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randomnessWe kept driving past this Brazilian place on the way to and from the Valley of Things (1). I love Brazilian food, and I decided I had to visit it.
Oasis Restaurant
373 Main Street
Medford, MA
tel: +1.781.396.8337
fax: +1.781.396.1643
daily: 1100-2300 (buffet 1130-1800)
(free delivery in Medford, Somerville, Everett, and some areas of Malden)
Oasis is notable because it doesn't have an all-you-can-eat option, which seems to be the way the first wave of Brazilian places in Boston distinguished themselves. This is not a problem. Portions at Oasis are enormous, delicious, and quite cheap.
Let's start with the house specialties, all of which are grilled meats. There's both steak, and a mixed grill, in two sizes. The larger options are $14.99 for steak, $15.99 for Brazilian BBQ (actually more a mixed grill, as its Portuguese name "Churrasco Misto", implies), and $15.99 for the pork, beef, and chicken option. These larger options are intended for two people. The smaller options are the mini skew, a smaller mixed grill where you choose two of either pork, sausage, beef steak, or chicken ($9.99), or the carne assada (also $9.99) steak only. The smaller options are meant for one.
Side dishes are included, multiple, and large. You get four of the following: salad, rice, beans, fries, farofa (toasted manioc meal), or fried yucca. (There's a standard set of what comes with which meal, but they let us switch anyway.) It's a lot of food. I usually take more than half of my food home.
The menu has lots of Brazilian favorites, and we haven't yet worked our way through the menu. We have tried the lemon chicken over linguine ($8.99) which was exceptionally lemony, with large deep-fried pieces of chicken breast, and the beef fajita ($8.95), which wasn't much like its Mexican namesake, as it was grilled strips and chunks of beef over a bed of vegetables. Last time E got the bife a cavalho ($8.49) a generous steak topped with two fried eggs. There are daily specials, which look great but we haven't yet tried, either.
We almost never have room left for dessert, all of whom are variations on the flan/custard/mousse idea. They're on display in a refrigerated case. The one time we did manage to order them we were not disappointed. For $1.99, you can choose from caramel flan, pineapple custard, bombom custard, passion fruit mousse, chocolate mosse, or rice pudding. The pineapple custard we had was essentially flan shot through with pineapple chunks. Yum.
Oasis has a liquor license, and there are signs saying they serve caipirinha (lime, sugar, and cachaça, the Brazilian sugar-based firewater). Haven't had it yet, always been designated driver. They also have guaraná, the Brazilian national soft drink, bottled locally in New Jersey.
During the day, they also have a comida por kilo (food by the pound) buffet and salad bar, at $3.99 a pound. It's a quick way to get a pile of food. Walk up, grab a plate, fill it with steam-table beef, pork, chicken, fish, various side dishes, and salad items. The regular menu is also available, if you prefer.
Service is friendly and efficient. The Brazilian atmosphere is greatly enhanced by the fact that they have Brazilian TV on constantly, on a wide-screen and a smaller TV facing it. Somehow this isn't nearly as annoying as it would be if it were American TV. Probably because I can't understand enough Brazilian Portuguese to figure out what they're saying.
(1) Sam's name for the cluster of stores, including Target and Costco, in Everett.
Oasis Restaurant
373 Main Street
Medford, MA
tel: +1.781.396.8337
fax: +1.781.396.1643
daily: 1100-2300 (buffet 1130-1800)
(free delivery in Medford, Somerville, Everett, and some areas of Malden)
Oasis is notable because it doesn't have an all-you-can-eat option, which seems to be the way the first wave of Brazilian places in Boston distinguished themselves. This is not a problem. Portions at Oasis are enormous, delicious, and quite cheap.
Let's start with the house specialties, all of which are grilled meats. There's both steak, and a mixed grill, in two sizes. The larger options are $14.99 for steak, $15.99 for Brazilian BBQ (actually more a mixed grill, as its Portuguese name "Churrasco Misto", implies), and $15.99 for the pork, beef, and chicken option. These larger options are intended for two people. The smaller options are the mini skew, a smaller mixed grill where you choose two of either pork, sausage, beef steak, or chicken ($9.99), or the carne assada (also $9.99) steak only. The smaller options are meant for one.
Side dishes are included, multiple, and large. You get four of the following: salad, rice, beans, fries, farofa (toasted manioc meal), or fried yucca. (There's a standard set of what comes with which meal, but they let us switch anyway.) It's a lot of food. I usually take more than half of my food home.
The menu has lots of Brazilian favorites, and we haven't yet worked our way through the menu. We have tried the lemon chicken over linguine ($8.99) which was exceptionally lemony, with large deep-fried pieces of chicken breast, and the beef fajita ($8.95), which wasn't much like its Mexican namesake, as it was grilled strips and chunks of beef over a bed of vegetables. Last time E got the bife a cavalho ($8.49) a generous steak topped with two fried eggs. There are daily specials, which look great but we haven't yet tried, either.
We almost never have room left for dessert, all of whom are variations on the flan/custard/mousse idea. They're on display in a refrigerated case. The one time we did manage to order them we were not disappointed. For $1.99, you can choose from caramel flan, pineapple custard, bombom custard, passion fruit mousse, chocolate mosse, or rice pudding. The pineapple custard we had was essentially flan shot through with pineapple chunks. Yum.
Oasis has a liquor license, and there are signs saying they serve caipirinha (lime, sugar, and cachaça, the Brazilian sugar-based firewater). Haven't had it yet, always been designated driver. They also have guaraná, the Brazilian national soft drink, bottled locally in New Jersey.
During the day, they also have a comida por kilo (food by the pound) buffet and salad bar, at $3.99 a pound. It's a quick way to get a pile of food. Walk up, grab a plate, fill it with steam-table beef, pork, chicken, fish, various side dishes, and salad items. The regular menu is also available, if you prefer.
Service is friendly and efficient. The Brazilian atmosphere is greatly enhanced by the fact that they have Brazilian TV on constantly, on a wide-screen and a smaller TV facing it. Somehow this isn't nearly as annoying as it would be if it were American TV. Probably because I can't understand enough Brazilian Portuguese to figure out what they're saying.
(1) Sam's name for the cluster of stores, including Target and Costco, in Everett.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-07 10:16 pm (UTC)(1) Sam's name for the cluster of stores, including Target and Costco, in Everett.
And Ted's, and mine and...
(Ok, I prefer "the Valley Of The Things" half the time, in a VOTDolls analogue...)
I suspect it's pretty widespread these days.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-07 11:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-08-08 05:26 am (UTC)