Monday, September 10, 2007
Restaurants Brazilian cocktail lounge with completely unique small plates
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Mon, Sep 10, 2007 at 6:00 PM
Leave it to Riccardo Ulllio, the owner of Fritti and Sotto Sotto, to create a new, completely novel restaurant in our city. Beleza (905 Juniper at Eighth Street) combines several of Ullio's passions. It's a Brazilian cocktail lounge, but it also serves healthy small plates, including many raw-fish dishes, designed by executive chef Michelle McKenzie (below, right).
I'll be reviewing it in next week's paper, but here's some advice: Go now! I haven't encountered such unique flavors, all gorgeously presented, in a long time. An example is the tuna with baby beets backgrounded by arugula puree (above, top). This dish, like most others at Beleza, features sustainable fish and organic produce, much of it local. Another example is the tomato salad (above) with watermelon-cracked pepper sorbet.
There are cocktails featuring delicious Brazilian-style juices and Ullio plans to offer juices straight-up when he works out a complication with his supplier. Meanwhile, you can order virgin cocktails. I tried the "Jungle Juice," a blend of acerola, acai, citrus juice and guarana.
Here's good news for diabetics and people allergic to dairy. Nothing at Beleza, including the deserts, contains sugar or dairy products. The main sweetener used by McKenzie is agave nectar, which is safe for diabetics.
What else? The restaurant is gorgeous, including a hydroponic garden wall similar to one I've seen at Bastide in West Hollywood. Tropical-wood tables, bamboo and sleek furniture create an ambiance as unique as the food. Staff members, like those at Ullio's other restaurants, are personable and attractive.
Ullio also plans to open a Spanish restaurant, Cuerno, next door. Unfortunately, the chef he found in Barcelona backed out when his wife refused to move to a city where she'd have to drive. Imagine that — not wanting to leave Barcelona to live in Atlanta. Who'da thunk it?
Comments (2)
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Last night we went to Beleza and were blown away. Dishes at this restaurant compare to the Ritz, Charlie Trotters and Blais when it was open years ago. The wines and drinks are all organic or biologic with juices coming from berries only a Tibetan Monk would recognize. With Hanger One green tea infused vodka and sourcing white Chateau neuf de Pape from France there is plenty of selections in the super high end biologic beverage category. I can highly recommend the tuna crudo with beets and lemon confit. This is a signature standout and shows excellent knife skills in the presentation. The Japanese eggplant with the pine nut puree was one of a kind. All fish is prepared sous vide - Under vacuum which seals in the juices. By the way you won't find chicken or meat anywhere on the menu. The sword fish was a dish that tops any in the city or the country - world class. This place is going to explode as soon as Ullio decides to put a sign out front.
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