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Favorite Special Occasion Restaurant

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Thu, 07/09/2009 - 21:28
LifeIsForLiving's picture
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Favorite Special Occasion Restaurant

Best restaurant I have ever been to is Fogo de Chao hands down. It is the only upscale restaurant I have ever been to where, not only was I happy to pay $150+ for two of us with no alcohol, I would have paid twice that. It was incredible.

It's only $50 per person, but we got two or three of this Brazilian soda each (really delicious) and those I think three or four bucks a piece.

So, on to the food. It's a churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse) where all the meats are cooked on a spit over an open (I think wood-burning) fire. Every cut of meat you could ever want. Several types of filet, ribeye, strip, various roasts, pork, lamb, chicken, and the list goes on. The salad bar is the most impressive you're likely to see. It's got imported meats (like presciutto), salmon display, imported cheeses (the pricey variety you seldom see on a bar), hearts of palm, all kinds of delectable items. The salad dressings are apparently made fresh and are great. The sides are also first class. The cheese bread is the best bread I've ever had anywhere.

Now, with all that said; the service is even better than the food. The concept is simple, you decide when you're don't want any more. You have a little coaster, red on one side and green on the other. Red for stop, green for go. As long as it's green, they will bring all these various cuts of meat (right on the spit) by and ask if you would like some. When you've got what you want on your plate, turn it to red and work on that a while. When you want another round, just flip that sucker over. The sides, they just constantly bring. I didn't even notice half the time something new showed up on our table. Every server in the restaurant (and there are a LOT) is focused on your and your needs. Makes you feel like royalty. They have locations all over the country, but I've heard (at least in the Easter half of the country) the one in DC is the best.

I would recommend this place highly for any special dinner or for any occasion if it's in your budget. All this describing has made me hungry!

p.s. For what it's worth, I was in restaurant management before I went to the PD so I have a lot of first hand experience with fine dining.

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Thu, 07/09/2009 - 21:33
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We eat at Texas De Brazil or Fogo de Chao interchangeably. Typcially we go to Texas De Brazil because it's closer, but they are both very similar. There is a TDB in Orlando if you want to check it out!

Thu, 07/09/2009 - 21:39
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We LOVE Churrascarias! Thanks for the suggestion of Fogo de Chao. I wonder if they're nationwide... Also, welcome to the board!

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 00:35
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admin wrote:
We LOVE Churrascarias! Thanks for the suggestion of Fogo de Chao. I wonder if they're nationwide... Also, welcome to the board!

They do have them in many parts of the country now. It's the only churrascaria I've been to, but seems like they were among the first. I hear TDB is great too. After going on about it here, I told my wife I want to go there for my birthday yay

We're a couple hours from the one in DC, but it is so worth the trip.

I don't think I can fit in any more dinners in this trip. I made that extra reservation at Teppan Edo today afterall:)

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 03:37
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Mmmm....Texas De Brazil...Mmmmm....

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 04:15
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I went to a cool churrascaria in New York City once. It was very TDB/Fogo-esque. I think there might have even been a jazz band playing, too! Very nice evening.

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Fri, 07/10/2009 - 12:23
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bali wrote:
I went to a cool churrascaria in New York City once. It was very TDB/Fogo-esque. I think there might have even been a jazz band playing, too! Very nice evening.


O.o
That sounds nice. We're close enough to go to NYC for dinner and a show.

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 13:24
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LifeIsForLiving wrote:
bali wrote:
I went to a cool churrascaria in New York City once. It was very TDB/Fogo-esque. I think there might have even been a jazz band playing, too! Very nice evening.


O.o
That sounds nice. We're close enough to go to NYC for dinner and a show.

Nice! Do we get to pick what restaurants you go to?

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 13:30
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Brad wrote:
LifeIsForLiving wrote:
bali wrote:
I went to a cool churrascaria in New York City once. It was very TDB/Fogo-esque. I think there might have even been a jazz band playing, too! Very nice evening.

O.o
That sounds nice. We're close enough to go to NYC for dinner and a show.

Nice! Do we get to pick what restaurants you go to?



If we're there for two nights and TDB is one of them, sure. I'd be willing to go to the board's first choice.

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 13:33
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LifeIsForLiving wrote:

If we're there for two nights and TDB is one of them, sure. I'd be willing to go to the board's first choice.

I think the one in NYC is "Chursacaria Plataforma." There may be others too, but those are the ones I see in all the American Airlines magazines. It's the same basic thing, but whereas Fogo and TDB are practically identical except for decor, Plataforma is a bit different. Still mostly the same, but more different than TDB and Fogo are from each other.

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 15:13
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Brad wrote:
LifeIsForLiving wrote:

If we're there for two nights and TDB is one of them, sure. I'd be willing to go to the board's first choice.

I think the one in NYC is "Chursacaria Plataforma." There may be others too, but those are the ones I see in all the American Airlines magazines. It's the same basic thing, but whereas Fogo and TDB are practically identical except for decor, Plataforma is a bit different. Still mostly the same, but more different than TDB and Fogo are from each other.



Long as it's equally awesome, count me in!

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 15:23
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You're near NYC, Life? Where's your home base? And do you make it into NYC very often?

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Fri, 07/10/2009 - 15:42
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SpaceAce wrote:
You're near NYC, Life? Where's your home base? And do you make it into NYC very often?

...man I have got to quit doing that. Every time I think I've waited long enough (for the page to load completely) and I press [Enter] to begin typing my post, but the applet hasn't loaded completely and when I press [Enter] it makes a blank post.

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 15:45
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SpaceAce wrote:
You're near NYC, Life? Where's your home base? And do you make it into NYC very often?


We're in Hershey, PA. Short drive from Philly, Gettysburg, DC, Baltimore, NYC, etc. It's a great location.

If it weren't for the work schedule that precludes us from having any semblance of a normal life right now, we would go pretty often. As it stands, we don't have a lot of free weekends, so when we do we're usually local. That said NYC is next on our list. Last weekend trip was to DC.

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 15:56
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admin wrote:
We LOVE Churrascarias! Thanks for the suggestion of Fogo de Chao. I wonder if they're nationwide... Also, welcome to the board!

They are a chain. The one here in Chicago is one of my most favorite places to eat. And it seems that their service is consistently very, very high. So in addition to the great food (they always have a salad bar to die for), they have the best and most attentive service around. Well worth the $50/person.

http://www.fogodechao.com/

Zz.

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Fri, 07/10/2009 - 16:07
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ZapperZ wrote:
admin wrote:
We LOVE Churrascarias! Thanks for the suggestion of Fogo de Chao. I wonder if they're nationwide... Also, welcome to the board!

They are a chain. The one here in Chicago is one of my most favorite places to eat. And it seems that their service is consistently very, very high. So in addition to the great food (they always have a salad bar to die for), they have the best and most attentive service around. Well worth the $50/person.

http://www.fogodechao.com/

Zz.



Glad some of you guys have found the joys of the churrascaria (namely FDC for us).

Fri, 07/10/2009 - 16:59
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Anywhere I can get all-you-can-eat meat is a good 'un in my book!

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Fri, 07/10/2009 - 21:06
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ZapperZ wrote:

And it seems that their service is consistently very, very high.

That is one of my favorite things about FDC and TDB. We almost never get bad service, which is really nice when you only get to eat out every once in a while.

 
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