Tragic Sandwich

Are you a vegetarian? Well, Fogo de Chao is not the restaurant for you. But if you, like the Sandwiches, are an unrepentant carnivore, then this may be just what you’re looking for.

When you are shown to your seat, the host explains the system: first, start with the salad bar. Then, when you’ve finished with your salad, take the red paper disk by your place setting and flip it over so that the green side is displayed.

A tip: restrain yourself at the salad bar. While everything is delicious, you didn’t come here for the salad. You came to display the green side of your disk.

With that cue, servers come by with skewers of meat–a wide range of cuts of beef, pork, chicken, and lamb, as well as linguica. They carve the meat directly onto your plate, and the servers don’t stop until you’ve flipped that disk back to red.

My favorites were the fraldinha, a seasoned cut from the bottom sirloin; bacon-wrapped chicken breast (one of the frango options); and, most of all, the lombo–pork filet in a parmesan cheese crust. Mr. Sandwich particularly liked the fraldinha, the chicken, and the filet mignon.

In addition, there were side dishes (garlic mashed potatoes, caramelized bananas, and crispy polenta), as well as pão de queijo, a small roll with a tiny dollop of mild but rich cheese in the center. The meal was followed by the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had, and that was the decaf. I have no idea what desserts they offer; neither of us had room, and I didn’t want to know what I was missing.

Beyond that, the service was attentive and responsive. This is clearly an establishment that wants you to have a good experience, and they make sure that happens.

This was a wonderful splurge, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Go hungry.