Fogo's rocks. The salad bar is phenomenal. I gave up vegetarianism (19 years' worth :eek: ) about two months ago and went there for the first time and actually ate the meat.

Two plates-full of meat later I was overstuffed and very happy. All the beef was excellent. The bacon-wrapped filet was beyond excellent. And I really enjoyed the parmesan-encrusted pork. I learned very quickly, though, that I'm not a fan of lamb. Shrug.

Next time, let the Atlanta folks know your coming to town. We're a good bunch!

I have no doubt about that. :D My trip was focused on business, however. We wine & dine every night with dealers & press etc. I travel the southeast regularly & I am in ATL 3 - 4 times per year so I will put out a beer call at some point - but I usually move pretty fast.

Ian

Funny, that's the same as my opinion. I love the bacon wrapped filets and parmesan pork tenderloin medalions. The other cuts are great too, but I don't really care for the lamb.

In Fogo's defense on the lamb, it was the first time I ever tried lamb. It just tasted "off" to me. My father grabbed the chop off my plate and scarfed it down, so clearly there was nothing wrong with it. Guess lamb just isn't to my taste?

I was about to say I don't like eating lamb, but I love eating little lambs ;)

Lamb is an acquired taste, especially as it gets older. I hated lamb growing up (it didn't help that my mom consistently overcooked lamb chops), but now I like it, and I love mutton.

Ironically, that is the exact opposite opinion of virtually everyone else in the known universe. Mutton is....is....ah.....almost inedible.

At least that was my opinion, as an American kid forced to live in Australia back in the 60's. No beef, no pork, just endless mutton. I suppose once a sheep gets too old to make wool, you have to do something with it. Might as well kill it and boil it...

Kidding aside, lamb has to be fresh, and properly prepared and cooked, to be good. It's kind of like duck. Duck can be fabulous, or it can be an emetic.

Cheers,
JR

It's gotta be boiled and stewed with lots of potatoes for a few days, but when that happens, it becomes tender and flavorful :)

I'm not familiar with this Fogo place. How does the meat cooking work? From the pictures it looks like they skewer and grill it, then shave off slices for you.

"It's gotta be boiled and stewed with lots of potatoes for a few days, but when that happens, it becomes tender and flavorful "

SO, the mutton "flavor" gets leached out of the mutton and absorbed by the potatoes, which are then thrown away?

:p

JR

That describes it. It is a Brazilian Steakhouse or Churrascaria. Fogo is a chain. As is Texas de Brazil & others. There are also numerous independents sprinkled around. Besides these two, I have eaten at Churrascaria Riodizio Tribeca in Manhattan, the now-defunct Chima in Atlanta & the Chima in Fort Lauderdale. They all have the same format. Big, well-stocked salad bar to limit your meat intake & waiters that carry skewers to slice on your plate. You use small tongs to grab the slice. You get a colored disk to set by the plate to signal whether you are receiving or are on hold. Expect a $40 + pp charge for the meal.

Ian

Who would be stupid enough to eat any salad before hand?

OK, 1 leaf of letter and a cucumber slice, just to keep chute from clogging.

isnt mozzarella supposed to be made from BUFFALO milk to be concidered mozzarella?

I would agree. You should get a very small salad midway through to cleanse the palate. Maybe a cherry tomato & a small square of their Parmesan cheese with that 1 slice of lettuce. Then you are ready for more meat.

Ian

I had the opportunity to dine at some Churrascarias while on business in Brazil and Fogo compares pretty well. The major difference I noticed was at Fogo, at least here in ATL, you can flip your chip back and forth from green to red if you need to take a breather. At the spots I was at in Brazil, once you flipped to red, you were done.

The Fogo here in Atlanta is right on the edge of my neighborhood. When the wind is right, the aroma drifts right over the neighborhood playground. That's cruel and unusual punishment, if you ask me!

What really works well is a big hunk of blue cheese, or a heavily dressed iceberg wedge salad. If you're close to fifty and you eat one of these, in fifteen minutes you'll be running for the bathroom.

And you'll then have room for a second helping...

:D

JR

Is Churrascos still in Houston, Cafe Annie was pretty good too

Yup churrascos is still here. The friend bananna with salsa is awesome, and the tres leches cake...mmm.

Salad, no, no salad. Need all the available room for meat, meat, and more glorious meat.

Then, the next day, you eat salad, several apples, apple sauce, apple juice, maybe a couple of oranges (peeled, not sliced). It'll all work itself out pretty quickly that way.