Ahh, I remember this adventure fondly! Alongside my experience trying Lao food for the first time, another highlight of my semester in Washington D.C. was trying Brazilian food for the first time! I had intended to publish this article for a while. And it’s interesting because in 2020, I tried Brazilian snacks for the first time and wrote about that fun experience in a blog article (read it here). Now five years later, I’ve published an article about eating brunch at a Brazilian restaurant. A full circle moment for me, truly! It reminds me of how dedicated I’ve been to trying foods from other cultures and the joy I get from doing so. I’m proud of myself for that, I really am!

I was first motivated to eat Brazilian food in DC when someone told me about a Brazilian restaurant called The Grill From Ipanema. The moment I heard about it, I knew I owed it a visit. So early afternoon on a Sunday in February, I rode the Metrobus to that restaurant and ordered the 3-course brunch special for $32.95. Oh yeah, it was worth it! Let me detail my brunch for you right here.

For the first course, I started off with the Salada Verde. As you can tell, the vegetables are the typical ones you’d find in a salad. That said, the dressing slapped (i.e., was really good)! It was an orange and mustard dressing, and I need to make or buy something like that for my own salads. I could’ve ordered a different appetizer, but I don’t always eat enough veggies in a day, so I had to order the Salada Verde for myself.

Besides, there would be plenty of meat in my entrée anyway. Which brings me to the second dish of my brunch: Feijoada! Feijoada is a stew made of black beans, dried beef, pork, sausage, and smoked meats. It’s Brazil’s national dish, and if you know me, you know I have to go allllll in whenever I try a different cuisine.

My little bowl of Feijoada came out hot! The meats were nice and tender, especially the salty meat that I suspect was pork. I liked the modest flavor of the black bean base, and I enjoyed the side dishes as well! What looks like orange powder on my plate is actually farofa, which is toasted cassava flour. I mixed it into the bowl of Feijoada just for kicks, and it was fun eating farofa in that way. The more I ate the Feijoada, the more satisfying it became! Although before long, the beans started to make me feel a bit full.

And make no mistake—I still had to eat one last course to close out my meal. No way was I going to pass on that. The third and final dish was a dessert called Romeu e Julieta, which consists of cheese and goiabada (guava paste). The slice of cheese is meant to be eaten with goiabada, and the goiabada at first glance reminded me of a thicker, firmer version of cranberry sauce. 

It tasted sweet without being deep into sugary territory, which was a good thing. When I took my first bite of Romeu e Julieta, I thought to myself, those two things don’t need to go together. Around 4 seconds later, however, my taste buds became satisfied with the combined textures and flavors of that dessert! The cheese surprisingly complemented the guava flavor, and I would’ve been down to eat it in the form of a cheesecake. In a way, I actually did, but in a miniature and distinct form.

What’s funny is that after sending my mother pictures of my brunch, she got at me for eating Feijoada. “How are you going to eat that black bean soup but not eat my pork and beans?” she told me. She had a point, sort of. But you can’t always help what your taste buds and eyeballs are attracted to. I dig black beans, and that mini bowl of Feijoada was a chef’s kiss! Especially with the side of rice, collards, farofa, and orange slices. I’d eat it again, and when I officially move to Washington DC for my career, I will.

The Grill From Ipanema is totally worth the visit, and you’ll miss out on a lot if you visit DC and don’t go there. So be sure to visit that restaurant on your next DC vacation, okay?

And as bonus content, here’s a video clip of my Feijoada with the side dishes.