I have gone to a ton of them for business dinners and lunches in other cities and I have to say Fogo is still my favorite. One thing is that they have Filet which is key for me. All the other places never have the full on piece of filet unless things have changed.
I'm from Brasil. I can tell you Fogo is the best there is here in the USA. Everything else is at least one notch below (most are several notches below). Chama is good but not on Fogo's level.
You can't go wrong with Fogo. Be careful with the one's offering Groupon. My ex bought a groupon to Angus....LOL that place is not a Brazilian steakhouse.
The ala carte steakhouse is a brazilian tradition. The ala carte style is called a rodizio in Brasil. We even have Rodizio pizza places that are very popular and tasty. We typically go to the steakhouses on the weekends in brasil. That way we can take our time and eat plenty:grin:
I recall 4 years ago, my mom recommended Fogo to me and to my surprise, we went there for Mother's Day 3 straight years. I love that place!!!
pao de queijo which literally translates to Cheese bread.... You can now find it at HEB in the frozen bread aisle. Very good quality. Throw it in the oven and in 20 mins its ready to eat.
Now I really gotta try fogo. I really love Chama. Note of reference, never go to pradaria that place definitely does not know how t to prepare a steak.
Brazilian steakhouses in the US aren't usually about the quality of the meat. If you want great steak, you don't generally go to Brazilian steakhouses. Here in Dallas, I've eaten at Fogo, Texas de Brazil, Braza Dancante, Rafain, etc. and the cuts are of usually lower quality and less flavorful than if you go to a good steakhouse and order something like a ribeye or porterhouse. (I love Rafain, btw. Only ate at Fogo once and thought it was bland. Texas de Brazil was the worst of the big name ones I've eaten at, while Brazilian Cowboy or Master Grill were the absolute worst I've had). The other thing is they're just hit-or-miss in terms of how they cook it any given night. The reason I think why Brazilian steakhouses are so popular is that they do the rodizio style of serving and it's all you can eat at a relatively inexpensive price. I mean, it's basically an all you can eat meat buffet. "What? I can eat like a pig and black out for anywhere from $17.95 to $50?!" :grin: Oddly enough, in many cases, I've found the best salad bars are what separates the churrascarias the most, and if you go just for the salad bar (I know - perish the thought), those can be a steal for around $11-$15.
Not trying to be funny, but how is a salad bar for 15 a good deal? When I went to Fogo I always avoided the bar so I could fill up on meats. Could you give out some specifics on that?
You get all the side dishes on the table as well. (Fried bananas, rice, beans, yucca, cheese bread) Fogo salad bar includes cold cuts and carpaccio salmon.
As I've gotten older, I've grown to appreciate a damn good salad bar. lol. It's not just salad. I love the sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke, asparagus, cheeses, palm hearts, tuna salad, potato salad, etc. and oddly enough on some salad bars at these places, you'll find meat/seafood (though that's not the norm). I think one of the places I went to had all you can eat salad for $11.99. I would rather do that than have "all you can eat meat" where the meat is a crapshoot in terms of how it's done for $17.99-$45.99. Especially if I'm going there for lunch at work or something. I usually don't want to inhale a cow and head back to work sweating meat and falling into a coma. :grin: But I understand your point of view, too, since I was the same way. I used to walk in and they'd point us to the salad bar and say "help yourself" ... I was like "you've got to be kidding me... where's the meat?!"
^this and,,,and...Dr of Dunk has some of the most outstanding grilling posts with pictures on this bbs. if I recall correctly btw: been meaning to ask the OP. Was your timing of this Brazilian Steakhouse post/question related to Fat Tuesday celebrations at Brazilian restaurants--Mardi Gras. It was Tuesday when you posted, no? Did you have a date? Did it work out.
Purely coincidental. The restaurant I went to in Colorado Springs is Tucanos Brazilian Grill. I was talking to a buddy of mines and somehow we got into a discussion about brazilian food. Did a google search and was surprised at how many new brazilian restaurants are in Houston. Couldn't discern the good between the bad, so here I am. Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I'll try Chama and Fogo sometime soon.
Ah, excellent choice to wine and dine the fair vivi. Alas, I am not much help here since I am not in Houston but I am sure someone will help you two lucky kids that are in love!
