Fogo De Chao - anyone eaten there before?

[purbeast0]

I'm taking my wife there to eat tonight for her birthday. We were going to go to Ruths Chris until I asked if she wanted to go to Fogo De Chao instead and she said she would rather go there.

I've only been to 2 different Brazillian BBQ restaurants.

1 was in Barbados and I thought it was just okay but it came highly recommended.

The other was more recent and is called Chima and it was actually very VERY good. I would gladly go spend $45 just for the food again.

However after going there I heard that Fogo De Chao is even better. I'm just wondering if anybody has ever eaten there and what you thought about it.

 

[SP33Demon]

Yep, I ate at the one in Philly and it was insanely expensive. $40 for starters, after drinks/dessert/tip the bill was around 75$ apiece. The food was spectacular though, I think they brought around 15 different types of meat. Their salad "buffet" had a great selection (artichoke hearts were awesome) and was well put together. All in all it was worth the money.

 

[purbeast0]

yea $40 for a brazillian bbq for the meal is not really expensive at all, that is actually on the cheaper side from the ones i've been too and priced out.

i believe it is $50/person at the one we are going to tonight, in DC.

i'm more wondering about what people thought of the food there, meats specificaly.

 

[Anubis]

I haven't however after googleing it seems its just like Texas de Brazil, which was fucking excellent

can always hit up google for the one you will be going to

here
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fogo-de-chao-washington

 

[Gibsons]

You need to be freaking hungry before you go just so you can try to get your money's worth. I avoid the salad bar. It's a nice salad bar, but that food takes up eating room that could be occupied by cow.

 

[acheron]

haha, my wife is taking me to the one in DC for my birthday tonight. see you there.

Anyway, it's goddamn awesome.

 

[acheron]

Also, I hope you didn't eat lunch.

 

[ElFenix]

I haven't however after googleing it seems its just like Texas de Brazil, which was fucking excellent

can always hit up google for the one you will be going to

here
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fogo-de-chao-washington

fogo is actually brazilian, having been there about 2 decades before opening their first US place in dallas.

texas de brazil opened its first location a year later in... dallas.

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/1998/08/24/story3.html

:hmm:




anyway, have a caipirinha and pretend you're joey chestnut.

 

[purbeast0]

haha, my wife is taking me to the one in DC for my birthday tonight. see you there.

Anyway, it's goddamn awesome.

lol what time you goin? we are going later around 9

 

[HardcoreRobot]

havent been to fogo, only texas de brazil.

biggest complaints: meat is VERY salty (suspect they want people to have to chug water). they dont pass around the better cuts as frequently as the less expensive ones. overall the food is good, but overpriced unless you get in on one of the deals they do

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Fogo is incredibly awesome. You will enjoy it. Grab a couple of caipirinhas while you're there.

 

[SP33Demon]

yea $40 for a brazillian bbq for the meal is not really expensive at all, that is actually on the cheaper side from the ones i've been too and priced out.

i believe it is $50/person at the one we are going to tonight, in DC.

i'm more wondering about what people thought of the food there, meats specificaly.

All of my friends in the area have given high marks to the one you're going to.

The meat is fantastic is all I remember. We were assaulted by chicken wrapped in bacon, various beefs like filet mignon and top round, pork and sausages, etc. It all become a blur after the 8th plate or so. Everyone loved the meat.

I may go to the DC one for a special occasion although $75 goes a long way in this area for good food. E.g., This weekend I tried out cheeburger (Sterling) which was top rated by WTOP voters as the best burger in the area. It was pretty dam good, def better than 5 Guys. Cheap and so dam good. We really are spoiled when it comes to food around here.

 

[Anubis]

havent been to fogo, only texas de brazil.

biggest complaints: meat is VERY salty (suspect they want people to have to chug water). they dont pass around the better cuts as frequently as the less expensive ones. overall the food is good, but overpriced unless you get in on one of the deals they do

i found that it was really just the outside cuts that were salty (i enjoyed it) and the inner cuts were less so

 

[purbeast0]

All of my friends in the area have given high marks to the one you're going to.

The meat is fantastic is all I remember. We were assaulted by chicken wrapped in bacon, various beefs like filet mignon and top round, pork and sausages, etc. It all become a blur after the 8th plate or so. Everyone loved the meat.

I may go to the DC one for a special occasion although $75 goes a long way in this area for good food. E.g., This weekend I tried out cheeburger (Sterling) which was top rated by WTOP voters as the best burger in the area. It was pretty dam good, def better than 5 Guys. Cheap and so dam good. We really are spoiled when it comes to food around here.

i've been to a cheeburger cheeburger when i worked in columbia and yea it was not bad. personally i prefer fuddruckers over it, but it definitely is a tastey burger.

to me its a tad different than 5 guys because it is a restaurant with a waitress and stuff, more of a sit down than a fast food joint.

personally i went to in n out 2 weeks ago on my vacation in san diego that was is probably my favorite fast food burger joint i've ever had.

but yea, there is tons and tons of great food options in the dc metro area, that is for sure.

 

[DnetMHZ]

I went to the one in DC a few years ago.. Don't plan on doing much for the rest of the night. MMMmmm.. meat coma..

 

[Dangerer]

The best experience I've ever had at a churrascaria is hands down at Fogo. There are probably better (more expensive) churrascarias, but to me, Fogo's is Ruth's Chris and everything else is Outback Steakhouse.

Ask for the Costela and ask for it early on. SO GOOD

 

[acheron]

lol what time you goin? we are going later around 9

going earlier, 6:30.

This is my 4th time there; I love it. The meat is of course fantastic, their salad bar is really good too (which is kind of a waste, because you don't want to eat much of it), they make a great caipirinha, they have a liquor cart they wheel around after dinner, the service has always been extremely good for me too.

Hope you and your wife have a good time.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

I've been to the one in Chicago. It was alright. I love meat, and love the idea of Brazilian BBQ, but seriously, I have yet to go to one that was actually very good. It's decent at best. I guess I'm spoiled after going to Argentina and Uruguay, and having BBQ's there. The meats in S. America > world. I'm not kidding at all.

 

[JS80]

1) Expensive
2) Overrated
3) Should try once

 

[Miramonti]

I really enjoyed the one in DC, and so did inlaws visiting from brazil. It helped that I didn't pay for it.

 

[bigrash]

Tried the one in Miami. Really was looking forward to eat there, but just couldn't. Every cut of meat that they brought was salty as hell. I've been to Brazilian steakhouses in NY and Vegas before and I was never so dissapointed with steak.

 

[thepd7]

yea $40 for a brazillian bbq for the meal is not really expensive at all, that is actually on the cheaper side from the ones i've been too and priced out.

i believe it is $50/person at the one we are going to tonight, in DC.

i'm more wondering about what people thought of the food there, meats specificaly.

The food is incredible. Everything I have ever tasted there was outstanding. I have been in Dallas and Austin, 10-12 times over the last 9 years.

The meat is great, the filet (NOT bacon wrapped) is second only to the American Wagyu (same breed as Kobe Beef).

I haven't however after googleing it seems its just like Texas de Brazil, which was fucking excellent

can always hit up google for the one you will be going to

here
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fogo-de-chao-washington

Texas de Brazil is a slightly cheaper ($5 at dinner, $7-10 at lunch) version of Fogo. Literally the exact same choices though (meat and sides). I love Texas de Brazil because they have coupons on holidays and for your birthday but Fogo is slightly better quality. That being said, I've been to Texas de Brazil 20-25 times and Fogo 10ish.

havent been to fogo, only texas de brazil.

biggest complaints: meat is VERY salty (suspect they want people to have to chug water). they dont pass around the better cuts as frequently as the less expensive ones. overall the food is good, but overpriced unless you get in on one of the deals they do

The meat is seasoned, yes. If you ask your waiter (which is anyone in those places) for a particular type of meat, they will bring it.

DON'T wait until they bring it by. Try whatever you like but if you don't like something you don't have to finish it and for goodness sake there is no reason to eat sausage, pork, or lamb in this situation. I found the chicken absolutely incredible so I would recommend trying it.

Like I said, ask anyone walking around for a particular meat and they will bring it by.

It can be tempting to fill up on salad because the salad bar is increidble at Fogo. Don't go overboard.

Also, the cheese bread is orgasmic but only when it's hot. If yours gets cold ask for more.

The fried bananas are to clean your palette between meats but I just love to eat them and put away 10-12 every time I visit.


Any other questions OP?

Oh I have never had dessert or wine there but my bill is still $60 per person with tip. It's expensive but worth the price for a once or twice a year type thing.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

In Atlanta there is competition from a place called Fire of Brazil. I ate there for lunch once and they had a special (last September) of $17.99 for the full treatment. The 'lunch' should have been an hour, but then two passed and when everyone in my party got full they sat there for another hour as I ate more and more meat. That is all I ate. Yessir, three hours of eating various meats from the skewers. My teeth were happy that day.

 

[GTaudiophile]

LOL. I work just a few blocks away from the DC location. I have been to the one here as well as the one in Atlanta.

I personally always enjoy myself there, despite the price. I usually eat a modest lunch before going there for dinner. I start off with a small salad from the AMAZING salad bar before giving the meat servers the "green" light.

My strategy is more to enjoy it rather than to stuff myself. I tend to sample small pieces of meat from each skewer, determine the ones I like the most, and then go for seconds, thirds, etc. on those particular cuts.

I also love the endless sides they bring: fried banana, mashed potatoes, fried polenta, and of course the amazing Portuguese cheese balls! I can eat the latter all day long and not get tired of them.

Yeah, so when I want meat, I can hardly think of a better place to go.

 

[superccs]

The one in Austin is pretty good, food quality is excellent, the salad bar part had some good eats on it as well. The killer is one the $50-75 per plate ( i forget) and the $9-12 drinks. Holy crap those caperin'as are expensive. I remember getting off my mind in Rio on those things for $3, The ones in Austin must pay their rent or something... Oh and Yes I showed up starving, and yes it was awesome... except for the meat burps and the need to brish your teeth for like 30 minutes after wards.