Churrasco

Brazilians know soccer. They know samba. They know the beach. And they know barbecue. Man, do they know barbecue. Imagine a large sword skewered with bacon wrapped filet mignon, grilling over an open flame. Next to it are more swords, each skewered with cognac marinated chicken, tiger prawns, chili lime rubbed pork, flank steak, and more. As each sword is ready, a traditionally dressed waiter slices a piece of carnivorous delight onto your plate. This is how Brazilians do churrasco (shoe-hahz-koo).


I can't remember what this was, but it was good!

Gratefully, we don’t have to go all the way to Brazil to have churrasco -- a churrascaria (shoe-hahz-kah-ree-ah) opened up here in Portland a few years ago, much to our delight. So when it came time to celebrate Xang’s “my middle name is carnivore” birthday last month, Brazil Grill was a no brainer.


The birthday boy with his plate. Can you see his eyes glazing over?

We sat down and anxiously turned our disc to the green side, indicating to the waiters that we were ready to gorge. And they pounced. Much like the waiters at dim sum, they swarmed until our plates were nearly overflowing. And that was just the first round. We ate until our stomachs were content, and our eyes glazed over as much from the cognac-soaked chicken as from the dizzying array of meats that were offered to us. And then we ate some more. It’s funny how you can be stuffed, and I mean stuffed, then a waiter walks up to you with a sword full of juicy pineapple covered in a cinnamon sugar glaze that’s hot off the bbq and suddenly, oilah! There’s room in your stomach!


Cinnamon-glazed Pineapple is a specialty of the house. We try to re-create it at home sometimes, and it's never the same!

Since it was Xang’s birthday, we got dessert, compliments of the house. So…apple cinnamon empanada it was. Yum! Apples flavored with cinnamon and baked into a flaky pastry…it’s actually making my mouth water again!?