Assignment #5: Restaurant Review

A Modern All-You-Can-Eat Concept at Fogo De Chao

If you have never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, then be sure to show up with your appetite when you walk into Fogo De Chao at 661 North LaSalle Street. When I walked into the busy but welcoming atmosphere, I was relieved I made reservations first. Otherwise, I would have been waiting from anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour. Although Fogo De Chao has all of the ambience of a fancy, upscale restaurant, there is no need to show up in an evening gown or a suit and tie like so many tourists seemed to be wearing. We were immediately seated and given salad plates after placing our drink orders. They have an extensive wine list, but I ordered the caipirinha. It's a traditional drink made from sugar, limes, and a clear Brazilian alcohol made from cane sugar. The balance between tart and sweet is mere perfection.

Next I approached the seemingly endless salad bar, which is the centerpiece of the restaurant. Fogo De Chao's salad bar offers more options than most, including huge stalks of asparagus, artichokes, hearts of palm, red and yellow peppers, and a variety of cheeses, including fresh parmesan. There are also some meats like smoked salmon and Italian salami, but since my friends and I have been here before, we knew that it would be a bad idea to fill up on the salad bar with all the meats available at the table.

This is not the traditional restaurant where you sit down and choose your entree. Instead, you simply flip up your green card at the table which signals the food servers to start bringing the vast array of meats. Although customers mainly come here for the endless cuts of meat, my vegetarian friend found plenty of options between the endless salad bar as well as various side dishes like the succulent cheese biscuits (which can be addicting), highly filling but delicious fried banana slices, garlic mashed potatoes, rice, beans, and polenta. The cheese biscuits and the fried bananas are very easy to fill up on, so I was cautious to hold back long enough to enjoy my favorite meats the servers provide. Although their signature meat is the picanha (a garlicy Brazilian prime sirloin), my favorites include the bacon wrapped mini-filet mignon, juicy sliced filet, and the bacon wrapped chicken breasts. Their filet mignon was as tender as I remembered it from my last visit over a year ago, and the chicken was moist and flavorful.

Picanha

The food servers paraded around to our table in the fashion of a non-stop well-oiled machine to slice meat off their 2 foot high skewers. The service is outstanding, and the wait staff is highly attentive to one's needs. For example, if your drink is getting empty, the waiter is there like clockwork to ask if you'd like a refill. The same holds true for the side dishes on the table. If the plate of garlic mashed potatoes is low, the waiter promptly asks if you would like more.

Finally when I was ready to throw in the towel, I turned my green card around to the red side. This signals the servers to stop bringing the various meats to the table. During this visit, I ate less meat than usual because I wanted to save room for dessert. I ordered the papaya cream, which is considered their signature dessert. It is a vanilla bean ice cream that is softened and blended with fresh papaya. Previously I tried their chocolate molten cake, and although it was good, it was not worth the price. The serving is the size of a child's portion, and the cake itself is no better than any other chocolate molten cake I have tried anywhere else in the Chicago area. However, the papaya cream was satisfying in both flavor and portion. It was a creamy and refreshing treat on a hot summer evening.

Overall,  Fogo De Chao is truly a meat lover's heaven, so if you are thinking about going out for a good seafood dinner, this is not the place. You may want to forget about seafood for just one night though because there is not a single meat option here that you will regret sampling. The rest of their meats include: tender leg of lamb, lamb chops, broiled Brazilian pork loin, tender roasted baby back ribs, flavorful cuts of top sirloin and bottom sirloin, beef ribs marinated in their natural juices, charbroiled chicken legs, and slow-roasted pork sausages. I remember how pleasantly surprised I was during my first visit several years ago, when I learned there was no limit to the amount of meats you can be served. If I want more of my favorite meat, a food server will arrive shortly with another skewer without any need to ask.

While tasting the delicious cuisine at Fogo De Chao, I thought about what I had read so far in Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. When Bourdain first discovered new varieties of food during his childhood trip in France, he discovered that: "Food had power. It could inspire, astonish, shock, excite, delight, and impress. It had the power to please me...and others" (17). Fogo De Chao definitely pleased me and the two friends I was with. It definitely did not fail to excite, delight, and impress! I highly recommend their entire fare, but steer clear from their overpriced, overrated wine list.

Fogo De Chao:
****
661 North LaSalle Street, Chicago IL
(312) 932-9330

Menu

Price Range: $$$$
Ambience: Classy
Noise Level: Average
Service: Excellent, pleasant
Outdoor Seating: No
Full Bar: Yes
Parking: Valet ($12)

Specialites:
Meats-Picanha (garlicy Brazilian prime sirloin), Alcatra (top sirloin), Filet Mignon, Beef Ribs, Cordeiro (leg of lamb sliced of the bone)
Drinks- Caipirinha (a traditional drink made from sugar, limes, and a Brazilian alcoholic beverage made from cane sugar)
Dessert- Papaya Cream

Reservations: Yes. Although the wait is short during lunchtime and weeknights, you'll definitely want to make reservations during the weekend.
Overall Dining Experience: Remember to clear your schedule for the evening. This is anything but an eat-and-leave restaurant.