Review: Côco Louco Brasil in St. Louis

I first became acquainted with Jorge Carvalho’s cooking in 2003, when I reviewed his Café Brasil restaurant for another publication. Back then, lines formed outside the tiny storefront eatery in a Rock Hill strip mall as diners waited patiently for a chance to sit at one of the eight tables and choose from only eight or nine entrées. For better or for worse, Café Brasil later expanded into a buffet-style churrascaria, a fun place with roaming spit-wielding waiters but terribly expensive. When we last left Carvalho, he was embroiled in a nasty fight with Rock Hill city officials. He left. They stayed.

Carvalho is back, this time in the Central West End as executive chef at Côco Louco Brasil. The comfortable space, with its huge windows looking onto Euclid and Washington, is not all that different from the previous occupants, Mélange and Kirk’s American Bistro, despite the addition of South American bling like hammocks, stringed instruments, piped-in satellite Latin music (live music on Friday and Saturday nights) and cachaça-filled coconuts hanging from the walls (which makes sense given that coco louco means “crazy coconut”).

Côco Louco is not a true churrascaria, but churrasco (skewered meat grilled on an open flame) is available. Nor does it cop to the pan-Latin fusion trend. Mostly, Côco Louco is straightforward Brazilian, right down to the hot-pepper paste on the table and sometimes-relaxed (read: slow) service. It’s a dressier, grown-up version of the original Café Brasil. Côco Louco’s menu boasts 10 appetizers, including tostada de camarão: five plump shrimp sautéed in yuca sauce and served on toasted garlic bread, perfect for soaking up that subtle spicy sauce.

Carvalho fans will be pleased to see that several old favorites like vatapá de frango (chicken breast in a cashew-nut gravy) and caldeirada do mar (seafood stew in coconut broth) migrated with him. Of course, there’s feijoada. There’s even a vegetarian paella.

That vatapá de frango arrived with nary a trace of dryness and sliced on the bias, allowing the savory nut sauce to saturate the meat and, on my visit, underlying bed of sautéed mushrooms and onions. A plate of red snapper, lightly breaded and pan-fried, came atop of more of that flavorful mushroom-onion relish and slathered with an earthy-sweet mushroom-mango sauce. The fish was firm and fresh. As with the chicken, three little mounds of sautéed ribbon-cut collard greens, fluffy white rice and farofa (toasted yuca flour) – the Brazilian holy trinity – accompanied the meal, adding both color and texture to the dish.

Carvalho is comfortable with fish and shellfish. Cod (dried and fresh), grouper, shrimp, tilapia, scallops, mussels; all are regulars, plus guests like that delicious snapper showing up as specials. A bowl of 10 sautéed mussels in a pool of spicy red broth made for an invigorating appetizer, especially when paired with a crisp, fruity Brazilian Chardonnay from the decent wine list.

Besides knowing that the predominant seasoning in Brazilian cuisine is plenty of salt, newbies should start with Brazil’s national dish, feijoada. Carvalho’s is thicker and more stew-like than the soupier version at Yemanja Brasil (which is excellent). A heady mixture of black beans, chunks of cured beef, disks of sausage and bacon simmers in the petite cast-iron cauldron brought to your table, the pungent aroma wafting upward. On a separate plate, there’s a riot of flavor: that holy trinity again, and slices of orange. Ladle the stew onto the rice and mix in whatever else you want, saving the orange for the final refreshing bites.

Of the eight selections of churrasco available, we went with the espeto misto for the greatest variety: chunks of steak, bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin and chicken, sausage, shrimp, and a few thick-sliced onions and bell pepper all served on a long metal skewer placed upright in a special holding plate. Now that’s meat on a stick! The only drawback was a piece of underdone chicken.

Desserts are hit or miss. Sometimes there’s tres leches or tiramisu, but there’s always flan. Our small, faintly chocolate, triangular serving proved just the right amount. But, really, the only reason to eat dessert after so much food is to prove that you can. The same holds true for moving to another restaurant after fighting with powers-that-be.

NEW AND NOTABLE

Don’t-Miss Dish: Try any churrasco selection just to impress the table.
Vibe: Latin music provides the groove, warm lighting provides the mood, chef Carvalho provides the energy.
Entrée Prices: $15 to $20.
Where: Côco Louco Brasil, 512 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, 314.367.1600
When: Dinner: Mon. to Thu. – 5 to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. – 5 to 11 p.m., Sun. – 5 to 9 p.m.; Brunch: Sun. –
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.