stuck to water. So try Devassa--and limit the drinks.

Happy Monday!