Q: Yemanja Brasil has a dish I love. It's a fisherman's stew, Portuguese in origin but with a Brazilian twist. It's the best I've ever had anywhere.

— Richard Carr, Glen Carbon

A: By Brazilian tradition, Yemanjá is goddess of the sea, the patron saint of fishermen and shipwreck survivors. Brazilians pay homage on New Year's Eve and again in February, dressing in white clothing and gathering at the waters' edge to place white flowers upon the waves.

"New Year's Eve is a very special night for Brazilians," says Lemya Sidki, owner of Yemanja Brasil in Benton Park. "St. Louis has no ocean, so some years we put flowers into the Mississippi."

Sidki opened the restaurant 16 years ago when she had a new fine-arts degree and few job prospects but plenty of encouragement from her Brazilian father and St. Louis-born mother. Nine years ago, she hired Mexican-born Raul Uribe as the restaurant's chef. "And then I married him, and now we have a son," she says. Sidki's art adorns the restaurant's walls and winding outdoor patios.

To best re-create Yemanja Brasil's seafood stew at home, Sidki recommends adding fresh seafood just before serving, cooking it briefly just until done. "Stir the seafood gently every so often; it will help the tender fish cook evenly without breaking up."

Special Request is written by Kirkwood resident Alanna Kellogg, author of the online recipe column KitchenParade.com and "veggie evangelist" at the food blog about vegetables, A Veggie Venture.