Friday, October 3, 2008

Don't Forgo Fogo de Chao


The Fogo de Chao line of churascarias brings Southern Brazilian barbecue to the US in style. With thirteen locations in the States and six in Brazil itself, Fogo has established itself as a decent brand. I cannot say how authentic it is; I could very well be praising the Brazilian PF Chang's, but it is worth a visit. Last night I had a chance to go to the Beverly Hills restaurant with several fellow bloggers.

I met...

Gauchos, or friendly waiters, bring around hefty skewers threaded with fourteen kinds of meats to your table. A simple green-red card lets the servers know when you're aching for some bacon bursting at the seams (there is no in between at Fogo). Since this was a blogger meet-up event, I spent most of my attention on the people over the food. I know, food is always the priority, but I've been here before so I can speak intelligently enough about the dishes.

Well, not so much dishes as heaps of meat. I passed on the sides of plantains and mashed potatoes. From the extensive salad bar, I picked up a few cucumbers to clear my palate between the meat. If you're anything like me, your first reaction hearing that there are fourteen meats is to ask for a list. Hence, here it is with my favorites bolded:
Picanha - Garlic beef sirloin
Filet Mignon - Nothing special, but make sure to get the bacon-wrapped one
Alcatra - Top sirloin
Fraldinha - Bottom sirloin
Costela - Beef ribs
Cordeiro - Lamb chops and leg. I preferred the leg
Lombo - Pork loin with parmesan
Costela de Porco - Pork ribs
Frango - Chicken legs and chicken breasts wrapped in bacon
Linguica - Pork sausage
Ancho - Ribeye

Just make sure whatever option you choose, to ask if there is a bacon-wrapped version. Even if you don't eat bacon, anything bacon-wrapped always tastes better, even fruit.

More importantly, I got a chance to meet Famished LA, Grubtrotters, Kevin Eats, Teenage Glutster, Foodie Traveler, and see Wandering Chopsticks again.


Salad Bar

Meat
^

4 comments:

Epicuryan said...

"anything bacon-wrapped always tastes better, even fruit"

Truer words were never spoken.

I will get back to you on Totoraku, things have just been hectic with school starting up again.

kevinEats said...

Hey Aaron, it was great meeting you at Fogo last week. I've finally got my review up, and I must agree about the bacon comment!

Diana said...

Mmmm bacon. Bacon-wrapped dates might be one of the greatest food stuffs on the planet. Especially when said dates are stuffed with cheese!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for your review of Fogo de Chao! I am very hungry now. Did you know that another location opened up in Baltimore? Too Shy to Stop writer Natasha wrote a review, which you can read here.