Retirement is a week filled with Saturdays and Sundays interrupted only occasionally by a holiday.

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Sunday, April 29, 2007

Where’s the Beef?

Hubby loves new and different dining experiences. A few years ago, he came across an ad for a Brazilian barbecue restaurant in the area. If you’ve never had Brazilian barbecue and you’re a meat lover, this is the place for you. Along with a huge array of cold salads and warm side dishes (garlic mashed potatoes, various recipes of rice dishes, soup) all served buffet style, young men dressed in traditional Brazilian cowboy garb come around to the tables with large skewers of various types of beef, pork, chicken, lamb and a number of interesting sausages. If you indicate you’re interested in a particular meat, they will slice you off a piece or slide a sample onto your plate. This goes on throughout your entire dinner…it’s all-you-can-eat…so you can imagine how much food you can ingest over the course of the evening. What’s really nice is that they have a dowel placed on your table. The dowel is painted red on one end and green on the other. When you want to take a break from eating, you can place the red side of the dowel on top and the servers will pass by your table. When you want to continue eating, just turn the dowel upside down with the green side up and the servers will come to your table with even more meat.

Hubby has been bugging me about going for Brazilian barbecue for several weeks. It’s most fun to go with at least one other couple so he has been going through our list of friends trying to pick out the meat eaters. Most of our friends and family are either non-red meat eaters or vegetarians so we have a limited number to choose from. Quite frankly, neither of us are red meat eaters either but, on occasion, we will break our healthy eating pledge and cheat.

Anyway, last night we made plans to have dinner with another couple. They are on our list of red meat eaters and so Hubby decided to make reservations at the Brazilian barbecue restaurant. When he wants to eat somewhere specific, he can be really insistent and the three of us decided to humor him since he looked so pathetic with that battered face of his. So off we went to the restaurant to gorge ourselves…and did we ever! I’m feeling the effects of this meat extravaganza this morning and the only thing I can say about it is “BURP.”

16 comments:

Linda said...

That sounds absolutely wonderful! I am a carnivore and having just eaten a pathetic bowl of soup here at work to stave off hunger, I can tell you that meat on a stick sounds absolutely delicious! I wish they had a place like that here in Connecticut, I'd definitely go!

By the way, did Quasi have any problems with his meal? I hope the bandages didn't get in the way!

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

oh next time please call us!

smiles, bee

Susie said...

Sounds like quite the dining experience and not just for the food!!
Glad your hubby is feeling well enough to go out..
xo

Patti said...

Sounds like a fun restaurant. Never heard of a place like that in the Nutmeg State.
I also am glad R is feeling better..

rosemary said...

While I am meat restricted I will splurge on a special place...I want to go with you next time. The pipes on the truck? They were for water wells...my dad worked for a drilling company. Sounds like you did just fine with the dressings...hubby's neck will probably start absorbing all of the bruising...he will also probably look green!

Special K ~Toni said...

That sounds fun! Plus we like any place that is all you can eat! I doubt we have that in this small town, but I will have to check into San Antonio for our next trip there.

I never thought to divide my friends into groups of meat eating and non meat eating.

Joan said...

Linda: Thanks for asking about Quasi. He actually had the time of his life stuffing his mouth with food...good thing that's the one area without tape!!!

Empress bee: Any time!!!

Susie: When it comes to interesting food, nothing stands in Hubby's way!

Patti: It's loads of fun AND food!!!

Rosemary: Wouldn't it be fun to have a huge dining group of bloggers? And thanks for the info on those pipes...

Toni: Yep...we have two groups of friends: our carnivore friends and our healthy friends! ;~)

meno said...

I have eaten at one of those restaurants. I think it was in Los Angeles. My god, what a display of food. I think i'm still full and it was over 2 years ago.

I am a healthy omnivore.

Lynn said...

Glad you enjoyed the food fest. From the picture, the "Boys from Brazil" aren't too bad to look at, what a nice perk;~)

Ralph said...

I have seen this on the Travel Channel (Anthony Bourdain was the host), and it showed such a place in Rio de Janeiro, and it did look good.

There is the Brazilian Grill in Hyannis...we never stopped in, but based on this blog, we probably will this summer. we are confirmed carnivores, you should know. One question, do they announce if there is organ meat (kidney, tongue, etc). I am generally not squeamish, but I never ate these before...

Joan said...

Meno: We're going to a friend's barbecue this evening. Me? I'm eating NOTHING!!!

Lynn: I hate to burst your bubble but we are both old enough to be their moms...sob, sob, sob.

Ralph: When they come to your table with a skewer, they always announce the name of the meat so you can decide whether or not to have them serve you some. To the best of my recollection, they've never offered any organ meat...thank goodness!!!

jaded said...

I guess Hubby is healing nicely from his surgery. It sounds like he'll have the nose of twenty year old by the time you leave for Ireland. Did you have the lamb? What did you enjoy the most?

Renee Nefe said...

It's okay to look at young guys (I saw your comment to Lynn.)

I'm sure that it would be interesting to go to a place like that, but I think that DH & I would have the red stick up more than the green...we're not big eaters...but we really like meat. Oh well, good thing there isn't one near us that I know of. Now watch me go find one. ;) LOL

Renee Nefe said...

http://www.rodiziogrill.com/ They have one here and I thought you & Lynn might enjoy the ad. ;)

Carole Burant said...

Gosh but that all sounds so good! I'd never heard of a Brazilian Barbecue restaurant and we don't have any around here...POUT! I love meat so I would have no problems eating there! lol xox

Joan said...

Patches: Hubby's concerned right now because is nose is offcenter due to the swelling...it's amazing how vain men can be sometimes! And...no lamb for me this time.

Renee: It is expensive particularly if you're not big eaters. I usually stop eating about three days before going.:~)

Pea: Maybe on your next trip you'll find one...it's lots of fun!