Places to eat exotic

Published: April 30, 2008

We all like a good burger, but step out of your comfort zone and add a little adventure to your life. Here are just a few places in OKC that will be a gastronomical trip of a lifetime.

Café do Brasil

Need a taste of South America? Head to Café do Brasil. They will have a Caipirinha waiting for you. One sip of this refreshing lime and sugar laced distilled sugar cane, will whisk you right to the beaches of Ipanema. Café do Brasil’s atmosphere will only add to the dream with high ceilings and vast windows that give the illusion of an open air restaurant in a tropical paradise. Each night you can hear rhythms of South America from a live musician who pumps out Brazil’s beloved Bossa nova. And as if all that wasn’t enough Café do Brasil’s menu is a trove of treasure. Each evening meal begins with the complementary beringela portuguesa, a spicy cooked relish of red pepper, green peppers, eggplant, garlic and olive oil served with French bread. The appitizer menu has many temptations among them clams Latino or if you’re feeling adventurous, quente coma as Latinas, that is clams baked with a topping of cilantro, red pepper, onions, tomatoes, scallions, carrots and spicy peppers. And you can’t visit South American without having a nice bowl of ceviche. Café do Brasil offers theirs with shrimp, tilapia, pineapple chunks marinated in a lime and gold Cuervo sauce. Then for the main event try the Brazilian classic, picanha brasileira, grilled slices of beef, served with rice, collard greens a fresh vinegarette, and a Brazilian side dish consisting of pinto beans, yuka flour, bacon, eggs, onions, parsley and scallions. Or try the authentic linguica. Or one of the seafood stews served in a hot stone pot. We could go on, but really you can’t go wrong. Lunch and brunch are just as exciting. Check it out for yourself.

440 NW 11, Suite 100
73103
525-9779
Lunch: 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner 5 to 10 p.m.
Brunch: Sat. and Sun. 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Queen of Sheba

There are several ethnic restaurants around the city, but none quite like this one. The food hails from one of the world’s oldest nations, Ethopia, and is eaten without utensils. Foods are served atop traditional sourdough flatbread called injera, which diners tear off and use to scoop spicy veggie and meat dishes that are stewed in traditional blends of spices that are imported from Ethiopia.

2308 N MacArthur
73127
606-8616

Mushashi's

An exotic meal really should have some showmanship. Anybody can cook something up and serve it. If you're going exotic, there should be some blade spinning action with somebody catching shrimp in his hat and where the loss of a limb is not out of the question. Musashi’s has all of these things. This swank, yet exotic, destination serves up a variety of classics from the land of the rising sun. Skilled teppanyaki chefs slice and grill veggies and meat, scramble eggs and light fires right before your very eyes. Options include scallops, goma chicken, Kobe steak and more. Along with that, you get the requisite grilled veggies, shrimp, fried or steamed rice, soup and salad. In Musashi's Fire Room you will find a friendly bar where you can wet your appetite and find nice conversation. There are Japanese-style tapas like the dream-about-and-wake-up-craving miso glazed cod or you can introduce yourself to Kobe beef with the Kobe sliders. You can get sushi including many of the specialty rolls you have grown to love from Sushi Neko. Tootsie roll anyone? And robata, small bits of meat that are grilled over an open flame in a centuries old tradition invented by Japanese fisherman. Selections like bacon wrapped scallop and ahi tuna are grilled up with Musashi's secret sauces. The Fire Room has so much to offer you might not need to move on from there. Musashi's also serves a full selection of sake, which the staff along with every other menu item and the history of the restaurant’s cuisine is very knowledgeable about. If you have trouble selecting one sake, you can order a flight of four to try out. Or if you really want to get into the spirit you can go all out and order a volcano. This drink comes complete with a two-foot straw, because it is served on fire.

4315 N Western
73118
602-5623
Mon. - Thurs. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Fri. 11 a.m. to midnight
Sat. noon to midnight
Sun 4 to 9 p.m.

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