Meal Time! #3: TCDroogsma at Brasa Premium Rotisserie Restaurant

Come at me, Brasa! Come at me!

 Hey, errybody. How ya doing? I'm assuming that since you've stumbled onto this blog you're either hungry & curious or you've finally finished reading every other thing on the internet. Either way, thanks for stopping by.

As you can see from the picture right there, I took a trip to Brasa Rotisserie Restaurant. Brasa has two locations, one in St. Paul and one in Northeast. Obviously I went to the St. Paul location since, as I mentioned, the other one is in Northeast.

For more info and a good look at just what's on the menu, be sure to check out their website here.

Of course, since St. Paul is her city, I had to make sure to hook up with MinneSarah for the meal. She was psyched to come along, but, as you can see, far less psyched to have her picture taken. Fortunately, as that 7/8ths empty wine glass will attest, I'm not totally sure she even remembers me snapping this pic.

Now, I know what you're thinking: “Droogsy, aren't you and MinneSarah vegan? Why would you go to a rotisserie restaurant?” Well, yeah, we're still on that veggie grind, which is why I thought it was important to swing by Brasa. Turns out it's a sneaky-awesome vegan spot. Be honest, you didn't know that until I told you. Just be sure to ask for the vegetarian menu from your server.

We stopped by on a Wednesday at about 6:00. The place was jumpin' like a Destiny's Child single. Take a look at the picture. See those seats near the far end next to the screen. That's where we ended up. It was awesome getting a nice little breeze during dinner. It did, however, make my photos all wonky. Trust me, none of the plates were blue, despite their appearance here.

Now, before we get to the meal, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that Brasa serves their own homemade soda. They've concocted a guava lime soda (which I've yet to try) and a fucking awesome pineapple ginger ale. Check that out:

That's pretty damn real. It definitely skews more toward the sweetness of the pineapple, but the ginger's bite is still noticeable. Definitely refreshing.

Now, the trick to eating vegan-style at Brasa is to catch those sides on vegetarian menu. There are five options on the menu...

(Cure the horns!)

I present to you, the Vegan Side Dish Spectacular at Brasa's!

Homemade Chips & Guacamole

Yellow Rice & Beans

Roasted Yams

Crispy Yuca w/Citrus & Garlic

Fried Plantains

Now, MinneSarah and I had visited Brasa once before and cashed in on the lunch special, which is any three of the sides for $8.50. This works out awesome since each person can get their own order of Yellow Rice & Beans and then you can share the other 4 sides. Unfortunately, in Brasa's world, 6:00 does not count as lunch time. Still, this had been our plan for the evening and we were not going to be denied.

So, here's the story so far:

Location: Brasa on Grand

Time Of Day: 6:00 on a Wednesday

Ambiance: Jumpin', jumpin'

Level Of Sobriety: 50/50

Meal: Shared Side Dish Spectacular

Main Ingredients: Plantains, yuca, rice, beans, yams

To The Side: Chips & guac

Beverages: Cabernet (MinneSarah), Pineapple Ginger Ale (Myself)

Menu Price: $6.50 American for the Cabernet ($4.50 American during happy hour), $2.75 American for the Ginger Ale ($1.50 American during happy hour). Keep reading for an explanation of the food prices.

Total price: $45.00 American (w/tip)

Instead of the lunch special, we were forced to deal from the sides menu. Each side could be ordered as either a small, medium or large portion. We started by splitting a medium order of the chips and guacamole ($5.75 American). They were great to snack on as we drank our dranks and waited for the rest of the sides to turn up. The chips, as mentioned, are homemade. They were big, crisp, and not-at-all oily, which was surprising. I'm not a huge guacamole fan (avocados make me feel ill), but I couldn't stop snacking on the this combo. The guacamole wasn't chunky at all, simply smooth and mild. All in all, a great way to start the meal.

 I ordered another pineapple ginger ale and MinneSarah grabbed another glass of red. Soon, we were surrounded by sides. We threw down another $5.75 American for a medium sized order of yellow rice & black beans because, frankly, you can never have enough of those. The black beans were pretty basic, but the yellow rice was great. It tasted a lot like the type of rice you get at mexican restaurants. That rice, however, is typically made with chicken stock. Somehow Brasa was able to recreate that without the chicken. Well played. This side was obviously the Beyonce of the meal.  Absolutely essential in turning a collection of food into a meal.

(Pro tip #1: Be sure to save some of the chips for scooping up rice & beans. I realize that's a poverty line dinner (Lord, how I realize it), but trust me, it forms a great base for the rest of the meal.)

The plantains come in two varieties, sweet & green. Last time we stopped by we were only able to get the sweet plantains and let me tell you, they were just too damn sweet. The sugar just didn't compliment the rest of the meal. Oddly, yet fortunately, this time we were only able to get the green plantains. We decided to split a small order at $2.95 American. These little fried treats were awesome. Nicely crispy on the outside but chewy throughout the middle. I straight up couldn't get enough of these things. If I'm going to continue with this analogy, I suppose this would be the Michelle of the sides. Sweet, harmless, yet an essential part of the meal as a whole.

We also decided to go halves on a small order of the yams (another $2.95 American), which are mashed almost past the point of recognition. I wasn't a fan of these as, much like the sweet plantains, were just a little too sweet. Admittedly, I rarely eat yams and I forget that they are inherently sweet. When I said that I didn't care for them, MinneSarah kindly reminded me that I said that last time. Those that forget history, etc... I don't know whether I feel more sorry for the yams or LaTavia Roberson & Latoya Luckett in this comparison, but I'm sorry to everyone involved. The yams were inessential and unnecessary.

(Like an idiot, I neglected to take picture of the yuca flocka fries.  They were only the best part of the meal.  Fuck me.)

We did luck out during happy hour and catch the crispy yuca at happy hour prices ($2.00 American for an individual serving). I'm likely to lapse into hyperbole describing these awesome little guys. They have the texture and taste of the thickest, most delicious french fries you've ever had. Perfectly balancing softness and chewy I highly, highly recommend them. They're the Kelly Rowland of the meal: More talented than they get credit for and certainly sexier than that fat ass rice & beans. And yet, not really able to stand on their own as a meal.

Now, that's pretty much the whole meal, but I'll be damned if I let you click away from this page without dropping Pro Tip #2 on you.

Pro Tip #2: Brasa's Hot Pepper Vinegar! Oh shit! This little dandy makes every part of the meal (sans those sweet yams) better. Believe me, I was skeptical too, but it really is fantastic. It has a perfectly sour, lime type of flavor too it. It is crucial to add a splash of it to the rice & beans, yuca, and plantains. Since this meal has so many diverse options, adding a bit of this stuff kind of brings it all back home. This is definitely the Jay-Z cameo of the meal. All I need in this life of sin is me and my vinegar...

Alright, that was the meal. Now let's break this thing down:

Flavor: 8/1- Just about everything was crispy where it was supposed to be crispy and soft where it was supposed to be soft. With the exception of the yams, none of the dishes had an overpowering flavor.

Filling: 10/10 – You wouldn't think a meal built out of side dishes could be so filling, yet here we are.Sweet lord, I could barely walk after finishing this meal. Much like the way I could barely walk after seeing the 'Bootylicious' video for the the first time. Err... kind of.

Price: 7/10 - $45 American with the tip is awfully steep. However, if you cut out the wine, it shakes out to about $35. Take out the soda and yams and you're down to $30 American, split in half. Is what's remaining worth $15 American? Absolutely.

Ambiance: 8/10 – Like you saw above, the place was awfully packed. A restaurant full of patrons and spinning chickens has the potential to get awfully hot in a hurry, but screening off and opening up the big garage doors on the side of the building was a clutch move. The rest of the building had the style of some type of gourmet Chipotle, built mostly of steel & wood with some perplexing art on the wall. I mean that as a compliment.

Service: 9/10 – MinneSarah and I dealt with a very-pregnant server called Meg. At least, she looked pregnant. It may have been a very high quality fake pregnancy belly she wears to try to get bigger tips. Admittedly, that seems unlikely. Anyway, she was really a sweetheart as we stumbled through the sides menu trying to figure out the right sizes for our meal.

We also dealt briefly with a busser who shared a remarkable resemblance to Alex James. Based on his desire to remove our dishes, I suspect he may share both a hairstyle and taste in, umm... 'hobbies' with Mr. James.

If This Meal Was An All Girl R 'n' B Group From The 90's It Would Be: TLC. I kid, I kid. Obviously, Destiny's Child. Best of the best.

How Many Times Would I Eat This Meal Per Month If I Could Afford To: 4. For the record, though, I'd want to eat it about a dozen times per month, but it's just too damn filling. I mean, check out what I went home with.

Overall Score: 9/10 – Great food, nice atmosphere, not terribly priced. To be completely honest, I'm not sure why I'm not giving it a ten. I think it's because I've never given a 10 before and, frankly, Brasa, I like you, you're handsome, stylish, & delicious, but I think I'm saving that 10 for someone I really love. I hope you understand.

Mike Augustynak was not at Brasa. This time.

Thanks, TCDroogsma.  That was barely coherent.  If you want more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma), on Instagram as TCDroogsma and he, for some reason, maintains his own blog called Caffeine & Obscenities.

Of course, this blog is still on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) and Facebook here.  If you're a fan of our writers comparing meals to R 'n' B groups, stop by and give us a 'like.'