Churrascaria's = Heaven for carnivores

I had dinner at Fogo De Choa and was deeply disappointed for a few reasons.

1) WAY overpriced

2) The concept is Brazilian but the interior is more like a New york style steakhouse. What's the deal with the white tablecloths? Gauchos sit by a fire while eating their meal, not at a table with linen on top of it.

This style of food is rustic and they turn it into this pretentious fancy dinner.

I am positive that if they took away the pretense (tablecloths, wine glasses, fancy atmosphere.....etc) that it would cost them much less to run the place making it easier for people to afford to go there.

3) The green light red light deal. I kept forgetting to turn my card over so I was constantly being bombarded by guys with meat on a stick and big knives. They should just have the guys walk around and if you want something, you hail them over like a cab.

4) the food was extremely bland. The taste of char was very nice but there seemed to be no seasoning on the meat.

 

Re: Re: Churrascaria's = Heaven for carnivores

Same here. While I enjoyed the experience, I found the meats to be bland with very little seasoning. Pricey too. I would prefer a simpler atmosphere.

 

There's a place called Green Fields in Rockville, MD, that is really good, and inexpensive too.

And they make great Caipirinhas.

 

I second that.

I love that place.

Especially when I am doing the Atkins diet.

I think there is one out in Fair Oaks as well.

 

I third it. That place is great.

 

Re: Re: Churrascaria's = Heaven for carnivores

I went to the one in Chicago and it was great. The food was not bland and the price (with tip) was $105 for 3 at lunch time.

I've been salivating at the thought of going again. This is one place that you do not bring a someone that eats very little.

 

Re: Re: Re: Churrascaria's = Heaven for carnivores

That's $35 each for LUNCH! Ridiculously overpriced. You could prepare the same meal at home for all 3 for $35.

I know restaurants are in business and need to mark up the product, but that place has taken it to a new level.

It's funny, because their food costs are so low. they don't have to deal with ovens or stoves. It's just a grill and the guy working the grill need not be a chef, just a cook. Anyone can do that job.

It costs those places so much less to cook the food, yet they charge you more. What a racket. I am in the wrong business.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Churrascaria's = Heaven for carnivores

In the DC Metro area, spending $35.00 for lunch at a good restaurant isn't a bad price. If you're in the business district, it's actually a bargain.

And of course you could prepare the same food at home for less. When you go out you're paying for more than just the food. You're paying part of the salaries of all the people who work there, the utilities bills, the monthly lease, etc.

 

Q j

I grew up in DC and know how much things cost. The key word is "good".

Usually at a "good" restaurant there is a chef who uses a vast array of ingredients to create unique, flavorful dishes. I do not consider a huge grill with skewers full of meat to be creative or unique. I consider it to be plain and boring and not worth $35.

As for the markup, I was in the business for 15 years and know exactly what you are paying for with your dollars.

You mention salaries: Waitstaff don't even garner minimum wage and the "chefs" there should be paid no better than a regular old line cook. If they are not creating interesting menus and do nothing but watch meat on a grill, you had better not be paying them a chef's salary.

I have a very realistic idea as to what the food prepared in a churrascaria costs and I can tell you right now, it is not enough IMO to warrant a $35 tab for lunch or a $60 tab for dinner.

Pure and simple: the place is overpriced. You are not only paying for the things you mentioned. There are also linen costs, the furniture and the decor. All of these things are completely unnecessary in a place that serves "rustic" food. the atmosphere should reflect the cuisine. These places don't do that at all. They serve rustic food in a posh setting. Doesn't make much sense to me.

I can go to a BBQ joint and get a plate of meat on a paper plate with plastic silverware, pay a fraction of the cost and enjoy it as much if not more than the food I had at Fogo De Chao. I also will feel better abut the fact that I didn't blow $35 on lunch and have money left for something else.

 

Re: Q j

Personally, I happen to think Green Fields, in Rockville, MD, is "good." Others have stated the same thing about Malibu Grill.

And I've been to "good" restaurants with chefs who make simple, authentic regional dishes. It seems to me that a churrascaria is a typical Brazilian-style place, and most are pretty authentic for what they offer. Food does not have to be complicated and/or difficult to prepare to be gourmet.

My brother-in-law is a bartender. My wife was a pastry chef at upscale restaurants in DC and was trained at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. She worked professionally as a chef for about 6 years before she had an injury at work that forced her to change careers.

I know how much wait staff get paid, which is usually right around minimum wage as a salary, but also includes whatever tips they are given by patrons. I also know how much line cooks get paid.

And I also know that there has to be someone at a typical churrascaria acting in the role of a chef. Someone is in charge of the line cooks and is determining what items to put on the menu. There are also managers, hostesses, dishwashers, bartenders, etc. who are getting paid more than wait staff if you only consider the actual hourly wages.

Then don't go back.

Compared to the price for Green Field you are probably correct. Lunch there is $13.95 and dinner is $24.95.

That's why my original post had etc at the end. It's an abbreviation for the Latin phrase "et cetera" which means "and so forth."

Their business model must have gotten something right. Churrascarias (and simple South American and Central American cuisine) is pretty popular right now. Rustic food in posh settings seems to be a big trend in the restaurant business.

If you don't like Fogo De Chao, which I assume is in Richmond, and don't feel it's worth the price, don't go again. Go to your BBQ joint and eat off a paper plate with plastic silverware. But please don't presume to speak for everyone here who might enjoy going out for simple "rustic" food at a churrascaria, and don't have a problem with the prices.

 

Re: Re: Q j

A churrascaria represents Gaucho cuisine, not Brazilian. So, it is not a typical Brazilian style place. Yes, the style of food is part of the spectrum of Brazilian food, but it is not the whole. It is authentic for what it offers in food, but not atmosphere.

Gauchos sit by the fireside when they eat their meals, not at a table with a pretty white tablecloth. They are Brazilian cowboys and their food is not far from the BBQ of cowboys in the USA. I think, that if you are going to eat cowboy food, it should be in a cowboy setting.

The word "gourmet" is not and adjective. It is a noun and describes someone with discriminating taste, not any type of fancy food. So, there is no way to prepare food to be gourmet.

Also, the name Malibu Grill makes me think of California, not Brazil. Is there a place in Brazil called Malibu? I am not aying there isn't. I am simply asking the question.

1) What does your brother in-law or your wife have to do with the issue? We are simply talking about whther or not the food at a churrascaria is worth the price some places are charging.

I used to run restaurants for a living and was very successful at it. I know a lot more about the entire operation than a friggin bartender or a pastry chef

2) AANNHHH WRONG!!! Last time I was in charge of a restaurant the wait staff was paid $2.13/hr. They are still paid less than 1/2 of minimum wage. Waitstaff payroll is nothing. You mention a salary? I have never known a waiter who was on salary. They make their money on tips and those tips are piad by customers and have absolutely nothing to do with the cost of running a restaurant. So don't try throwing that into the overhead figure. Trust me, I don't need you to tell me about costs when it comes to running a restaurant.

What items to put on a menu? At a churrascaria the items are simple. You take some beef brisket, some chicken, some sausage (all inexpesive cuts) and throw in some lamb (moderate cost) throw some seasonings on it and toss it on the spit. That is as simple as it gets. You do not need a chef for that, you need a kitchen manager. And it should not be expensive for the patron PERIOD!!

I don't plan on it. If I ever make it to Brazil, I will definitely give it a shot and am willing to bet that I will be sitting at a wooden picnic bench and my food will be served on a napkin. That will be fine with me.

As if I did not know what that means.

Key word here is "trend". Trends don't last. Maybe that is why it is so expensive. Got to get it while the getting's good huh?

Fogo De Chao is a chain and I had dinner at the one in Atlanta.

When did I ever presume to speak for anyone but myself in this thread? All I did was express my opinion. I thought that was what we do here. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Seriosly, though, can you please show me where I "presume to speak for everyone here"? I speak for myself and no one else.

I never once told anyone to go or not to go to one of these of establishents. I simply offered my opinion. Is that OK with you?

-- edit by moderator to remove TOS violation ---

 

Gourmet

Entry: epicurean
Function: [colro=red]adjective [/color]
Definition: luxury-loving
Synonyms: gluttonous, gourmandizing, gourmet, hedonistic, libertine, luscious, lush, luxurious, pleasure-seeking, self-indulgent, sensual, sensuous, sybaritic, voluptuous
Antonyms: abstemious, austere, humble, modest, plain, simple
Concept: stylishness

Gourmet can also be used as an adjective to describe very good food.
This is a gourmet meal.


FWIW, I was not trying to be condescending. I assumed that you either did not see the "etc" or didn't know what I meant when I used it.

So, it all comes back to if you don't like the place, don't go back.

And I know quite a bit about the restaurant business. No, I have never run one. However, I understand many of the basics on how one is run. I understand how waiters are paid, and see that the national hourly salary is $6.00 / hour, not including tips.

I also understand the business model of a restaurant from having worked as a principal engineer for MICROS, a company provides hardware and software for the leisure and entertainment industry.

Also, the reason I bring up my wife and her brother is the fact that through their business and personal connections in the industry, I have gotten to know quite a few restauranteurs in the DC area. It's possible my view is skewed slightly higher because most of the places we go to are at a gourmet level, and the staff is paid more than the national average.

Finally, I apoligize if you thought I was trying to be rude or nasty. I was not.

 

the thesaurus entry uses gourmet to describe a person (epicurean) not a dish.

the next entry comes from an unreliable source. Someone using "poetic liscence"?

If you look up the word in the dictionary you will find three definitions for it all being nouns.

Anyways, who cares. I did like the idea of the churrascaria and found the food to be good, just not worth the $60 tab for dinner (this was the price before tax, tip and booze). I can easily see $30 and would be willing to pay that.

I think that takes into account waiters and waitresses who also work for catering companies where they are paid a good hourly wage. When I was catering, I paid waiters $13/hr. That was eight years ago. I can assure you that the hourly rate for waitstaff in restaurants is well below the minimum wage because of the fact that the lion's share of their income is from tips. Like I said, when I was running restaurants, the waitstaff was paid $2.13/hr. I'm sure that has gone up since then, but it certainly isn't $6/hr.

Same here.`Sometimes I can be a tad beligerent sounding. My apologies.

 

And you're a badazzsnowboarder too! wow


where is it, so I can make sure not to go.

 

Re: Re: Churrascaria's = Heaven for carnivores

Was the water 'wet' there?

 

Well, I could post a really long post correcting all his mistakes, but instead I will save myself the time & just say this:

shwantzme is full of shit & doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.

I've been to Brazil a number of times, spent a fair bit of time there, have been to different areas, and I'm married to a Brazilian.

shwantzme doesn't know squat about churrascarias, or about "authentic" Brazilian food, or how "real" Brazilians dine.

 

Actually, the only thing he's right about is that churrascarias here are overpriced - the ones here in NYC anyway. There are some in Westchester & Queens that are $20 for dinner, which I think is fair. But the ones in the city are in Midtown, and I guess do have high rents.

I suppose if you can really sock it away, it's worth the price though. I just can't eat that much.

Earlier this year I went to a churrascaria outside of São Paulo with my husband's family, and it was 12 reais each. A real to them is about what a dollar is to us. However, with the excellent exchange rate now, we paid for dinner for 9 people & it wound up costing us about $60. That rocked.

Oh yeah, btw, they had linen tablecloths. I guess that means it wasn't an authentic Brazilian meal.

 

I do know what I am talking about. I never professed to know everything about Brazilian food. I did make the statement that the churrascaria is only a small part of Brazilian cuisine.

I never mentioned anything about how all Brazilians dine either.

What I did say was that the churrascaria is an attempt at eating "gaucho" style food. Gauchos do not eat at a table with white tablecloths. Are you going to argue that point?

I have never been to a BBQ joint with white tablecloths. Have you?

 

I'm right about more than that. But thank you for at least backing me up my original point that they are overpriced.

As for the tablecloth. I would like to ask you to kindly read my posts if you are going to try and refute my points. I'll save you some time by quoting one of my most recent posts.

 

OK folks, play nice please.

No reason to get upset about food.

 

Looks like Gato has bitten off a little bit more than he can chew. and pun intended.

 

No, I haven't.



shwantzme has not been to Brazil, and apparenly has no idea that it is, in fact, the twenty-first century down there too.

He came in here with an obnoxious know-it-all attitude, which is why he & Lastort got into it.

His hope that when/if he goes to Brazil that he will be eating churrascaria at a picnic table, with the meat served on napkins not plates, is laughable.

Yeah, maybe the cowboys ate it that way. YEARS AGO.

Churrascaria has moved way beyond cowboys eating around a fire, and to assert that if it's in a nice or average restaurant, it's not an authentic setting, is ridiculous.

His assertion that they only serve cheap cuts of meat, and nothing else, is also wrong. If he really wants to see some cheap meat, he need go no further than to his mother's bedroom.

And I'm sure you're going to come back with yet another attempt to say I'm wrong or mistaken, but it is you who are wrong & mistaken, and I'm not going to waste anymore time debating a topic.