Brazilian fare with a flourish

Oasis Restaurant
373 Main St., Medford
Telephone: 781-396-8337
Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m.
Handicapped accessible
Major credit cards accepted
www.NewOasisRestaurant.com

With its shamrocks, green beer, and celebration of all things Irish, there can be a certain amount of peer pressure surrounding St. Patrick's Day. But on the holiday this month, four diners of Irish descent, dressed in green, turned down an invitation for homemade corned beef and cabbage with all the boiled trimmings, and drove instead to the Brazilian Oasis Restaurant in Medford.

We pulled up to the colorfully lit restaurant in a strip mall on Main Street with no idea of what to expect. The first room we entered was bustling, with a frequently ringing telephone, takeout orders being passed over the counter, and a jumble of crisscrossing waitstaff and diners exchanging pleasantries.

A hostess greeted us promptly and led us past the lunch-only salad bar and buffet station ($3.99 per pound) and into the dining room, where a guitarist was singing softly next to the storefront window overlooking the street.

Since this was our first encounter with Brazilian food, we were grateful that our waitress was both friendly and patient as we took a little extra time to review the menu. While one person played it safe with a Coke, the other three debated among the myriad beer, wine, spirits, and nonalcoholic frozen juice drinks before settling on cans of Goya brand coconut water ($1.49), which was sweet and clear enough to see a multitude of small but chewable pieces of coconut floating in it.

Our confidence growing, we ordered the Mandioca Frita ($4.99), a generous portion of lightly fried, but mildly flavored, yucca (a vegetable that was unfamiliar to us). While tasty on its own, it could have used a dipping sauce. The camarao a alho e oleo and batata frita ($5.99) was a platter of eight plump, grilled shrimp deliciously seasoned with garlic and oil. While french fries are common in just about any restaurant, the ones accompanying the grilled shrimp appetizer were an uncommonly good, medium thickness.

Entrees include steaks, seafood, vegetarian as well as poultry and pork dishes, fajitas, pastas, house specialties, daily specials, and children's meals.

The vegetarian I ($7.99) was a heaping dish of fried yucca and candy-sweet plantains, surprisingly pleasing sauteed collard greens, buttery white rice, and a cup of melt-in-your mouth beans. The frango a milanesa ($7.99) was a thin, but moist and flavorful, breaded chicken breast also served with rice, beans, and fries.

Two diners split one of the house specials, the Brazilian BBQ ($16.99), and took home leftovers. Indeed, we would have a hard time disputing the menu's claim that this dish is the ''best choice of the house." Mounted on a skewer rising several inches over our heads were four meats: steak, chicken, sausage, and two pieces of pork, which came with a platter of steamed rice, beans, fries, and salad.

While the two diners couldn't agree on which meat was best, the consensus was that each piece was tender and juicy despite being cooked precisely to our medium-well specification.

No one was particularly hungry for the flan, mousse, and custard desserts, but at $2 and $2.49, we couldn't turn them down. Although topped with a pineapple ring, the pineapple custard itself didn't have as much pineapple flavor as we expected. The tangy passion fruit mousse, on the other hand, had just the right amount of zest. The plain flan had a nice, firm consistency, but it was the chocolate custard that drew all four spoons to it. It was dense, rich, and wonderful.

Co-owner Luciano Contin, who met restaurant partner George Silver when they both worked at the Houlihan's formerly in Faneuil Hall, said five-year-old Oasis still struggles against a common confusion between Brazilian and Mexican food. The difference, he said, is Brazilian food is not spicy; the meats, for example, are prepared only with garlic and salt.

Looking around at the number of families enjoying meals -- including a large group that was singing happy birthday along with the obliging guitar player -- Contin also said he hopes next month's expansion into the nail salon space next door will encourage more parties.

CYNTHIA CANTRELL