From sweet-spicy Cafe Miel to creamy-crunchy cheese bread, Mulata Kitchen and Coffee offers specialty coffees, traditional Brazilian foods and a place “to celebrate each other,” said owner Cristiane Pereira.
Since its grand opening in May, guests stopping by 136 N. Oak Park Ave. can find a quiet corner table perfect for a conversation, something that’s a key part of Brazilian culture, she said..
“Brazil is very festive, and its energy is a little bit contagious, too,” Pereira said. “We find simple things very exciting.”
Street food favorites like meat or vegetable empanadas are on the menu, as are specialty sandwiches.
Customer Luciana Butera said the Carne Louca sandwich, comprised of braised beef, caramelized onions, bell peppers and melted mozzarella, is her favorite.
“I like the balance of the flavor,” she said. “Everything works perfect.”
Butera said other menu items are similar to what she remembers eating in Brazil.
“This is real,” she said. “This is authentic Brazilian cheese bread.”
Pereira said all of the coffee served at Mulata is fair trade, with each bean hand-harvested to ensure optimal ripeness.
“It values not only who is growing the coffee, but the person who is transporting, to the person who is roasting and finally to the professional barista who is brewing,” she said, adding that syrups in the specialty 12-ounce coffees are homemade.
Before opening Mulata Kitchen and Coffee, Pereira owned Taste of Brasil, also in Oak Park.
“Ever since we had Taste of Brasil, we wanted to have an identity where everything from the menu to the cups had a common language,” she said.
Wood textures and warm colors surround guests.
“From the counters of the espresso bar to the tabletops, we have gone to the lumberyard and worked the raw wood into the end result,” Pereira said, adding that her husband worked with her on the wood details.
Graphic designer Brian Chojnowski of Oak Park said he joined with Pereira to design a logo and lettering for the eatery that would emphasize her, the community, and the sense of celebration.
“The design of the logo, drawn as a large mural at the store, is of a woman with curly hair constructed of many different pockets of warm, inviting colors, separated by curly, winding lines,” Chojnowski said. “The lettering for the name also holds a slightly hair-like quality that is soft and feminine.”
Chojnowski said Pereira and her husband hand-painted the mural.
Soon, visitors will be able to taste even more Brazilian flavors, including coxinha or chicken croquettes, which Pereira said are frequently eaten at celebrations like weddings and birthdays.
“If you don’t have coxinhas at a party, it’s not complete, and that’s what we need here,” Pereira said.
She vividly remembers helping her mom make thousands of them as a child, working alongside her sisters.
“She would make the dough and we would make the coxinhas into a teardrop shape,” Pereira said. “Nowadays, my hands are so used to making the teardrop, it’s second nature.”
Feijoada, a rich, slow-cooked stew of beans and meats which is Brazil’s national dish, also will be on the menu soon, Pereira said.
“Usually you eat feijoada on Saturdays and Wednesdays,” Butera said.
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“Everything goes good together — all the beans and the meat and the rice and the greens,” said Michael Butera, Luciana Butera’s husband.
While preparing to open, Pereira said she learned an important lesson:
“Patience and perseverance and a humble attitude will take you further,” she said.