Brazilian Style Hotdogs!

If you have kept up with me thus far, first I want to thank you for reading. Secondly, I want to remind you of one of my older posts. It was a post about a place in Joso City called TK Mart. If you would like to check out the post, here is the link: 

https://regaladom24.wixsite.com/website/post/great-brazilian-food-in-joso-city

TK Mart is a Brazilian supermarket that sells amazing bread, Brazilian snacks, sweets, cold-cut meats, etc. I was devastated when they closed the restaurant part of the supermarket and was sure I would never be able to have Brazilian cuisine in Joso again. That is, until a few weeks ago when I found not only a Brazilian restaurant/bakery but an amazing food truck that sells fantastic sandwiches. 

Imperio De Mel Coffee

Let me start with the restaurant/bakery first, Imperio Amor De Mel Coffee. Imperio is located in the Nakatsumamachi area of Joso City. It is in the middle of nowhere with just a few houses and rice fields all around it. I drove there a few weeks ago and was delighted that there was plenty of parking at Imperio. When I parked my car, I saw a black food truck called Sada next to the entrance of Imperio (I'll get to that later) and walked into the restaurant/bakery.

Inside

When you walk into Imperio, you are greeted by a glass display of cakes and sweets, a Brazilian food menu on the display's counter, and a dimly lit dining area. (No idea why the dining area was so dark) I was then greeted by a staff member behind the counter who started talking to me in rapid Portuguese. For those of you who have never seen or met me before, I can easily pass as Brazilian. This isn't the first time I've been mistaken for Brazilian and it won't be the last.

I let the staff member know that I couldn't speak Portuguese. She didn't speak English or Japanese so we were sort of in a language barrier impasse. Then, another member came to the register and we both started communicating in Spanish. I tell you this story to prepare you for the fact that you may have to start pointing at the menu unless you know Portuguese.

The Menu and Sweets

The menu has all the classic Brazilian foods. Pastel, pao de queijo,risoles, and more. The glass display counter had all the sweets. Cakes, donuts, chocolates, and these small-looking balls of sweets. I decided to get some sweets and a coffee. I would have bought a pastel but as I said before, there was a food truck outside and I needed to not be full when I ordered from them. I got a coconut latte and a beijinho de coco.

The Coconut Latte

Brazilian coffee is awesome. The Brazilian coconut latte is even more awesome. This latte was wonderful. It didn't have the overbearing flavor of coconut which was great. The coffee part of the latte was strong which I liked, and the coconut flavor calmed that strong espresso flavor down just enough to make this a very relaxing coffee.

Beijinho de Coco

Compared to my coconut latte, this sweet had a lot of coconut in it. I had the beijinho de coco at home and brought one more for my wife. We both agreed that we liked the texture. It reminded us of Japanese mochi. But the coconut was a bit too much. I don't mind coconut shavings in my sweets but not when that is all I can taste. Biting into the beijinho was like having an open coconut thrown at my face. It wasn't bad but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Sada

I will talk about this restaurant/bakery later in a future post when I try their pastels and pao. For now, I need to talk about the food truck that was at Imperio. That food truck is called Sada.

I have a bit of a dilemma. Sada is not from Ibaraki. They are from Gifu Prefecture. The two cousins who run the truck travel all over Japan delivering amazing sandwiches. That being said, this should technically be a Side Note. But Imperio is an Ibaraki original so I just put them together.

The Menu

Sada is a hot sandwich food truck, or should I say a Brazilian hotdog food truck. According to the owners, those amazing-looking sandwiches in the menu are called hotdogs in Brazil. Unlike Imperio, one of the cousins does speak English. The menus on the truck are in Japanese and Portuguese, but there is a QR code that will take you to their English menu. There are nine different sandwiches to choose from and there is even a vegetarian option. I went with two sandwiches that day. The Simple Hotdog and Pulled Beef Spare Rib Hotdog.

The Simple Hotdog

Let me start with the simple hotdog. I got this hotdog to take home for my wife. We both tried it at home after reheating it. I cut the sandwich in half and then found the sausages inside. Oh! That's why they are called hotdogs. The simple hotdog comes with cheese, corn, potato sticks, mayo, and vinaigrette sauce. We both liked the simple sandwich. It was a bit thinner than I was expecting but we enjoyed it.

The Pulled Beef Hotdog

Now, I need to tell you about the pulled beef hotdog. Look at that picture. This sandwich is a work of art on a level with the famous Italian Renaissance painters of old. This hotdog comes with everything the simple hotdog comes with but it has cheddar cheese and pulled beef.

So Meaty

When I bit into that hotdog, all I got was an incredible taste of meat and melted delicious cheese. That was a good start. Then the mayo, potato sticks, and sausage joined the party which took the sandwich from good to great. The pressed hot bread between all that meat and cheese is just something that every meat eater needs to experience once in their life. I was in meaty heaven and didn't want to come back down to earth. If the sandwich wasn't so filling, I would have ordered another, possibly two more. But I couldn't eat another, and I had already ordered the simple hotdog. So my heavenly feast will have to wait for another time.

I am so happy that I found a Brazilian restaurant that has all my favorite Brazilian meals, and a food truck that makes amazing sandwiches. I plan on going back to Imperio soon and trying their pastel. As for Sada, I will have to play the waiting game. Sada only comes to Ibaraki once a month, maybe. So I will have to wait till the cousins decide to bring that lovely pulled beef hotdog back to our prefecture. Until then, I'll be waiting Sada.

So if you are hanging around Joso City and are in the mood for some Brazilian cuisine, why not give Imperio Amor De Mel Coffee a try? Who knows, you might see me there, and if we are lucky, Sada will be making their amazing sandwiches for us to have.

Enjoy!

For more information on Sada, check out their Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/sadafoods/

For more information on Imperio Amor De Mel Coffee, check out their Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/amor_de_mel_jp?utm_medium=copy_link