Terra Nossa Cafe

Friday, February 15th, 2008
Now…..Our review.
This week took us to South America….we had a taste for Brazilian food
and found our way to Terra Nossa. The entrance has a small almost
take out atmosphere and to the right was their dining room. The owner
was surprised we chose to sit where we sat, she would have preferred
us in the dining room, ….but Divas do what Divas do and we were
quite comfortable in the smaller front section { the original part of
the restaurant before they expanded }. It was simple and had all the
elements for a “typical” Latin evening with an authentic, cozy feel.
We especially enjoyed the Spanish television playing in the
background with clips of Mardi Gras celebrations. It felt like we
could have been in someone’s home. A couple of things to note: They
were playing soft music in the dining room and we understand that
they have a buffet daily, and on Saturday they serve Feijoada which
is the Brazilian National dish for $9.90. Ok….enough about all of
that. Now for the food review………….
First and foremost we needed to decide on a wine (always a difficult
choice for diva’s – The choice was limited… Whew ! That was easy.
We had the Teldeschi Chardonnay, from California and the Tenuta S.
Anna Cabernet Sauvignon from Italy. We enjoyed them both.
And on to the menu …after much debate we enlisted the help of our
server to interpret many of the dishes (as our Portuguses is not
strong). For the appetizers we ordered the Linguica no Palito
(sausage on a skewer). It was a mild sausage with onions served in a
skillet – no skewer in sight - maybe that’s how they say skillet in
Brazil!? Then we had the Risole de Camarao (shrimp cakes) and the
Coxinhas de Frango (chicken cakes). They were both light on the
shrimp and chicken. As we were discussing how they reminded us of
croquettes…….. out from the dining room a man in scrubs with a
plate full of chicken hearts approached our table. It was Dr.
Chicken Heart himself { just joking, I am sure his heart is much
bigger than a chicken’s - he was charming and actually plays a Doctor
in real life }. He insisted we taste these little organs and a few of
us did. He was dining with another MD and loves the place. Anyway,
back to the Chicken hearts aka Coracao de Frango, they are grilled
with onions, chewy and I think the jury is still out if we liked them
or not. But we did meet a couple of new friends. I believe we have
all made appointments and we will keep you posted……..stay tune
for The Diva Diaries, Divas after Dark.
On to our entrees, if you still care.….along with a green salad,
black beans and fried bananas. We had the Picanha (Brazilian
Sirloin Steak with Shrimp), which was tasty but nothing very
exciting….and Divas love excitement. And, against our servers
recommendation we ordered the Bacalhau ao Forno (salt cured Codfish
fillet, with potatoes, onions, green peppers, tomato and olives
cooked in the oven). It was a very authentic olde world dish, which
inspired us to make this choice but we were told it is an acquired
taste. It is prepared by packing the fish in salt for seven days and
seven nights (sounds like a Diva escapade – with tequila), once
cured, there is a rinsing process and then it’s ready for cooking.
We found it dry and a little tough, which is to be expected after
such an ordeal. Note to Divas, listen to your waitress! And for
the dessert we had Acai (the acai berry is found in the Amazon and
is known to be an antioxidant) sorbet with bananas and nuts. A nice
finish to our meal. All in all it was an interesting experience and
we learned that many dishes are an acquired taste. The meal was $23
per person.
Terra Nossa Café at 5758 S. Tamiami Trail Sarasota, Florida 34231
941-929-9778