{"id":323074,"date":"2026-08-17T13:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T13:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/323074\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T13:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T13:12:16","slug":"heres-the-uws-dish-tap-brazilian-cafes-acai-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/323074\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s the UWS Dish: TAP Brazilian Caf\u00e9\u2019s A\u00e7a\u00ed Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>One of TAP Brazilian Caf\u00e9\u2019s many a\u00e7a\u00ed bowls. Photo by Yana Krasnitskaya<\/p>\n

By Yana Krasnitskaya<\/p>\n

There was a time when a\u00e7a\u00ed bowls seemed to be everywhere. Vibrantly purple, piled high with fruit, drizzled generously with peanut butter (or better yet, Nutella), and smothered with coconut flakes and cocoa nibs, they were practically synonymous with healthy living. And then, like most trends, they gave way to the next big thing \u2013 whatever that was \u2013 disappearing from social media, if not from menus. So it had been awhile since I\u2019d had one, and I wasn\u2019t specifically on the lookout for one on a recent Sunday morning when I decided to visit TAP Brazilian Caf\u00e9<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Judging from the comments on managing editor Gus Saltonstall\u2019s story about the UWS\u2019s best gluten-free restaurants<\/a> last week, many Rag readers already are familiar with TAP, but I wasn\u2019t; I stumbled across it when I was researching places I could get grab-and-go breakfasts. The name TAP, I discovered, comes from the three types of items around which the restaurant\u2019s menu is built: tapioca, which is integral to the restaurant\u2019s cassava-flour sandwich wraps; a\u00e7a\u00ed (pronounced \u201cah-sigh-EE\u201d); and P\u00e3o de Queijo, Brazil\u2019s famous cheesy bread. (All three are gluten-free, as is everything else on the menu.)<\/p>\n

Though I had gone to TAP planning to review the P\u00e3o de Queijo \u2013 and it was delicious; I encourage you to try it! \u2013 it was the a\u00e7a\u00ed bowl that wound up catching my eye.<\/p>\n

A\u00e7a\u00ed are berries that grow on a palm tree native to the Amazonian rainforest, and they\u2019ve been shown to be rich in antioxidants, fiber, and healthy fats. The fruit is picked, soaked until its skin is softened, and then mashed into a pulp that was originally served as a savory side to proteins like grilled fish and shrimp. The a\u00e7a\u00ed bowls we know today come from Brazilian beach culture. Sometime in the 1980s, surfers and athletes began to rely on a\u00e7a\u00ed for an energy-packed snack, adding bananas, coconut flakes and various syrups to sweeten it. It\u2019s no surprise then that the majority of people I saw at TAP that morning looked like they were either heading to the gym or coming from it.<\/p>\n

There are many a\u00e7a\u00ed bowl options on TAP\u2019s menu. You can order anything from a 24-ounce Monster Bowl, which comes with all the prerequisites including an in-house gluten-free granola, to something called a Samba bowl, which swaps in passion fruit and mango for the usual banana and berry toppings.<\/p>\n

Wanting to tread carefully, I ordered the modest 9-ounce baby bowl ($9.98), and I\u2019m still lamenting not going for the bigger size, because it was delectable. I\u2019ve had a\u00e7a\u00ed bowls that have been too sweet or too liquidy or just one-dimensional in flavor. None of that exists here. TAP layers the granola inside instead of on top, so every spoonful has the perfect balance of textures. The a\u00e7a\u00ed mixture itself is perfectly thick and has that specific burst of tartness. It\u2019s reminiscent of the subtle sweetness of a blueberry and the tanginess of a sour cherry; the taste that lingers on the tongue is as deep and earthy as a chunk of really good, high-quality dark chocolate. I opted just for strawberries for my bowl but it didn\u2019t need them. I would have been just as happy munching on the sorbet-like texture with nothing but the crunch of the granola as an occasional accompaniment.<\/p>\n

If a\u00e7a\u00ed bowls aren\u2019t your thing, you\u2019ll find other options at TAP. Their bestseller, the Chicken Club ($16.98), includes shredded chicken, tomatoes and mozzarella. The sandwich is piping hot and should be eaten that way. The wrap is both chewy and redolent with the scent of fried cheese, which comes from the lattice of Parmesan cheese that gets thrown on the griddle under the wrap mixture; the filling is somewhere between a burrito and a calzone, with the shredded chicken benefiting nicely from creamy mozzarella and fresh, salted chunks of tomatoes. It is on the saltier side, but I didn\u2019t mind it. And after a rigorous workout, it definitely hit the spot \u2013 just as TAP promises.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>P\u00e3o de Queijo, Brazil\u2019s famous cheesy bread, as prepared at TAP Brazilian Cafe.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, the P\u00e3o de Queijo ($3.95), which comes in traditional, spicy, and pesto flavors, was also absolutely delicious, making it easy to see why every table at TAP was taken. Amidst groups of friends and families, I noticed a few diners sitting solo with books open in their laps \u2013 physical books! An even rarer find these days than a good a\u00e7a\u00ed bowl.<\/p>\n

That morning I was happy to have encountered both. And you won\u2019t be disappointed either if you decide to pay TAP Brazilian Caf\u00e9 a visit. Just make sure to come with an empty stomach and an open mind.<\/p>\n

The Dish: TAP Brazilian Cafe\u2019s a\u00e7ai bowl ($9.98 to $17.98, depending on size and toppings)
The Restaurant: TAP Brazilian Cafe, 267 Columbus Avenue (between West 72nd and 73rd streets); open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.<\/p>\n

Read all Here\u2019s the UWS Dish columns\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to West Side Rag\u2019s FREE email newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>. And you can Support the Rag\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of TAP Brazilian Caf\u00e9\u2019s many a\u00e7a\u00ed bowls. Photo by Yana Krasnitskaya By Yana Krasnitskaya There was a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[20730,24344,75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-323074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-heres-the-dish","tag-heres-the-uws-dish","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}