Fogo de Chao
 

Verizon came out to discuss selling us some new network stuff. They asked where we wanted to go to lunch. Fogo de Chao, baby! I'd hate to have had to pay the bill for 9 of us even at lunch. I ate a months worth of meat in an hour and I feel like it, but it was really yummy!

I should have taken pictures, but now it's a little late.

http://www.fogodechao.com/

There's several new ones open within a few blocks of there that are apparently cheaper and better. Not that you cared about the cheaper part...

I'd heard that there are a couple of good new joints. I haven't tried them. Yeah, I wasn't concerned about the cost.

And they didn't tell you to meet them for lunch some time between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.?

Definitely a good place to go for a Meat Fest. We went to the one in Buckhead last week at the CEDIA convention. Our bill was large. And the place was full.

Ian

I saw one of the new ones, just outside Beltway 8, on Westheimer. Anyone tried them yet? When I went to one in Bucharest, it was a bit of a let down...

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Always a good meal, but I'd rather have a smaller, better quality piece of meat. I always get funny looks for hitting the salad bar first.

MEAT FEST is right. Decent quality and you can't beat the quantity. ;)

Ate at the one in downtown Austin last month.... wow ! el mucho much meat, very good bacon wraped filets !!!

Rich man's Ryan's. Vertical trough.

Ate at the Center City Philly one last year.

The meat was excellent. We ate way too much, but enjoyed every bite. My only complaint is that we felt rushed from the moment we got in there. Outside of that, well worth the price.

My wife and I went to the one in Chicago after the Chicago Auto Show a few years ago. We ran up a $300 bill after drinks at the bar, a few bottles of premium wine, desert, and coffee. I tipped $150 because I felt the wait staff earned every penny.

I went to the one in Dallas in 2002. A man at an adjoining table spilled a glass of red wine. The entire wait staff stopped what they were doing and descended on the table. Within three minutes, the table cloth was changed and every drink and every plate of food was replaced with a fresh one without error.

All of the waiters come from Brazil. I notice they quietly whisper to each other in Portuguese and throw hand signals across the restaurant. They are singularly focused on providing exemplary service. There is about one wait person per table on the floor at all times and no waiter "owns" a table--each waiter takes turns attending to whatever need is apparent at the moment.

Watch the salad bar. There are at least two wait persons watching it at all times. Any misplaced utensil is discreetly placed in its home position. Any pair of tongs used on the wrong item is discreetly replaced after the offending patron has passed. Any patron who touches an item or puts one back won't notice that the whole bowl of whatever item he violated will be replaced after his passing.

In short, the attention to detail at this restaurant chain is unlike anything I have EVER witnessed. I am a lifetime customer and gladly pay many times what I am willing to pay at other restaurants to be part of the experience.

I've been lucky to go to a few Churrascarias in Brazil. Good times.

A buddy of mine went for lunch a couple of months ago, and termed how he felt afterwards.

He'd had a "meat stroke".

We're going Friday for lunch.

mmmmmm

Silly boy.

Eating at Fogo de Chao takes at least a week in prep. I slowly ease off carbs and meat during the week so that the day before I am only eating vegetables. The day of a trip I try to minimize calories and don't eat anything solid--liquids only. I want as much room as possible. The sherry-soaked mushrooms......the goat-cheese mozzarella.....the prime rib...I don't want to miss ANYTHING.

The next day is a nap. It also helps to have someone to drive you home.

Yes, prepare for "meat sweats" the following day.

I need meat. I gave blood this week, double packed red-cells. I need to replenish.

Hope your toilet can handle it. You might need a Ferguson...