NY Magazine

PRESS | Jun 28, 2010

West Village's Brazil Fans Live up to Stereotype, in a Good Way

June 16th, 2010

Match: Brazil 2, North Korea 1.

Location: Sushi Samba, Brazilian-sushi restaurant, 87 Seventh Avenue.

The Draw: $5 caipirinhas. The caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, made from crushed sugar and lime with cachaça (sugarcane liquor). Pitchers thereof were $20.

Why a Brazilian Sushi Restaurant Was Something That Someone Thought of Trying: There are, apparently, more Japanese emigrants and people of Japanese descent in Brazil than there are in any other country in the world, including America.

Scene: The atmosphere at Sushi Samba on Tuesday strongly contradicted the persistent rumors that Brazilians harbor ugly women and host bad parties. As soon as the Brazilian national anthem concluded, the restaurant muted the game's broadcast feed to kick off the festivities. Three samba drummers banged around the restaurant, bar, and sidewalk outside as two dancers wearing more on their heads than on their bodies followed. One musician pounded his bass drum so hard he snapped a drumstick in two. The same parade was launched again at halftime, after each of Brazil's two goals, and again after the last whistle.

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