Leni Altoe and Leide Barros met through a mutual friend, but it wasn't until Leide tasted some of Leni's pao de quejo (pronounced "pown de kay-joo," meaning cheese rolls) at a baby shower that these lady Brazilians decided they might have a hot market for some hot buns. After borrowing a kitchen to do some testing, then renting their own space in Lawrenceville, the ladies started their own baking company, called Sweet Oven.
Never mind that the rolls, popular all over Brazil as a breakfast and snack item, are gluten free, all natural and use no leavening agents. Marketable traits, to be sure, but what makes these little rolls so darned good is that well ... they're just so darned good. Made with manioc flour and mixed with a blend of Parmesan, Pecorino and Romano, the rolls are sold frozen, popped in the oven and 20 minutes later come out gooey hot and deliciously tangy and soft.
Just the kind of qualities needed to impress a band of hungry 11-year-old girls looking for a snack. My daughter and her friends devoured a dozen of them in less than 10 minutes in a feeding frenzy that looked a little like the piranha scene on "Planet Earth."
"In Brazil, you can't get off the airplane before being offered pao de quejo," Altoe says.
The two moms peddled the rolls to Fire of Brazil, a family-owned, Atlanta-based Brazilian churrascarria, and the meat chain bit. Hard. Sweet Oven's pao de quejo comes to the table hot whenever you visit a Fire of Brazil.
Whole Foods liked the all-natural, gluten-free aspects of Sweet Oven's buns, and now Altoe and Barros find themselves baking enough to fill orders for the natural grocery chain's southern region, including Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Alabama.
"We have better luck selling them as 'cheese rolls' at Whole Foods," Altoe says, "and folks would rather not know that they're gluten free."
One bite, Altoe says, and 99 percent of people are hooked. Count me in.
Note: Sweet Oven does not yet have a retail outlet, and since the rolls are sold frozen, Altoe and Barros don't ship (yet). Their pao de quejo are sold at Whole Foods ($8.39 for one pound, which is about a baker's dozen), and you can find more information about purchasing them at 678-407-0022, or at www.sweetoven.com.
> The Original El Taco, the new concept from Fifth Group in Sala's old space, was scheduled to open Oct. 21. Chef de cuisine Craig Sauls will be serving a roundup of authentic Mexican favorites designed by chef Shaun Doty of Shaun's. A salsa bar and authentic Mexican goodies such as tlayudas and carnitas-filled tacos combine with Tex-Mex munchies such as red chile flat iron steak with crispy onions and tomatillo-lime salsa and fried chicken with Mexico City grilled corn, lime mayo and crumbled Mexican cheese. Plus "el liquid kitchen" offerings of frozen mojitos and margaritas. 1186 North Highland Ave., Atlanta, 404-873-4656 or www.fifthgroup.com.
> Red Salt, a "modern pub with comfort cuisine," opened in late August at 952 Canton St. in downtown Roswell, is from restaurateurs Hicham Azhari and Fikret Kovac of popular Little Alley. The chef is Richard Wilt, who has a heavy Northeastern pedigree, having worked at Radius in Boston and Pastis in New York. The menu has a pub-grub-cum-gastro-pub slant, with a lot of beer and martini options. 770-998-4850 or www.redsaltpub.com.
> Shortstack: Miso Izakaya (think Japanese gastro pub) is scheduled to open in October on Edgewood Avenue. ... Cult queen Ria Pell of Ria's Bluebird is rumored to be opening another location in Inman Park. ... Ian Winslade will oversee the menu and kitchen at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's newest venture, Market, scheduled to open mid-November. Front-of-the-house will be guarded by Winslade's old Bluepointe buddy, A.D. Alushi, of downtown's Thrive.
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