Thursday, August 11, 2005

Fogo de CHOWDOWN

Last night, we had our anniversary dinner at Fogo de Chão, a fantastic Brazilian restaurant that we've been wanting to try for some time. Thanks to a generous contribution from the grandparents, we were able to make that dream a reality!

Fogo de Chão specializes in the churrasco culinary style, which involves large slabs of tasty meat roasted over an open pit.

Basically, you first hit the gigantic salad bar, which is pretty awesome in its own right, laden with fresh veggies, cheeses and Brazilian side dishes. And of course, plenty of meats. Although it was fantastic, my one regret was that I filled up too much at the salad bar.

Once you are finished with your salad (or it is finished with you), you prepare yourself for consuming large quantities of meat. Each diner has a coaster to indicate whether meat is requested. Throughout the restaurant, Gaucho chefs make their rounds carrying skewers full of delectable meats. Flip your coaster to green, and within minutes, a chef arrives to carve off a slice of tastiness. There are like fifteen different cuts of meat floating around, so you have unlimited access to filet, pork tenderloin, ribs, bacon-wrapped chicken and more. Part of the fun is seeing which meat comes next once the green light is given. It is important to remember to turn the coaster back to red, though, because they'll just keep bringing it until you tell them to cease and desist.

They also have a wide variety of South American wines available. We tried "Casillera del Diablo," a Chilean cabernet whose name literally means "Cellar of the Devil." Apparently, the story goes that the original owner of the winery hid his secrets by creating a legend that his cellar was cursed by the Devil. Regardless, it still tasted great.

Anyway, it was quite a fine dining experience. A great choice for such a special occasion. I may not need to eat again for a few days, though.

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