Staff Blog
Koo Zee Doo to bring Portuguese flavors to NoLibs
posted by Drew Lazor
David Gilberg, who last cheffed at Bar Ferdinand, and his wife Carla Goncalves are about 30 days out for Koo Zee Doo, their Portuguese-inspired BYOB in the former Copper Bistro (615 N. Second St.) in Northern Liberties.
The menu, which is still in the works, will be inspired by Goncalves’ Portuguese heritage. Gilberg says it’ll feature four sections — small bites, soups/salads, a section of family-style house specialties and one more dedicated to grilled meats. (”Cozido” means “cooked” en portugues, and the name of the restaurant is how you pronounce it.) Specs? “The Portuguese are notorious for combining proteins somewhat unusually,” says Gilberg, citing matchups like pork with clams. The chef’s also amped on his frango, a young chicken roasted on a rotisserie.
Those who ate Gilberg’s food during his time at the Ugly American probably remember Goncalves’ truly unbelievable biscuits. Good news: That flaky manna just might make a reappearance at the couple’s spot. “We’re going to try to work the biscuit in in one way or another,” Gilberg says. But also note that Goncalves will be preparing traditional Portuguese breads, too, including broa, a dense corn bread that’s traditionally put out with grilled sardines and roasted peppers.
Oh man am I excited for this place. Those biscuits at Ugly American were soooooo delicious!
Name sounds like a Saturday morning children’s show. But I’m glad those biscuits will be back. I’ve missed them.
Excited for some delicious Portuguese foods. But couldn’t they have went with the much better looking “Cozido”? Do they really think we are too stupid to pronounce that?
[...] ‘09  El Camino Real, Sonata, Q BBQ, Darling’s and even the not-yet-open Koo Zee Doo (more here) will all try to top ‘08 champ Mermaid BBQ. There’s also an amateur bracket, which [...]
(have a portuguese husband but studied spanish in school). I think it is very unintuitive how to pronounce Cozido (for the average american who only knows of spanish). How many people know that the ‘o’ has more of an ‘oo’ in portuguese rather than the spanish ‘oh’ sound? You can’t say it’s because they think “we’re too stupid”. The US is just spanish-centered because of its proximity to Mexico rather than Portugal or Brazil.
Anyway… we’re psyched for portuguese food so close to our home and can’t wait for some portuguese cornbread and other dishes!! If they time the opening right with my hubby’s parents visiting… I can easily see us giving a _lot_ of support to the kick-off of this restaurant ;)
[...] Gilberg and Carla Goncalves’ Koo Zee Doo (615 N. Second St.), which we first noted in late August, is hoping to be ready for a Thursday, Oct. 8 opening, Goncalves tells Meal Ticket. That’s not [...]
Ate there last week just after opening. Food was delicious…so fresh and just like eating in Portugal. Great sardines and pork and clams….the rest of the menu also looks so good. Staff so friendly and knowledgeable…Owners are adorable….Can’t wait to go back.