Dish of the Week: Coxinha at Brazilian Bakery Café
There are two food-related things that turn me into an erratic driver willing to make a u-ie or suddenly pull over to the shoulder: roadside stands and ethnic bakeries. Apologies in advance if I rudely put on the breaks or cut you off as I switch lanes on Powers Ferry Road. I’m just trying to get into the strip shopping center that Brazilian Bakery Cafe calls home.
Your mouth will begin to water as soon as you walk up to display cases at this bakery, filled as it is with Brazilian cookies, pies and cakes, all made fresh on-site. But before you indulge in dessert, check out the savory fried pastries. Tops among them is the coxinha, a Brazilian-style chicken croquette.
Shredded chicken and melt-y mozzarella get rolled inside a thick layer of batter, then deep fried. Coxinha translates to “little thigh,” and the shape is intended to resemble a chicken leg, though this street food delight looks more like a teardrop to these aging eyes. If you’re lucky, you’ll hit up Brazilian Bakery Café when a batch of coxinha has just taken a dip in the hot fryer.
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Do not walk out without something for your other hand. The folhado goiaba e queijo – a pastry similar to an empanada and filled with cheese and guava – is delicious; the filling is sweet without being too rich, and the pastry is flaky without being too buttery. And then there are those round coconut balls dripping with condensed milk. Oh, and the wonton-like pastéis stuffed with dulce de leche and cheese. And your pockets surely have room for a couple tiny, cheesy rolls of pão de queijo...
Brazilian Bakery Café, 1260 Powers Ferry Road, Marietta. 770-818-0088, brazilianbakerycafe.com
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