Brazi Bites at Costco - Tustin

Of the many reasons Brazilian churrascarias are great, chief among them is pão de queijo.

What's pão de queijo? They're those ping-pong sized balls of cheese bread that come piping hot and free as soon as you sit down to begin your Brazilian meat marathon.

They have a thin, crispy crust on the outside but are wondrously pliant and chewy on the inside. If you've never had them, the best way I can describe them is that they're a cross between a gooey fried mozzarella stick and a Pillsbury crescent roll.

Trust me: they're wonderful. And for the longest time, I thought the only way I could have them was by paying the steep AYCE churrascaria entry fee. Last year, I finally realized that Taste Brazilian Style Gourmet, a Brazilian bakery in Huntington Beach, actually makes them fresh--without the churrasco requirement.



But when I told a Brazilian friend of my discovery, he revealed that Costco actually carries pão de queijo in its freezer section!

As soon as he sent me a photo of the bag in his Costco shopping cart as proof, I bolted to the nearest one, and there it was...Brazi Bites--raw morsels of frozen dough that you bake on parchment paper in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Although I overbaked it a touch, when they came out, they were exactly like--if not the same as--the ones at Agora, Texas de Brazil, et al.

I served it to guests over the holiday break along with Cream Pan's strawberry croissants and, for the first time, the strawberry croissants played runner up.

Costco at The District
2700 Park Ave.
Tustin, CA 92782

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