Muqueca Brazilian Restaurant

It's not quite the frenzied Carnival spirit of Rio, but it's easy to imagine that you're partying at a Brazilian seaside resort. Most diners, though, aren't here for the view. They've come for the moquecas Capixabas, the spicy, bubbling fish and seafood stews, a regional specialty of Espirito Santo, the tiny Brazilian state along the country's southeastern coast. Each moqueca comes to the table in a rustic, coal-black cooking pot of the same name. Gleaming white lobster tails, shrimp or chunks of fish poke out from under the fire engine-red potage. Owner Maria-Gloria Sarcinelli imports the moqueca pots from her home city, Vitória, in Espirito Santo, where women called paneleiras make them from black clay and mangrove tree sap according to an ancient Indian formula. The pots seemingly have a mystical power to transform the foods' own juices into a flavor-packed sauce ‚ lime-marinated seafood mixed with fresh tomato, olive oil and seasonings.