Upon entry, you are handed small wooden cylinder. One end is painted green, and the other red. Green means "bring it on" and red "I need a break".
I encountered my first rodizio in Dallas while consulting several years ago. The term comes from roda, Portuguese for wheel. The rodizio is an endless rotation of meats. Waiters come around every few minutes to carve the next selection into your plate - a carnivore's jukebox. Aside from various cuts of beef, chicken, lamb, pork and fish, you are typically offered, in a full buffet, a huge array of surprisingly scrumptious salads, pastas and vegetables. Of course, these are to distract you from the more expensive meats.
Churrasco is a method of preparing meat. An old cowboy tradition from the South American pampas, it is "a large portion of skewered meat, simply seasoned with salt only, and grilled over an open flame from a glowing charcoal." The churrascaria, a restaurant in which churrasco is carved at the table is only a few decades old. Prior to that, churrasco was confined to family reunions or the ranch.
You can find Churrasco-rodizio at Cafe do Brasil where it is served Thu-Sun, 5:30-9 p.m. Renoir Hotel, 1106 Market, S.F., 415/626-6432, $18.95. For more Brazilian barbeque, visit San Francisco Bay Guardian superlist #764. Want to start your own churrascaria? Check out erganutri.
Posted by torque at January 14, 2005 12:32 AM | TrackBack