I ate at these places on the south end of I Drive on Tuesday afternoon.
Giraffas - This new Brazilian place in the strip mall with Peter Glenn Ski Shop was the supposed to be the kill shot on my crawl, but, ended up being the biggest miss. It's more "fast foodish" than the other Brazilian places. You order at the counter and the bring it out to you. The selection is also small and centers around burgers. They have steaks (low quality), chicken, salmon and salads too. I had a Picanha Grill for $11. It was a 5 oz steak with three sides. I chose a salad, mashed potatoes and farofa. The steak had a huge spine of fat and tasted minerally. I had a dull grey color and was cooked well (I asked for medium rare). It was definitely not aged. The salad was surprisingly good. It was plated well and was a nice mix of field greens. The mashed potatoes were grainy, salty and too buttered. The farofa was inedible. It's supposed to be some kind of quinoa, etc powder. I don't know how (or why) the Brazilians incorporate this into their meals, but, I just found a new twist on the cinnamon challenge. A soda was also $2.40. A little high. The place seats about fifty. It has a hip decor. Very modern. Even the menus are digital. The place had about eight people there. Half were Brazilian. I find Brazilian food to have a unwarranted premium on their pricing. The quality here was medium low and the pricing is medium high. Plus they don't offer anything unique. I'd skip it.
Emporio Brazil - This "deli" is behind Giraffas. It's an off shoot of some other Brazilian concern on I Drive. I forget which one. They didn't have their permit to cook hot dishes from the man yet, so, I had a few of the "pastries" they had available. I had an "empada" that was a ham and cheese (you could have other fillings) in a glossy triangle pastry. It was fine for $2. I also had a "esfirras" that was a little "biscuit" in a steel mold. It was $2.50. It was filled with hearts of palm. They also gave me some little cheese balls that were ruined by the nuker. It's a small shop that isn't stocked with much so far. The menu will mostly be sandwiches. Good for some grab and go options that are wallet friendly. It had a area for seating.
Kosher Grill - The food truck has a home and it didn't take forty years. They are now across from Boi Brazil and Big Italy in a spot that used to try and sell you $10 baked potatoes. Wonder why that didn't work out? The rent at that spot must be high because it'll still cost you over $7 to get in the game here. I'm talking apps! I think they even raised the truck prices which were too high to begin with. It's a good thing the food is worth it. I had a Sabich because I had never seen it before and wanted someone to ask me if they could have "some of it". It's probably an age old recipe, but, I couldn't help wondering if it was an egg salad play on words. It's eggplant with hard boiled egg in a pita. It tastes like the best egg salad you've ever had. They also toss in hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers and some other sauces I couldn't recognize from the squirt bottles. It's awesome. Huge serving. Great pita. I tried one bite to sample and kept going until I reached fingers. It cost $7.50. The blend even makes the bitter skin of the egg plant a nice layer. Now back to the menu. They still expect you to pay $10 for most sandwiches and $11 for a baguette and $18 for a plate. I love these guys, but, Whitewood (for example) charges $12 for a similar plate. I thought Jews were known to be cheap. These guys don't think so. The inside is a little messy. It looks like guys are in charge. The work station is a mess and right there for everyone to see. They have a whole in the ceiling. There's not much flair inside. It seats about fifty. There were around five people there. They looked like insiders. No confirmation that The Zohan eats here.
Amor En Pedacos - We winnowed it down to "a little bit of love". It's a cute little bakery/cafe across from the Del Taco. I had a "empadao frango" for $3.50. It was a quiche like "pie" that looked like a piece of triple layer cake (it was that high). It was great. I had it room temp, cold and warmed. Worked every way. I hadn't seen this offered in any Brazilian shop before. I had a hearts of palm one because it was the cheapest. they also had a chicken one for about twice as much. Brazilian pricing makes no sense to me. They also had a nice range of other pastries and served little meals. It only seat around 20. It was full. It had a cute, feminine feel. I'd go back for more.
Thai Silk - I went here (and maybe reviewed - I can't remember) when it was Red Bamboo. It turns out it hasn't been a new place all these years. They just wanted to sound more Thai. I had Tulip Dumplings for $8. That's about 2X too much. It's basically a shui mai of pork and shrimp (more pork). They swear it's Thai, but, I've never seen dumplings on a Thai menu in the US and certainly not in Thailand. They were fine. who doesn't like dumplings? It came with a sour/sweet soy dressing. The place seats about 70. It had a few customers. The staff/owners looked Thai. You need to bring at least $10 bucks to be dealt in. See if I wrote a Red Bamboo review if you want to know more. I'm exhausted with this gibberish. It's in the strip mall that has that run down Japanese restaurant building. Right on the corner of I Drive and Kirkman.
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