Just like the rice and beans, the caipirinha-drink and the acarajé, another icon in Brazil´s gourmet culture is the churrasco. Originally brought by the Gauchos from the South of Brazil, the churrasco in its several serving formats, have been a social gathering point for many generations, across most of the country. Today, there are many churrascaria-chains like Fogo de Chão, Porcão,Vento Haragano, Barbacoa and Pampa established in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and in now in many US cities like Dallas, Miami, New York and even Beverly Hill. Below, we will describe the “Rodizio” style churrasco, that helped popularize this authentic element of Brazil´s south gourmet culture.




Rodízio (pronounced [xu dʲizju] or [xo dʒizju] in Brazil, [ʁu dizju] in Portugal) is a style of restaurant service in Brazilian and Portuguese restaurants. One pays a fixed price and the waiters bring an offering of food to each customer at several times throughout the meal, until the customers signify that they have had enough. In churrascarias servers come to the table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of meat, most commonly local cuts of beef, pork, or chicken whereas in a Pizza rodizio varied pizzas are brought on trays.



Foods served at a churrascaria often include:

* Filet mignon chunks wrapped in bacon
* Turkey chunks wrapped in bacon (these two are usually two-bite sized)
* Sirloin steak (cut semicircular and served in slices)
* Roast beef (served like sirloin steak)
* Rump Cover (called Picanha in Portuguese)
* Beef short ribs
* Pork ribs
* Chorizo or some other spicy Iberian pork sausage
* Chicken hearts
* Grilled dark-meat chicken
* Grilled pineapple or banana (meant as a palate cleanser between courses)
* Sushi

Most rodizio courses are served right off the cooking skewer, and are sliced or plated right at the table. Sometimes they are accompanied with Spanish fried potatoes, fried bananas, collard greens, black beans, and rice.

In many places where churrascarias have been opened, such as the United States (but much less common in Brazil), the diner is often provided with a colored card, red on one side and green on the other. According to the usual meaning of these colours, the servers will only bring more meat if the card is flipped to the green side.



In Brazil, one of the most traditional churrascaria chain is Fogo de Chão. An authentic “churrascaria,” known in Brazil as a restaurant where meat is the specialty, Fogo de Chão (fo-go dée shown) is a genuine steakhouse from Rio Grande de Sul in Southern Brazil, with “Gaucho” (Southern Brazilian cowboy) chefs preparing and serving delectably slow-roasted meats.

Fogo de Chão is the dream of two “Gaucho” brothers, Jair and Arri Coser, who, as young boys, learned the Gaucho way of roasting meats over open fire pits, and became the caretakers of a culinary tradition passed down from generation to generation for over three centuries.
The menu features 15 different cuts of slow roasted meats, carved tableside by authentic “Gaucho” chefs. Traditional Southern Brazilian side dishes and a sumptuous gourmet salad and vegetable buffet complement the meats. Today, Fogo Chao restaurant is present in more than 16 locations in the United States.

Fogo Chao
Dallas (Addison), TX
4300 Belt Line Rd.
(972) 503-7300

Chicago, IL
661 N. LaSalle St.
(312) 932-9330

Fogo Chao
Houston, TX
8250 Westheimer Rd.
(713) 978-6500

Beverly Hills, CA
133 N. La Cienega Blvd.
(310) 289-7755

Fogo Chao
Atlanta, GA
3101 Piedmont Rd.
(404) 266-9988

DC Washington, DC
1101 Pennsylvania Ave NW
(202) 347-4668


Fogo Chao
Philadelphia
1337 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-636-9700


Minneapolis
645 Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55403
612-338-1344


Fogo Chao
Baltimore
600 E. Pratt St., Ste. 102
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-528-9292

Austin Austin, TX
309 E. 3rd St., Ste. 100
Austin, TX 78701
512-472-0220


Fogo Chao
Indianapolis
117 E. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-638-4000

Miami
836 1st Street
Miami Beach, FL 33139
305-672-0011

Scottsdale
6300 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85253
480-609-8866

Kansas City
222 W. 47th Street
Kansas City, MO 64112
816-931-7700

Opening Summer 2009!
Denver, CO
1513 Wynkoop St.
Denver, CO 80202


Fogo Chao
San Antonio, TX
849 E. Commerce St.
Suite 393
San Antonio, TX 78205