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The groups of lively Portuguese-speaking natives crowding the tables are a sure indicator that Delicia's food is authentic. The cuisine consists of mainly traditional national staples. Among the best are feijoada, a black-bean stew made with hunks of pork, collard greens, and spicy linguica sausage, and muqueca, a seafood-based stew in a savory pepper-and-coconut-milk sauce. Be warned, however: The pace is mellow. Unless you have at least two or three hours to linger over dinner, you might consider heading elsewhere. It can take twenty minutes before anyone meanders by to take your drink order—and since the restaurant occupies an unapologetically modest, cement-floored basement, where the scattering of tables and exposed overhead light bulbs evoke a gussied-up storage space rather than a sit-down restaurant, there's not much ambience to distract you from the wait. Your best bet is to grab a seat at one of the sidewalk tables, corner a waitperson, and order a round of chewy, savory pão de queijo—cheese bread—to tide you over until your entrée arrives. With a few rounds of caipirinhas, it's not so bad. And when the food arrives, it'll be worth the wait. — Sarah Gold

Delicia offers both prix-fixe and super prix-fixe options. The first gives you a choice of appetizers, three main courses, dessert, and coffee, $29; the second is the same but includes alcohol, $55

Pao de queijo, $6.50; feijoada, $15.90; feijoada light, $15.90; mixed muqueca, $16.90