(This venue is closed.) In Paraguay, "batido" has nothing to do with fruit or shake.
At this homey café (the small garden in back even furnishes a hammock, though it's furled during colder weather) my batido ($4) began with Nescafe, powdered milk, and a little cold water stirred briskly into a paste. The thick, hot coffee at the end of this hands-on process (the owner's hands, not mine) was so creamy, I had to confirm that a little chocolate or cocoa hadn't been slipped in while I wasn't looking. (They hadn't.)
On a return visit, I encountered cocido con leche (first photo below; $3), a Paraguayan variation of the herbal infusion called yerba mate. The herb is briefly cooked (cocido) on a stovetop with water and sugar and stirred into a paste; when the sugar caramelizes, the mixture is frothed with milk (con leche). The flavor is considerably rounder, and certainly less grassy or vegetal, than yerba mate taken straight.
On weekends, look for pira caldo ($9), a creamy haddock soup with yucca and potato, enriched with ricotta, mozzarella, and milk. For dessert, consider the guava tart called a pastafrola ($2.50) or the guava-and-cheese empanada (not shown; $3), both made in-house.
Tipico BK
221 South 1st St. (near Roebling St.), Williamsburg, Brooklyn
917-573-3466
www.tipicobk.com
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