There are times when life treats you to an unexpected treat. One such instance occurred when our family vacationed in Miami. The atmosphere in the car was cheerful as we laughed and recalled the previous hour, when we’d sped through the Everglades swamp grass on an air boat with the wind cooling our faces. We were hungry and had no idea where to stop for dinner, but none of us wanted fast food.
Then I remembered an interesting restaurant that was advertised in a book I’d skimmed through at our hotel. In fact, I had seen it the day before when we visited a book store at The Dolphin Mall. “Let’s try out Texas de Brazil,” I suggested. “It’s a Churrascaria.” Thanks to the Food Network, we knew we were on the way to a Brazilian Steak House, and all of us were excited because it promised to be a memorable event.
We arrived unannounced at the restaurant around five o’clock and were seated immediately. I’ve heard the crowds can get huge, so reservations are probably your best bet.
When I walked inside, I almost turned around to leave. We were casually dressed, but the two-story dining room’s ambiance was anything but informal and quite astonishing for a mall eatery. Although other customers were a tad bit dressy, the hostess flashed a wide smile and took us to our white linen covered table with shiny white china and glassware that literally sparkled beneath the overhead lights. I felt a little overwhelmed and was anxious to see the menu to determine if we could actually afford the meal. To my surprise, our waitress told us there was no menu and she presented each of us with a round disk to keep beside our plates.
Australian lobster and Brazilian shrimp cocktails were offered à la carte, but we barely paid attention to that suggestion when the waitress explained that an unlimited amount and variety of slow-roasted meats would be brought to our table by gauchos (Brazilian cowboys). She flipped a disk over and explained, “The green side means you want more, and the red side means you need to rest or stop.” She then pointed to a server strolling around the room with rib eye steaks on a sword-like skewer and suddenly any idea of leaving the restaurant went up in smoke, like the alluring aromas drifting in from the kitchen. I glanced at my family and realized the notion of leaving had never entered their minds, so I surrendered to the experience.
I remained at the table while the other three in my party strolled by an enormous salad bar. The waitress said there were 50 items in addition to salad greens, but when my family returned, I was struck by the diversity of their selections; including imported hard and soft cheeses, Greek olives, Italian salamis, sushi, roasted shrimp, soups, steamed asparagus, hearts of palm, salsas, artichokes, portobello mushrooms, pasta salads, and black beans with jasmine rice. My son came back with a plate stacked high, but he says he’ll never do that again because next time he plans to save room for more meat.
And that brings us to the highlight of our carnivorous meal…the never-ending onslaught of flame-grilled meats. I was ecstatic when the first gaucho arrived with bacon-wrapped filet mignon, but he was soon followed by carvers offering pork and beef ribs, grilled chicken, and an assortment of Angus steaks. We flipped our disks from red to green and back to red, taking our time to slowly enjoy the tantalizing and memorable experience. A gaucho appeared with grilled Brazilian sausage that he slid from the skewer onto my husband’s waiting plate. I loved the parmesan chicken and my guys were in love with the juicy lamb. Even my mother (a light eater) was visibly happy as she tasted the veal and pork chops. All of the food was hot, seasoned well, and cooked to perfection. The sides—yummy garlic mashed potatoes, fried bananas and outstanding house-baked Brazilian cheese bread—were really tasty but they definitely were not the stars of the show. We ended the meal in a very crowded dining room almost two hours later with a slice of first-class Key Lime Cheesecake that we shared between the four of us (we were too full to eat more!). We did not test their wine cellar, bar or cigar selections.
While Texas de Brazil is an expanding national restaurant chain, it is not franchised in the United States and it’s still a family-owned operation based out of Texas. Service from the hostesses, waitress, and servers was commendable and worthy of a generous tip. And while I was initially wary of the cost of the meal, I was pleasantly surprised when the check arrived. The full dinner was $44.99 per person, which we thought was reasonably priced for the quantity and quality of food and service, and because it was a special meal that became one of the prized memories of our vacation. They also offer light lunch and dinner, full lunch, and a brunch on Saturday and Sunday, each priced accordingly.
Texas de Brazil says they offer casual elegance. After our experience, I agree with a fond smile. I’m always happy when I find a restaurant that has that “IT” factor.
_______________
Locations in Florida:
Texas de Brazil - Dolphin Mall
11401 NW 12th St., Suite 514
Miami, FL 33172
(305) 599-7729
Texas De Brazil - Miami Beach
At the Marina
300 Alton Road, Suite 200
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 695-7702
Texas de Brazil - Orlando
5259 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 355-0355
Photos courtesy Texas de Brazil web site...except for the photo of that delicious Key Lime Pie. It was love at first sight for my husband when dessert arrived and he simply had to take a photo. So THAT photo is courtesy of L. McCants...my hubby foodie.
0 comments:
Post a Comment