Brazilia Cafe

1526 Dresden Row
902-423-9742

As a person who works downtown, I am always looking for quick places to get a good lunch. Brazilia has consistently provided me with that.

Located on Dresden row across from Pete's, it is in a prime location to capture the downtown workforce for lunch. This family run place serves everything from Lebanese classics (falafel, shwarma etc) to club sandwiches, salads and soups. They always have a special which is more of a main meal. These include things like cabbage rolls and meat balls with rice. All the food is fresh and made from scratch.

I went twice recently and decided to write about my experiences there.

On the first day, they had a special of lemon chicken with potatoes and rice. I will never understand why so many place in Halifax serve both potatoes AND rice with their meals. Talk about carb overload! I asked them to switch the rice to a Greek salad and they were more than happy to do so.

The chicken was delicious. They used chicken breasts which can sometimes be dry. These were cooked perfectly and retained their moisture. The potatoes were cooked with the chicken and were out of this world. Whenever I've had a dish like this, the potatoes are usually cut into large wedges. These, however, were round slices. That allows for more flavour because they absorb more of the cooking liquid. I don't know what they put in their Greek salad dressing but I love it. It is tangy and spicy. Great with the lemon chicken.

A few days later, I return. This time, I decide to have something from the main menu. I choose a falafel wrap. I love falafel but it can be hard to find good versions in Halifax. They are often very dry and require a lot of sauce to be palatable. Not so here. They are moist and not overly salty, which can also be a problem with these tasty balls. Three balls are wrapped up in a pita with lettuce, tomatoes, garlic sauce and the pink things often found in these wraps. I have never known what these are, but they are delicious. Having done some research, I am lead to believe they are pickled turnip. Who knew the usually mushy root veggie could be so tasty when pickled?! I ordered the wrap with a Greek salad again. I know that I should have gotten something else to give you an idea of the scope of the menu. However, as I mentioned, the dressing is too good to bother ordering any other salad. Please forgive me.

On other occasions, I have had their club sandwich. The girls at work often order this too and we all love it. I also had their cabbage rolls recently and they were awesome. The sauce was sweet and smooth and they had rice and meat inside, which made them lighter than their all-meat counter parts.

This is a great place to grab a quick, healthy, homemade lunch. The family who runs it are all very friendly and will take the time to walk you through the menu and specials if you don't know what you want. The only thing missing is dessert. They often have cookies and sometimes banana bread. However, I think some more homemade desserts would be a welcome finish to a great lunch.

Baked Brie with Maple Fig Sauce and Pecans

I had a wine and appetizer night on Friday night. I made lots of different appetizers and decided that I would share this one with you. A very good friend of mine made up this baked brie and it is by far the best version of this dish I've ever had. Sweet, salty, gooey and crunchy, it is awesome! It also goes really well with red wine.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 medium-sized round of brie
• 1/2 bottle of PC Memories of Tuscany balsamic vinegar and fig sauce
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 100g pecan halves (the small bags in the baking aisle)

1. In a small bowl, combine the fig sauce, syrup, balsamic, salt and pepper.

2. Place the brie in oven proof dish. The dish should only be a little bigger than the brie. If you use a bigger dish, the sauce will burn before the cheese melts

Ingredients

3. Pour the sauce over the brie, making sure it covers the cheese completely.

4. Sprinkle the pecans over the top of the cheese.

5. Place this in an oven heated to 400* F for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese oozes out of its casing when poked.

6. Allow to cool a bit and serve with crackers. I always use a spoon to scoop this onto the crackers rather than a cheese knife. I used Melba Rounds  sesame crackers and found they went really well with the cheese.


Enjoy!

Lunch At Jane's on the Common

Jane's on the Common
2394 Robie St
http://www.janesonthecommon.com/

I know it has been a while since I posted something. Hopefully this makes up for that.  I went for lunch at Jane's with a friend of mine today. We have both been there countless times and have enjoyed it every time.  This trip was no exception.

I arrive first and the server who greets me gives me my pick of tables. I choose the table in the corner. It is a little hidden and I think it's the best table in the house. I sit down and order a glass of  Las Moras Black Label Bonarda.  I love this wine. It has a deep, rich purple colour and has great flavour. I find it goes well with almost anything. While I wait for my friend, I check out the specials. Today the soup is carrot and mint with a dollop of poppyseed yogurt. The special is turkey pot pie with a sweet potato, cheddar and peppercorn topping. One of my all time favourite albums is playing in the background. Careless Love by Madeline Peyroux. I am content to wait at this little table and listen to the tunes.

My friend arrives and the server gives us some time to chat and pick what we want. I go with a bowl of the soup and an open-faced chicken sandwich with Caesar salad. Not surprisingly, my carnivore friend chooses the burger and also picks the Caesar.

The soup arrives first. It is bright orange with specks of mint throughout. It is served with a light and crunchy tea biscuit.  

Carrot and mint soup with tea biscuit

The soup starts out tasting like most carrot soups, sweet and smooth. The mint, we both agree, is a surprising aftertaste. We both love it. The yogurt is nice with the soup but unnecessary. Yogurt tends to go better with spicier soups. The biscuit is crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and still warm.

While I finish the soup, my friend notices that the restaurant has completely filled up. This is on a Tuesday afternoon around 1 pm. A testament to how many people love to eat here.

The mains arrive. They both look delicious and we find it hard to wait to eat them while I take a picture.

My friend's burger is huge. The meat is moist and has a distinct smoky flavour. It is topped with pickled red onions. These add a sweet & sour flavour to the burger. Also on top is applewood cheddar, homemade mustard and bacon aioli. My friend thinks the toppings are wonderful and I agree.

Char broiled burger with Caesar salad.

The open faced chicken sandwich is delicious. Nova Scotian free-range chicken is lightly spiced and topped with provolone and a red pepper slaw. The slaw is awesome. It also has the sweet & sour flavour of the pickled onions and is perfect with the melted cheese. It is served on crunchy toasted sourdough spread with roasted garlic aioli. This amounts to a "party in my mouth" and I can't get enough.

Open face chicken sandwich with Caesar salad.

We both ordered the Caesar salad. The dressing is creamy and garlic-y. It is topped with crunchy bacon and thin slices of parmesan. My friend comments that she likes the cheese sliced as opposed to the usual grated version in most Caesars. I think the salad could have been mixed up a little better. I have some dry pieces of lettuce and some blobs of dressing on the plate. Otherwise, it goes well with my sandwich.

Though both of us are full, we decide to look at the dessert menu. The server informs us that the gingerbread is the best seller but her favourite is the pumpkin cheesecake. We decide to listen to her advice and order a piece to share. I order some orange pekoe tea and my friend orders coffee to go with the cake.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

The server was right to recommend this cheesecake. It is light, fluffy and full of spicy, pumpkin-y flavour. The base is made of gingerbread and pecans. The pecans are a nice touch because they give a little crunch to an otherwise smooth dessert. I'm not a huge cheesecake fan but I helped polish this one off pretty quick. I loved it.

Jane's is my favourite restaurant in Halifax. This is mainly due to its consistency. The food is always good. The chef is innovative and has great ideas for flavour combinations. You can come here on any day of the week (except Monday when they are closed) in any month of the year and have a great meal for a reasonable price. The staff are friendly and attentive. Jane herself can often be seen serving, chatting with regulars and making sure everyone is enjoying their meals. This is truly a great place to eat.

FYI: Jane's Next Door is a store next to the restaurant that serves take-out. It consists of sandwiches, muffins, soup etc.  They also have frozen foods, like homemade macaroni and cheese. These are made by the chefs at Jane's and allow you to take a little piece of the restaurant home. They also sell all of the great jams they make for brunch here.