Saturday, February 6, 2010

Sim, por favor!

For our first night in Rio, we decided to go big and dine at the finest Brazilian steakhouse in town. Well, we didn't realize just HOW big till there was no turning back... Let's just say we'll be eating in for a while.

Anyhow, you know the drill - you're given a card that's red on one side and green on the other, to indicate to your waiter whether you want the meat to keep piling on your plate or if you need a breather. You may have been to Fogo de Chao and experienced similar delights.

Well, this place makes Fogo de Chao look like your local soup kitchen. The salad bar alone was a feast like you wouldn't believe. Every salad fixing you could imagine, a cheese selection with salami/nuts/honey/etc, a seafood buffet, a sushi bar, you name it.

The moment you sit down, you're greeted with blue cheese garlic bread, cheese empanadas, and some other cheesy doughy puffs. You know, just a few light little bites to cleanse the palate. You are then asked to select your favorite family-style sides: rice, fried bananas, onion rings, yuccas, etc. Um, all of them. Duh.

When it's time for the main event, it's like you've died and gone to meat heaven. I can't count how many options there were nor identify the cuts, but they were all amazing. Varying degrees of rare and tender and fatty, mouthwatering deliciousness. My favorite was the parmesan crusted something-or-other. Holy salty cheesy goodness. It was like cheese and crackers, only the cracker was meat. Reece's favorite was so rich it tasted like bacon. Tender, greasy, beefy bacon.

We became delirious - first with the meat sweats, then the meat giggles. I didn't know if I was drunk off the wine or the meat. When we couldn't possibly stomach another bite, our plates were cleared and we were given brand new ones. It's amazing how the presence of a clean, expmy plate boosts your ability to keep going! We. Are. Disgusting.

Days later, I think we have finally recovered from the meal. And you better believe we are ready for round two.

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