By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

As part of the Groupon deal, we mixed and match 2 different ones in the Coxinhas and Pastel Carne. With shredded chicken and spices stuffed within a potato dough pocket, the Coxinhas were mild. However, the house-made hot sauce added a tart and spicy kick. The chicken was slightly dry. The Pastel Carne was enjoyable. Flaky and light on the outside, the ground beef and onion filling was moist. It was served with a vinaigrette salsa. The Polenta Frita with garlic aioli was fantastic. They were lightly crisp with a soft almost creamy centre. The aioli was garlicky.

Onto our mains, we had the Picanha with rice, beans, fried banana, toasted cassava flour and fried cassava root. It was a beautiful medium rare while lightly salted and a proper sear on the outside. Loved the cassava root as it was super crunchy while still soft on the inside. Our second dish was the Feijoada (black bean pork stew) which was served with rice, sauteed kale, toasted cassava flour and salsa. It had a subtle flavour. The beans were soft without being mushy while the pork was tender. I liked the one slice of succulent smoked sausage.

For dessert, we had the Bolo Prestigio or chocolate and coconut cake with beijinho filling and topped with brigadeiro. We enjoyed the chocolatey richness. The cake itself wasn't very sweet, but the filling was. Our second dessert consisted of Mario's Gelato accompanied by Doce de Leite. Again, the creamy and light gelato wasn't too sweet, but the caramel was. It was smoky and silky. Overall, we had a pleasant meal at Boteco Brasil.

Boteco Brasil

2545 Nanaimo St, Vancouver, BC

The Good:

• Something different (not many Brazilian restos in town)

• Nice people

• Decent

The Bad:

• Nice staff, but over-extended

• Place is rather warm, best to sit outside

• Somewhat under-seasoned

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.