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Irish Times
04-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
A taste of home: the immigrant grocers bringing global snacks to Dublin
With its exterior the colours of the Brazilian flag, Real Brasil is instantly noticeable on Capel Street in Dublin . Inside, packets of pão de queijo and coxinha line freezers, and condiments such as dulce de leche and condensed milk occupy the shelves. Most products on the shelves are labelled in Portuguese, except for the pão de queijo in the freezers that have labels in English. On a Wednesday afternoon, the shop is busy with customers briskly moving about. Among the many snacks stocked here are packs of paçoca, a sweet treat made with ground peanuts and sugar. The consistency is praline-like, and the taste is as addictive as candy. 'I would say paçoca is quite popular; we import it from Brazil,' says Robson Oliveira, who has been managing the Real Brasil business for 16 years. 'Açai is also popular; we import that too'. 'Biscoito de polvilho [cassava starch crisps], paçoca [peanut candy], and Guaraná Antarctica [a Brazilian soft drink] are among the most recognisable and widely available packaged snacks in Brazilian grocery stores in Dublin,' says Euzana Forkan, a food enthusiast from Brazil with a master's degree in gastronomy and food studies from Technological University Dublin . Paçoca, Forkan says, is a very popular snack in Brazil, with indigenous origins – the earliest versions being a savoury dish made from dried meat and cassava flour. 'Today, paçoca is strongly associated with Festa Junina, a traditional Brazilian festival celebrated throughout June. While we now enjoy paçoca year-round, it still carries a nostalgic connection to this festival, which is one of the most beloved celebrations in Brazil.' READ MORE Oliveira says: 'Irish people buy our snacks too. Irish children like them because children like to try something different.' According to Forkan, Brazilian snacks in Ireland are significantly more expensive than in Brazil. 'Beyond currency differences, factors like importation costs, taxes and limited availability drive up prices,' she says. Some of the snacks, such as pão de queijo and coxinha, are produced in Ireland, with ingredients imported from Brazil, says Oliveira. Pão de queijo is traditional Brazilian cheese bread, made with cassava starch. Real Brasil sells frozen pão de queijo which can be bought and baked. Small balls of cheesy tapioca flour slowly rise and puff up in the oven, with the top turning golden brown. They feel light as air when bitten into. The packs that Real Brasil sell are produced in Ireland. 'My perception is that when Brazilians go to these stores, it's usually not for packaged snacks but rather to buy ingredients or frozen food. Or to buy freshly made Brazilian snacks like pão de queijo and coxinha, which hold a much stronger place in Brazilian food culture and can be found in pretty much all Brazilian shops,' says Forkan. Coxinha is a deep-fried chicken snack, with the chicken minced and encased in a dough. Both the outer casing and the chicken filling fall apart on the first bite, with steam rising from the centre when the coxinha is served hot. Oliveira says that while pão de queijo and coxinha are popular sellers, the shop ensures it always has them in stock. Robson Oliveira, manager of Real Brasil, with the products paçoca and açai. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw This is unlike Ingredients, the Indian grocery store in Stillorgan , where popular snacks are often sold out. Packets of Haldiram's, an Indian brand that produces savoury snacks like aloo lachha (spicy potato sticks) and aloo bhujia (a sort of potato vermicelli), often disappear from the shelves. Haldiram's is a household name in India, and their packaged snacks are popular accompaniments with tea. According to proprietor Melvin Moby, however, the two most popular snacks at Ingredients are Lay's crisps and Maggi noodles. Indian Lay's come in flavours such as Magic Masala (spicy) and Tomato Tango (ketchup flavour). Magic Masala is frequently sold out at Ingredients. Maggi is an instant noodle brand that's a favourite with both children and adults, often a popular student meal because of how quick it is to prepare. In India, smaller grocery stores called kirana shops sell packets of Lay's crisps and Maggi. Children often frequent these shops after school to buy their favourite crisps and noodles. Magic Masala is a particularly popular flavour for Lay's, a bright blue packet with spicy crisps inside. Street vendors who cook Maggi noodles often set up stalls outside schools and colleges, stirring the noodles in pots of boiling water until they're cooked. Stalls like these also often sell chai alongside Maggi. 'We can't seem to get enough of them,' says Moby when I ask him if Lay's and Maggi sell out often. This despite a huge difference in price between here and in India. 'By the time the duty and container charges are paid, the price would be five times more.' Ingredients is Moby's family business, also involving his father, Moby PB, and mother, Mini Moby. He took over 10 years ago, and his brother Ivin Moby and he are responsible for scaling it now, he says. 'I've always been around it so I had an interest in scaling it.' He grew up in Ireland and so enjoyed snacks such as Tayto, but wanted Lay's and Maggi when he went to India. 'There was a nostalgic factor for me, and I see Irish kids enjoying a mix of both Irish and imported snacks.' [ West African food is finally taking its place at Irish tables Opens in new window ] Besides packaged snacks, Ingredients also sells fresh vegetables and herbs. Bunches of bright green coriander and mint lie on shelves, next to refrigerated radishes and chillies. Yes Kabayan, a Filipino shop in Dublin city centre, doesn't stock fresh vegetables or herbs but brings packaged Filipino snacks to Dublin. Jars of peanut butter are stacked above jars of coconut gel in syrup. There's dried fish in the freezer and pinoy hopia (a kind of Filipino pastry) in a basket near the counter. Another Filipino shop, Pinoy Sari Sari on Mary Street, is bigger with more snacks on offer. The refrigerators stock aubergine, karela and okra, and the snacks section has pandesal (Filipino bread rolls), coconut gel in syrup and butter coconut biscuits. Goldilocks polvoron, a popular Filipino shortbread 'The most popular packaged snacks that are widely available outside of the Philippines are Boy Bawang, Ding Dong, Piattos, Chiz Curlz, Sweet Corn, polvoron (a type of shortbread, usually the Goldilocks brand), and dried mangoes (any brand),' says Krissel Alcaraz, a Dublin-based Filipino-Australian food content creator known as Porkyeah on Instagram. 'Food is such a huge part of Filipino culture; after greeting someone, we usually say 'kumain ka na ba?', which means 'have you eaten?',' she says. Boy Bawang Cornick, a packaged corn snack, is on the shelves at both Yes Kabayan and Pinoy Sari Sari. 'Boy Bawang is pretty popular – its literal translation from Tagalog (Filipino) is 'garlic boy'. Garlic is used in almost all of our savoury dishes,' says Alcaraz. 'I suppose Boy Bawang is the popular manufactured version of cornick or corn nuts, but I remember when I was a kid that people sold these in little plastic bags, packed full of salt and garlic. I saw vendors selling them on the streets, but it has now moved on to fancy-looking packaging.' Alcaraz says the snacks here are far costlier than in the Philippines. 'The exchange rate is currently around €1 to 65 Philippine pesos. Boy Bawang, for example, can be bought in a popular high-end supermarket in the Philippines, for around 70 cent and would be even cheaper in 'sari-sari' stores (small convenience stores), but in Ireland it costs around €2. This is why every time I have the chance to visit the Philippines, I stock up a lot on snacks.' Alcaraz was reared in Australia , but she loved Filipino snacks growing up there. 'It's also nostalgic to buy them now as an adult. I love checking out the Asian supermarkets here as it brings back memories of all the snacks I used to eat when I was still living in the Philippines as a kid.' Browsing the aisles or shelves of grocery stores can hold special importance for immigrants seeking familiarity and comfort from home. Food, especially when coupled with nostalgia, is a powerful emotional connector. Packaged snacks have their own place in this realm, whether it be the memories they conjure, or simply having a stock of the familiar in a new country. These snacks at Dublin's immigrant-owned grocery stores are markers of what it feels like to have a home away from home, bringing communities together over a shared love of snacking.
Los Angeles Times
17-03-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Smashburgers are out. Thick, stacked patties are trending at this Brazilian spot
At Pedroca's Burguer in Lawndale, the burger pendulum has swung from the lacy, gossamer patties of the smashburger to a creation so thick, you'll need to detach the lower half of your jaw to consume it. And it's not just the patties. Each burger is a recumbent tower of meat, cheese and vegetables, some built with layers of both ham and bacon, shredded chicken and a fried egg. The buns struggle to contain their contents, appearing swollen and ready to soil the table, your lap and your shirt. Over the last five years, chef and owner Pedro Carvalho has become the great explicator of the Brazilian burger, on a quest to introduce Los Angeles to this supersized version of his favorite sandwich. When Carvalho moved to the United States in 2016, he missed the burgers he ate in his hometown of Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. There, the beef patties were stacked with fried potato sticks and corn, and the buns were slathered in a mayonnaise-based pink sauce. The burgers came wrapped tightly in small plastic bags that served a dual purpose: They made the burgers easier to transport and easier to eat without making a mess. 'Every burger comes with corn and potato sticks for sure, and the special homemade mayonnaise,' says Carvalho. 'It's like a huge burger. We call it podrao, a big and dirty meal.' In February 2020, Carvalho was working as an Uber delivery driver when he decided to make his own version of the Brazilian burgers at home. His Brazilian friends took notice when he started posting his potato stick- and corn-stuffed burgers on Instagram. 'A lot of friends asked me where they can buy the burgers because we don't have any Brazilian burger places in L.A.,' he says. 'I wanted to bring a taste of Brazil here.' A year later, Carvalho started cooking his burgers out of a shared kitchen space at the Brazilian Mall, a strip mall that houses multiple Brazilian businesses in Culver City. He was able to build a steady business of fellow Brazilians who were looking for a taste of home. He spent a couple of years cooking there before taking a pause for mental health reasons. 'I was not feeling good, I was depressed, but the Brazilian community, a lot of them already knew me, and they were missing my burgers,' he says. He found a small storefront in a strip mall in Lawndale and opened Pedroca's Burguer in the spring of 2024. It's named for the childhood nickname his godparents gave him in Brazil. 'It's like little Pedro,' he says. Pedroca's is a tiny space that exudes big personality, with yellow and green walls covered in various Brazilian paraphernalia. There's a signed Brazilian national team jersey from Douglas Costa; each table is adorned with both a mini Brazilian and American flag; you can count on Brazilian soccer or music on the television; and the fridge is stocked with Guaraná Antarctica, a guaraná-flavored soda from Brazil that tastes like a mix between apple cider and ginger ale. Like the burgers you might find in Carvalho's hometown, his Brazilian burgers sit snuggly in small plastic bags, bursting with tiny fried potato sticks and kernels of corn. On a recent visit, I look around at the fellow diners. The bravest are gripping their plastic-wrapped burgers, interchanging bites with swipes of a napkin. Others are cutting their burgers with a knife. Everyone has pink sauce on the corners of their mouths. Carvalho admits that his burgers are larger than the ones he grew up eating, but he's hoping the size will help set him apart in a city crowded with smashburgers. 'We know smashburgers are really popular here, so we wanted to think about doing something different,' he says. 'Everyone asks me, 'How do I eat it?'' You squeeze. My Picanha burger is at least 6 inches long, with a mound of grilled and sliced top sirloin cap (picanha) on the bottom, drizzled in a bright green garlic and onion sauce. On top is a pile of crispy potato sticks, leafy green lettuce and sliced tomato. The final layer is a scoop of canned corn in a puddle of Carvalho's version of Thousand Island dressing called 'special sauce.' I squeeze a corner then bite. Squeeze another corner then bite again. I begin to understand the significance of the plastic bags. 'All my life in Brazil, I eat with this bag,' he says. 'These bags are very hard to find, and we have to bring them from Brazil. We get them whenever we go back or my family comes here. When I know someone is coming here, I tell them to bring more bags for me.' The X-Raposão is the heftiest burger on the menu, stacked with two 6-ounce beef patties blanketed in mozzarella cheese, corn, potato sticks, sliced ham, shredded chicken breast, lettuce, chopped rounds of fried sausage, a fried egg, sliced tomato, bacon and 'special sauce.' It's the length of a submarine sandwich. Unless you can unhinge your jaw, the X-Raposão is a fork-and-knife burger. As long as you get some of the potato sticks and corn into each bite, there's enough lubrication and varying textures to carry you through the many layers of pork, beef and chicken. Each component is cooked individually on the grill, the burger patties plump with crusty edges, the sausage rounds properly caramelized, the bacon crisp and the egg a couple of seconds past runny. It will stretch both your mental and physical capacity for textures in a single mouthful. But if you're ever crushed potato chips onto a deli sandwich, the sensation is immediately familiar. 'It's not easy to understand the flavors,' Carvalho says. 'It's like late-night food, very popular in Brazil when you leave the clubs.' For those looking for a more manageable bite, the gourmet burgers are served upright, wrapped in paper in a basket. The unanimous favorite at the table was the Churrasco, Carvalho's interpretation of a plate of Brazilian barbecue on a bun. He layers a beef patty with sweet and smoky calabresa sausage and strips of bacon. For the cheese element, Carvalho grills thick slabs of coalho, a firm Brazilian cheese with a similar squeaky texture to halloumi. He sprinkles on some farofa, the yuca powder typically served with plates of grilled meat, rice and beans. The burger is dressed with a chunky, almost pickled vinaigrette Carvalho makes with chopped tomato, onion, bell pepper, oil and vinegar. It's finished with a drizzle of American barbecue sauce. 'It's nice to see him following his dreams,' says Thiago Carvalho, Pedro's brother who helps him run the restaurant. 'Many people didn't believe in him. They told him it would never work, but he works really hard and is never satisfied. I know once he gets another location, he will look for another.' On the heels of the restaurant's one-year anniversary, Carvalho has his sights on a storefront in Hollywood, where he plans to attract the post-club crowd and be open late. And once he secures that location, he says he'll look for another. 'Every week by week we get more Americans,' he says. 'We just want everyone to taste this.'
Axios
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Travel to Brazil inside this popular local restaurant
Multiple readers suggested Brazilian Grill & Bakery for our Eating Around the World Series, so I stopped by for dinner. The vibe: This shopping plaza storefront packs a lot under its roof. There's a grocery store, a bar, a sit-down dining area, a buffet with a meat-carving station, racks full of baked goods and a fridge of fresh desserts. I let my friendly server guide me — he wasn't just willing to explain all the must-try dishes, he was excited. What I ate: An all-you-can-eat buffet plate ($26) full of "a little bit of everything," as he suggested, with a fruity Guaraná Antarctica soda, a Brazilian staple. Our Brazilian reader Kessia C. recommended the linguica (pork sausages) and the tender, juicy barbecued picanha (top sirloin). Honestly, they could have charged $26 just for the meat. It was a highlight. Rookie mistake: I didn't find the dessert display until I was full. I took a slice of strawberry and chocolate cake ($8) to go, plus a cup of traditional mousse ($4.50) flavored with cupuacu, a rainforest fruit. The cake, layered with frosting full of strawberry pieces, was amazing. Pro tip: Many folks left carrying bags of fresh bread, so I'm guessing that's delicious, too. 💭 My thought bubble: After seeing the restaurant website in Portuguese, I was worried I wouldn't know what to order. But thanks to my server, it was a non-issue. I enjoyed the welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere, and I'll be back again to order off the menu. Stop by: 7am-9pm Monday-Thursday, 7am-11pm Friday, 8am-10pm Saturday and 8am-6pm Sunday. 5818 Columbus Square.
