Fogo de Chão

Fogo de Chão (commonly referred to as just Fogo) is a Brazilian chain of upmarket churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse) full-service restaurants with 10 locations in the United States of America, Brazil and one in Portugal.

Meals

Lunch and dinner at Fogo de Chão operate the same and consist of the same items, at a different price. There is a fixed price for endless salad bar and table side meat service.Customers can choose just their favorites, or simply wait 20 minutes for your favorite piece to make its round.

The meal comes in two parts. The first part starts at the gourmet salad bar which includes cold meats, cheeses, vegetables, and salads. The second part of the meal consists of 15 different cuts of beef, pork, chicken and lamb, served table side. Some of the meats are:
* Top and Bottom Sirloin
* Fillet Mignon
* Beef Ancho
* Beef ribs
* Leg of lamb and lamb chops(Cordeiro)
* Pork tenderloin and pork ribs
* Chicken legs
* Garlic Beef

Hot side dishes are brought out with the meat course of the meal. They are :
* Cheese Bread (pao de queijo)
* Fried Plantains
* Seasoned Mashed Potatoes
* Fried Polenta

Signature desserts include papaya cream, creme brulee, tres leches cake, chocolate molten cake, and traditional flan.

A Wine Spectator-award winning wine list boasts hundreds of domestic and imported wines.

Traditional drinks such as Caipirinha (sugar cane liquor) and Guaraná (carbonated soft drink) are also available.

Awards

The restaurant was named as one of America's top restaurants by Zagat Survey. cite book|title=Zagat America's Top Restaurants|year=2006|month=12|editor=Zagat Survey|isbn=978-1570068171|edition=Revised|pages=332|url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zagat-Americas-Top-Restaurants/dp/1570068178/ref=sr_1_1/026-9511733-0202023?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192821574&sr=8-1|accessdate=2007-10-19|language=English ]

Criticism

Although the churrascaria claim to be a gaúcho style steakhouse, Fogo de Chão was not founded in Rio Grande do Sul and its local franchise in Porto Alegre lasted for less than a year, being poorly judged by local cuisine magazines and guides such as Veja´s Guia de Porto Alegre.

Most of the criticism is based on the fact that Fogo de Chão does not serve its meat in the traditional gaucho cut, but rather in a mix of the paulista and argentinian way (which makes popular cuts such as the Vazio unavailable) and due to its limited amount of available cuts (While Fogo de Chão serves around 10 cuts, most Gaucho churrascarias serves up to 32 cuts) and lack of traditional gaucho side-dishes such as Fried Colonial Cheese and Boar Salami.

References

External links

* [http://www.fogodechao.com Fogo de Chão]