THE BEST: Rodizios/Churrascarias in NYC

[Fat Guy]

Just to clarify, for those who have not been: "salad bar" is not really an accurate description of the buffet component at a good rodizio place. Salad items represent only about a quarter of the inventory, which includes much cold and hot food.

[scott123]

Just to clarify, for those who have not been: "salad bar" is not really an accurate description of the buffet component at a good rodizio place. Salad items represent only about a quarter of the inventory, which includes much cold and hot food.

Are the non salad items in the buffet component worthy of attention?

[Fat Guy]

In my opinion, yes. There are always good quality steamed shell-on cold shrimp, several casserole-type dishes that can range from mediocre to superb, and various nice charcuterie, acceptably made maki sushi, and more.

[Jason Perlow]

See, Mediterranean Manor doesnt even bother with that salad bar crap anymore. After they re-did the place, they yanked it because that stuff largely went to waste. The Brazilians are there for the meat -- nothing else.

Now they bring stuff to you at the table -- really good french fries, fried sweet plantains, black beans and rice, and bitter greens sauteed with garlic (really good) to go with the meat. If you want more, they bring you more.

When I see a large salad bar at a Rodizio joint, it usually means to me the meat is going to suck -- this is the case with Green Fields in River Edge, which I totally refuse to go to anymore. I'd rather drive to Newark.

[Fat Guy]

Oh, they bring all that starchy stuff to your table at Plataforma. It's all in addition to the buffet. It's really quite insane.

I should point out that in Brazil the buffets are quite elaborate. One of the many embarrassing moments of my food writing career (I can hardly count them anymore) was when I wrote something about rodizio places in New York, making fun of the sushi at the buffet. A guy in Brazil e-mailed me photographs of several different local rodizio places and every single one of them had sushi on the buffet. Oops.

[Jason Perlow]

I had asked the proprietor of Mediterranean Manor about the lack of the salad bar, and she told me that the main reason why they killed it that very few of the hardcore patrons were eating it anymore -- they went straight to the meat, and the restaurant was wasting money on all this food nobody wanted.

I wonder if its an Atkins thing. In any case, at the $15 per person they are charging for nonstop meat, I'm not gonna complain about the lack of a salad bar.

[johnnyd]

I just found an old pack of matches from CAFE BRASIL in Newark. Bingo! Mystery solved. I'd like to mention that the waiters there were gracious when asked for rarer cuts off the spit and made a point of bringing those over. The place was not tooooo busy, even on a Saturday Lunch, which is when Feijoada is normally served. The "Salad Bar" there was made up mostly of feijoada add-ons like orange slices, coconut flakes, farofa (manioc), sauteed collards, and two rice styles, but had the usual suspects too, even cole slaw and fries.

There were mostly large families in the spare dining room dominated by a jumbotron airing soccer game highlights, and then a long counter in front of the churasqueria. We got snookered on caipirinhas. Traditional deserts offered there looked like they could have been made at the bakery across the street.

I can't wait to go back!

[Felonius]

Compared to the meat served even at a mid-level steakhouse, like a Morton's or a Ruth's Chris, the meat at Plataforma (and every rodizio place I've visited, which is a lot of them) falls far short of that standard. We judge steakhouse steaks by a combination of tenderness and flavor, and most gourmets prefer them medium-rare. Most of the flavor experience, moreover, is about the meat, supported by an exterior char.

The rodizio aesthetic is completely different. Most meats are cooked through or cooked at least to medium. They are not tender but, rather, flavorful -- often these two attributes are in conflict. The flavor experience is partly about the meat, but it is part of a trio that includes the char and seasoning. The larger cuts, in particular, are repeatedly put back on the fire to create char, and the slices served to you are from the outside of the piece of the meat. Using such a system, anything less than medium doneness (and really more like medium-well) would be quite difficult to achieve.

I agree with you FG that the beef was not as high quality as that at a Ruth's Chris, Morton's, etc. There's no way it could be considering the price point and unlimited quantity offered at the Churrascuria I tried. Most of the cuts were quite flavorful however, with a nice char and juicy interior. While the meat was not generally as tender or aged as it might be at a higher end steakhouse, for me the variety of flavor in the cuts (sirloin, flank, filet, rib, etc.) made up for this deficiency. Unless I can find three extra stomachs and someone else's corporate Amex card to bring to Sparks, I'm going to have to settle for one cut of meat. I enjoyed the ability at the Churrascuria to switch flavors and textures at will, all arriving on my plate just cooked. It's really an apples to oranges comparison. As I mentioned before, I expected the Churrascuria experience to be little more than an all you can eat gimmick with crappy quality food, and was pleasantly surprised to find it an enjoyable and quality dining experience, with its own unique benefits. It won't become a regular staple of my diet (or I might need bypass surgery by next year!), but certainly an experience I will enjoy periodically and would recommend to other steak lovers.

By the way, we had no problem procuring rare meat upon request. As you mentioned, many of the cuts initially came out medium rare to medium, but when we requested rare the waiters (Gauchos?) quickly returned with fresh cuts that were indeed rare. This may have had something to do with the fact that my uncle is a regular at the restaurant. I'll be curious to see if I can obtain rare meat at Plataforma in NYC.

[slkinsey]

We have never had trouble getting relatively rare meat at Plataforma. As far as I can tell, the practice is to fire the large cuts of meat until they have a nice char on the outside but are still fairly rare , take them out for service where the outside layer is shaved off, and then back to the fire for a repeat of the same. Most every time, after the outer layer has been cut off, what is revealed underneath is medium-rare.

[tommy]

additionally, many of the cuts are misshapen. if you ask for a rarer peice, they'll cut from a thicker part of the meat. there's no doubt they get requests like this quite a bit, and they've always been very receptive to the requests in my experience.

[Fat Guy]

Yes but if you're taking the slices from the interior you're getting the, how should I put it, whitey experience. The crust and seasoning are the fucking point, people.

[slkinsey]

Dude... I'm not saying that's what I get at the churrascaria. I'm just saying that rare-only people can be served. I personally like my pieces charred on the outside and raw on the other -- especially with a pig piece of crispy fat on the outside. I usually get it at Plataforma, too.

[Felonius]

Yes but if you're taking the slices from the interior you're getting the, how should I put it, whitey experience. The crust and seasoning are the fucking point, people.

I'm a whitey and suspect I've been missing the fucking point most of my life, but I do agree with Sam that the charred exterior bits with bloody meat on the flipside are damn tasty in this instance.

Edited June 7, 2004 by Felonius (log)

[johnnyd]

The crust and seasoning are the fucking point, people.

Puxa!!

Que palavres horrivel! Faca-te uma caipirinha, meu bem! Voce vai ficar mais calma!

[ahr]

Yes but if you're taking the slices from the interior you're getting the, how should I put it, whitey experience. The crust and seasoning are the fucking point, people.

So then that would be the... authentic experience?

[JennyUptown]

The crust and seasoning are the fucking point, people.

Puxa!!

Que palavres horrivel! Faca-te uma caipirinha, meu bem! Voce vai ficar mais calma!

No se fala Portugues

[TrishCT]

"Puxa!!

Que palavres horrivel! Faca-te uma caipirinha, meu bem! Voce vai ficar mais calma! "

I think it translates as follows:

"A pox on you!!

Such palavaring horrible drivel! Face me refreshing mixed cocktail, -- you bum you! You -- yes you -- are the voice of my calamity!"

Edited June 8, 2004 by TrishCT (log)

[JennyUptown]

Derek Jeter and Reggie Jackson like Plataforma

[johnnyd]

"A pox on you!!

Such palavaring horrible drivel! Face me refreshing mixed cocktail, -- you bum you! You -- yes you -- are the voice of my calamity!"

Omigawd... Trish, this is far better than what it really means: "Puxa" is closest to "wow" than anything else.... "such a mouth! Make yourself a caipirinha my friend, you'll feel better!" is the rest

Edited June 8, 2004 by johnnyd (log)

[Cachaca_Dave]

Good news everyone! While Platforma is famous in Brazil folks from Rio would most likely send you to Churrascaria Porcao http://www.porcao.com.br/ You have got to love their logo which is a fat pig. LOL

And here's the news: Churrascaria Porcao is now under construction at 25th Street and Park Ave here in NYC.

I live in CT and it has it's perks, expecially when I need a Churrascaria fix. Bridgeport and Danbury have a huge Brazilian population from the state of Minas so naturally the food is starting to pop up everywhere. Most recently the Minas Grill opened in Bridgeport and they have all the authentic meats and salad but they do for 6 bucks a pound. Exceptional!

[phaelon56]

By chance I stayed in Newark for one night last month on a very short trip. Arrived a bit late and walked over to Ironbound for dinner - happened to stumble on Cafe Brasilia and was suitably impressed. At $18.95 the rodizio includes a very generous hot and cold buffet salad bar... it appeared to be a killer deal. Neither my friend or I were very hungry so we shared a bowl of garlic shrimp and also the grilled chicken from the "light menu".

Their definition of light is about a pound and a half or more of grilled chicken breast with a huge pile of perfectly cooked fresh veggies and a mountain of rice. Plus the potatoes - I mean really.... who eats rice without potatoes?

Oh... the bill including two soft drinks was about $18!!!

More NY rodizio updates: The Turning Stone Casino in Oneida NY (quite the juggernaut of entrepeneurial ventures in this region) has just added an upscale (i.e. linen tablecloths etc) rodizio restaurant to their many dining offerings at the resort. The ticket is $34.95 not including beverages or desserts. Like most of their upper end restaurants, a substantial portion of the business will be comped players or folks there for conventions but I anticipate that it will do well.

[markk]

First there was Olive Garden, then Houston's and then P.F. Chang's (well, I don't know if I got that chronology right at all), and now I see that there's an "upscale" chain of Rodizio restaurants with some apparently substantial interior decors. I wonder how long before they dot the roads in Paramus and open in some big space on 42nd. Street in New York...

Texas de Brazil Churrascaria chain

Has anybody been to one?

Is everybody horrified by the concept?

Are there eGulleteers thinking "Hey, if it's a franchise, let's open one!" ?

[lambretta76]

Besides the aforementioned Brasilia in Newark (beware - some cuts are incredibly salty), there are a number of other choices in the Ironbound and Astoria, two Brazilian strongholds. (I imagine another one or two exist in Mineola, LI, where there is a large Portuguese presence - Brazilian culture is de rigeur in Lisbon these days.)

Sabor Tropical, a great Brazilian restaurant in Astoria, recently opened up a Churrascaria a few doors down on 30th Ave. If it is anywhere near the quality of the original then this could be quite the find. ($22 on weekends for rodizio service.)

[phaelon56]

Texas de Brazil Churrascaria chain

Has anybody been to one?

Is everybody horrified by the concept?

Are there eGulleteers thinking "Hey, if it's a franchise, let's open one!" ?

←

I'm no more horrified by this concept than any other franchise concept.

Done correctly a franchise will typically offer a level of consistency one can't always expect to find in an independent local operation but it also nearly guarantees that you'll never find true excellence, flashes of genius or even a distinctly recognizable experience that makes the experience at one location unique. Done correctly a franchise can offer predictability and an absence of absence of total mediocrity but there's typically a price paid for that. If they did it right and I was to spot one after a long day on the road with business travel.... and it was close to the hotel... and I was ravenously hungry... I'd probably head right in and let the boss buy me some rodizio.

Consider the coffee beans destined for the commodity coffee market (I'm talking decent arabica beans but these are ones being graded for sale to huge conglomerates). The cuppers who assess and grade these beans cup to look for an absence of defects . In contrast, the cuppers who grade for the specialty market (better quality and more quality conscious regional and local roasters) are looking for the presence of exceptional and unique qualities.

I find that to be a very good analogy for the franchise/quality independent restaurant paradigm. But you knew I'd bring coffee into the discussion, didn't you?

I have in fact been to the Dallas TX location of this chain. The hot/cold buffet salad bar was markedly inferior to the one at Charrascaria Plataforma and not even quite up to the level offered by places like Seabra's Rodizio on McCarter Highway (Rte 21) in Newark NJ. I found the meat to be close if not equal to the quality at Plataforma but my meals there were separated by about two years and it's hard to assess accurately.

Atmosphere at the Dallas location of Texas de Brazil was a bit dark and tables were bunched far too close together. All told, it was less appealing than Plataforma and IMHO the service was less professional.

[slkinsey]

Sabor Tropical, a great Brazilian restaurant in Astoria, recently opened up a Churrascaria a few doors down on 30th Ave.

Went there a few days ago, and Churrascaria Tropica isl now my go-to rodizio in the City. The salad bar isn't as lavish, but meat is every bit as good as at Plataforma (sometimes better) and it's less than half the price. I made a full post about it here.