Should you carbo-load or just get lost in the sauce? Here's how to
make the cut at your local Brazilian steakhouse.
Make no mistake — a Brazilian steakhouse meal is a major undertaking, and like any big project,
it works best with some planning. Reservations are recommended or required at most Brazilian
steakhouses in the U.S., since meals there are known to be leisurely affairs;
tables don't turn over as quickly as at typical restaurants. And remember
to eat lightly before your visit; you're going to want the space.
To ensure you get to experience the best the restaurant has to offer,
the website Man Tripping also recommends researching the menu before you go. This
not only gives you an idea of what to expect but also alerts you to any specialty meat cuts
or other special request items that you may not see being served when you get there. Brazilian
steakhouses serve a different selection of cuts than North American steakhouses do,
so even if you're a steakhouse veteran, you should do some research. You want every bite
of food you eat during your visit to be the most delicious thing possible.
When you arrive at a Brazilian steakhouse, your host or hostess will typically seat you,
explain how things work, then invite you to serve yourself at the salad bar.
If you've worked up an appetite and the smell of grilling meat is making you even hungrier,
you may be tempted to load up, since this salad bar experience is like nothing else. You'll find
everything from marinated mushrooms to the classic Brazilian black bean stew feijoada,
and even sushi, according to diners who have reported back from the experience.
Tempting as this is, filling up on the salad bar is a rookie move.
"﻿﻿Uh, Clark, this is all you can eat, you only need one plate…"﻿
After all, every bite of sushi means less room for what Brazilian steakhouses do best — tender meat
grilled over an open fire. And since Brazilian steakhouse meals are a bit pricey, you'll get
the most from your investment by focusing on specialties you can't get elsewhere, and select
side dishes you truly love. So look before you leap; the New York Daily News recommends
walking around the whole serving area to see all the offerings before making your choices.
Timing matters. First, to ensure a relaxing and enjoyable experience,
be sure you've set aside enough time for a leisurely meal;
skilled eaters know that you'll enjoy your meal more if you eat slowly, take smaller portions,
and give yourself permission to take breaks between bites. Diners posting on
TripAdvisor recommend around 2 hours or more for a Brazilian steakhouse meal. Clear your schedule.
And the time you choose to dine matters too. Your skilled servers need some time to warm
up and get into peak performance mode each day, so you may not experience them at their
best if you're the first table through the door. And the busier the restaurant gets,
the faster fresh skewers come out — so you may get fresher meat during peak dining hours. Finally,
the busy hours are the time when a greater variety of meats will be in circulation. So,
don't rush to get the first reservation of the evening, but don't go too late either,
or the good stuff you've been looking forward to may have already run out.
At standard steakhouses, rich, starchy sides are part of the attraction — who doesn't
love fluffy mashed potatoes or a creamy mac and cheese? Brazilian steakhouses are no exception,
but they offer an even wider assortment of carb-heavy side
dishes than normal. Besides the usual, you'll often get Brazilian specialties,
including fried bananas and pao de queijo, a type of cheesy pastry puff. And because
Brazilian steakhouses are all-you-can eat affairs, you can have as much as you like.
But beware — this is both a blessing and a curse. It's way too easy to fill yourself up on cheesy,
starchy delights if you're hungry, even before the first skewer of meat gets to your table.
And that would be a serious mistake — you're not paying the big bucks to feast on potatoes
and bananas. So choose your sides strategically — it's suggested that these make up no more than
20% of your meal. They're an accompaniment to the main event, not your whole meal.
The dizzying number of options and bustle of activity in a Brazilian steakhouse can
be overwhelming, and you may feel rushed to grab a serving of everything at once. Don't. Remember,
your Brazilian steakhouse experience is supposed to be a leisurely meal, not an eating contest.
You shouldn't feel any pressure to accept every bit of meat that comes your way — it's perfectly
acceptable to politely decline anything that doesn't interest you. And if you see something
that looks good, but your plate is already full, give it a pass. Enjoy the food in front
of you before loading up again. And don't worry: A fresh batch of that tempting morsel will be there
for you when you're ready for seconds. If you don't see it walk by again, you can always ask.
For some steak connoisseurs, sauces may seem like an unnecessary part of
a steakhouse meal — after all, one goes to a steakhouse to enjoy the flavor of meat,
not cover it up. But if you go to a Brazilian steakhouse,
it's a different story. Their sauces are an authentic and refreshing part of the experience.
If you find the standard butter-based sauces of most U.S. steakhouses too rich and stodgy,
the light, tangy, uncooked vegetable-based sauces in Brazilian steakhouses may be a revelation.
One of these is molho campanha, a vibrant vinaigrette flavored with chopped tomatoes,
onions, and green peppers. Another popular accompaniment is chimichurri, a fresh green
sauce with parsley, cilantro, garlic, and citrus or vinegar. Both are intended to not
only enhance the flavor of meat, but serve as an invigorating foil to it. The acid in
these sauces helps cut through the richness of all the beef fat and salt you'll be consuming,
and they also help ensure your palate will be refreshed for your next serving.
An intimidating factor if you're new to Brazilian steakhouses is the meat menu. Besides standard
favorites such as filet mignon and ribeye, along with non-beef options including chicken, pork,
and lamb, you'll almost certainly see some less familiar cuts with Portuguese names. If you don't
know what these are or how they're pronounced, you may be tempted to skip them altogether.
Don't be intimidated! If you skip them, you'll be missing out on some
of what makes a Brazilian steakhouse meal truly distinctive. Taste Atlas suggests the picanha,
or rump cap — a lean cut topped with a layer of fat that keeps the meat juicy.
Other popular cuts are fraldinha, or long strips of flank steak, and alcatra, a large,
fat-capped cut of top sirloin. Another popular cut unique to Brazilian steakhouses is cupim,
which comes from the hump of Brazilian zebu cattle. This richly marbled cut is not
often served in the U.S., but should you visit a steakhouse in Brazil, it's well worth seeking out.