Brunch at Sounds Of Brazil SOB's in NY, New York

Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!

I do not know how many times I passed by SOB's, but I truthfully thought it was just another club that entertained many for more than 25 years. Until I received an invite to come and try it. This venue that can accommodate up to 450 people is huge and composed of different sections:

The bar area:

With its table football that was there especially for the World Cup.

Its large dining area with a stage where they play music for patrons who either want to eat, drink or dance.

In fact, during our brunch, there was band playing some Brazilian songs.

I admit that when they arrived on stage, I was thinking that it will probably be loud and annoying as I like to enjoy my meal in a atmosphere where I can talk to my wife without screaming. It was perfect, being more in the background; the acoustic was fantastic and the band was very good.

They brought us the brunch menu that, for $31, includes unlimited sangria (red or white), an appetizer, an entree and a dessert. I was more inclined to try a caipirinha, Brazil's national cocktail made with  cachaça, sugar and lime.

I truly appreciated the fact that it was not too sweet and well balanced, with a nice quantity of lime in it.

At the same time, they brought us a bread basket:

It was composed of a small croissant, bread, corn bread and of course, some cheese bread or pao de queijo (I love it):

Then of course was the food. The menu, crafted by Chef Jorge Lima is latin, not only Brazilian.

So we started with the appetizers. We went for the butternut squash soup with toasted pumpkin pepitos and crème fraiche:

It was very good, with a nice sweetness from the butternut that worked perfectly with the crème fraiche (I just wish there was more of it).

The second appetizer was the empanadas:

One was made with cheese:

The other one with some spicy beef:

Both were good and I could not decide which one I liked best. The shell was delightfully crispy and flaky. Dipped in their spicy red pepper sauce, it was divine!

Let me tell you: this sauce was very hot, but so good, that I could not resist dipping the empanadas in it.

Then, Jodi got the fish tacos:

It is like a do-it-yourself version of it, made with pan-fried tilapia served with chopped greens, fresh tomatillo salsa, avocado relish and sour cream. The fish was perfectly cooked, slightly crispy and not greasy and at some point, I did not care about the tortilla and just ate it with the different components it was served with. It is a great dish.

But, the specialty I was thrilled to try at SOB's is the feijoada:

It is Brazil's national dish made with pork ears and tail, dried beef and black beans (feijão is the Portuguese for "beans"). Yes, I was thrilled to eat it because I first tried it in April at a restaurant called Bolinha in São Paulo. It was also served with rice, collard greens (surprisingly delicious as I tend to find them too bitter), a slice of orange and manioc flour. Was it close to what I tried in Brazil? Yes, Although Chef Jorge Lima told me that he is trying to recreate it with the ingredients he can find here. And I am sure anyway that everyone has its own recipe. What I can tell you is that it was very good and comforting: the meat was very tasty (they had a generous amount of it) and I liked mixing the different components together.

You are probably wondering at this point if we were still hungry. Well, not really, but we could not leave without trying some desserts! We tried:

The flan:

And the empanadas with chocolate and banana:

My favorite was the flan: dense, it was prepared with condensed milk, like in Brazil. This is definitely a dessert I recommend. The empanada? It was just ok: I thought that there was not enough filling and that it was not heavenly spread, only one bite (photo below), having a nice amount of chocolate.

This was a fantastic brunch and surprising: I would have never thought about going to SOB's for lunch or brunch. Would I go back? Hell, yeah!

Enjoy (I did)!

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And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

SOB's