Want to escape to the tropics? Cafe Brasil can take you there

LIKE a Carnaval-costumed dancer with her sequins and feathers posing in a lineup of gray-suited accountants, the new Cafe Brasil has landed on a drab section of West Washington Boulevard. The place not only stands out from the blocks of quietly desperate commercial buildings because of its colorful facade -- bright goldenrod lavishly trimmed in light Dodger blue -- but also for its promise of fun.

A 4-month-old outpost of the tiny Venice Boulevard original, Cafe Brasil is, along with the renovated and very much repainted Villa Brasil Motel, a cheerfully exotic presence in the neighborhood.

The food, maybe because of the larger and more flexible kitchen space, is better than at the mother ship, and the identical menu of Cal-Brazilian sandwiches, salads and grilled entrees with rice and beans has broad appeal. There’s beer and wine, a long table set up near a flat-screen TV seemingly dedicated to soccer and prices that encourage regulars.

But it’s the why-can’t-I-samba-my-way-through-life ambience that wins hearts and delights eyes. The place is homey and unpretentious but manages to suggest the tropics and escape. You drop in for a quick sandwich before a movie but decide -- as you wait in line to order and look around at the whirligig atmosphere of color -- that you might just relax and slow down for awhile instead. It’s nothing fancy -- brightly painted mismatched tables and chairs, enormous bowls of lemons and apples, walls hung with posters and knickknacks -- but it’s perfect for couples meeting couples, girlfriends sipping wine after work, or anyone who wants a little happiness without any fuss.

Fuss just doesn’t happen here. Cafe Brasil serves breakfast, for example, but not until 11 a.m. And it has board specials -- but they’re the same specials every day.

Not that owners Marcelino and Aparecida Filho are trying to get away with anything -- that’s just the cafe’s brand of relaxed Brazilian mode. In fact, one of the owners is often present, pitching in and overseeing quality.

A good plan of action is to grab a table and order in waves. Start with a Kir or the house cocktail of sparkling wine and fresh passion fruit juice and an appetizer, the category listing the most Brazilian specialties. Empadinhas, very tender and tiny baked tarts filled with chicken or hearts of palm, are tasty as are the flaky Brazilian-style empanadas called pasteis, fried turnovers that come in several varieties. Spicy black bean soup is a compelling minimalist version, refined in texture but rich and amazingly satisfying.

Among the entrees, pork chops, shrimp and red snapper are outstanding, each marinated and beautifully spiced with a kicky blend. There’s a fine version of feijoada, the slow-cooked pork and bean stew, formerly available only on weekends but now made daily. Entrees come with soup or salad, rice, beans, plantains and salsa, but be sure to also order a side of farofa, seasoned crisp yucca crumbs, which are an addictive finishing touch when sprinkled over the rice and beans.

For dessert, the passion fruit mousse is irresistible, a delicate tropical trope that comes to the table in a pretty margarita glass; the flan, for flan fans, is of the super-caramelly, stand-up-and-be-counted school. But the house-made pound cake -- when was the last time you made your own at home? -- is a great finish too. It is perhaps the only plain vanilla thing to be found at Cafe Brasil.

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Cafe Brasil

Location: 11736 W. Washington Blvd., L.A., (310) 391-1216; www.cafe-brasil.com.

Price: Appetizers, $1 to $2; sandwiches, $5 to $8; pastas, $9 to $18; entree platters, $9.50 to $15; salads, $6.50 to $11; desserts, $2.25 to $4.25.

Best dishes: Vegetarian pasta, grilled red snapper plate, spicy bean soup, house-made pound cake.

Details: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Street and motel-lot parking. Visa, MasterCard, American Express. Beer, wine.