Steve
01-04-2009, 04:16 AM
Gaucho fill.
You'll stuff yourself to contentment at the newest churrascaria, Texas de Brazil:
By AL MANCINI/Las Vegas City Life.
ON the silver screen, heroes don't get much tougher than American cowboys. In the culinary world, however, Brazil's gauchos kick their asses. Because while wranglers in the U.S. were surviving on baked beans (and the occasional Brokeback Mountain loving) out on those dusty trails, the gauchos were developing churrasco -- a method of slow-roasting meat over an open flame. The results were so good, they apparently didn't want to leave them behind when the cattle drives were over, and restaurants known as churrascarias were developed to bring the tradition indoors.
Restaurants, of course, have a lot more types of meat at their disposal than the typical band of gauchos. And churrasco apparently worked on just about everything they could find. So well, in fact, that it seemed unfair to limit diners to just one choice. So these days, most churrascarias (or at least the ones here in the U.S.) serve their food rodizio style -- with servers wandering through the dining room with large skewers of various types of meat, carving off slices for anyone who's hungry.
Five or 10 years ago, there were only a handful of churrascarias in Las Vegas. But recently they've been springing up all over town. In fact, two brand new ones have opened within the past several months. So when I got a recent carnivorous craving, I had plenty of choices. I opted to ignore my general disdain for the faux city atmosphere of local hotspot Town Square and check out Texas de Brazil. It turned out to be a good choice, as it was easily the best churrasco I've had in Las Vegas, if not ever.
Texas de Brazil is a huge restaurant, with an even larger selection of meat. But before you begin sampling, make sure you pay a visit to the equally massive salad bar. I normally consider a visit to a salad bar at a restaurant like this a sucker move, because you end up filling up on cheap salad and side dishes before being confronted with the onslaught of all-you-can-eat meat. But the variety and the quality of dishes offered at this particular salad bar are so good, it's definitely worth doing at least a little sampling. Among the cornucopia of munchies, you'll find countless salads, imported cheeses, fresh Buffalo mozzarella, Portobello mushrooms, hearts of palm, Greek olives, shrimp, black beans and even lobster bisque -- just to name a few of the temptations.
Of course, people don't go to a churrascaria for the salad bar, so as soon as you return to your table, turn your red coasters over so the green side is facing up, and before you know it you'll be swarmed by servers holding large skewers. While most restaurants of this type offer anywhere from seven to 10 different types of meat, these guys have 14. They include beef and pork ribs, rack of lamb and leg of lamb, Brazilian sausage, two types of pork loin, crispy parmesan chicken drumettes and chicken breast wrapped in bacon. Then there's beef. In that category, you have your choice between flank steak, plain old filet mignon, the ridiculously decadent filet wrapped in bacon and a cut known as picanha.
I think I succeeded in sampling just about everything. And each cut of meat was excellent quality, deliciously seasoned and perfectly cooked. It's tough to pick a favorite, but the one that kept me turning my coaster green long after I was stuffed was the incredibly lean pork encrusted with parmesan cheese. The side dishes of garlic mashed potatoes and fried bananas, shared family style, were also excellent, although I was a little disappointed in the cheese bread for not being quite as cheesy as what I've had elsewhere. Unfortunately, by the time we were asked if we wanted any of the 10 tasty-sounding desserts, I was too stuffed to even think about eating anything else.
The service at Texas de Brazil was also the best I've had at any similar restaurant. Our coasters were rarely turned to green more than a minute before someone was carving something onto our plate. And servers were constantly checking to see if we needed more drinks, bread or side orders.
Texas de Brazil isn't cheap. The all-you-can-eat feast will set you back $44.99 a head. That's probably the result of many customers piling on more than they can possibly eat. Because of all that waste, all-you-can-eat deals usually end up costing more responsible diners more than they should. But when you're in the mood for meat, nothing hits the spot like a churrascaria. And when it comes to churrascarias, Texas de Brazil is as good as it gets. The gauchos would be proud.
Texas de Brazil
Town Square
614-0080
http://www.lvcitylife.com/articles/2008/12/11/eat_and_drink/dining/iq_25584491.txt
You'll stuff yourself to contentment at the newest churrascaria, Texas de Brazil:
By AL MANCINI/Las Vegas City Life.
ON the silver screen, heroes don't get much tougher than American cowboys. In the culinary world, however, Brazil's gauchos kick their asses. Because while wranglers in the U.S. were surviving on baked beans (and the occasional Brokeback Mountain loving) out on those dusty trails, the gauchos were developing churrasco -- a method of slow-roasting meat over an open flame. The results were so good, they apparently didn't want to leave them behind when the cattle drives were over, and restaurants known as churrascarias were developed to bring the tradition indoors.
Restaurants, of course, have a lot more types of meat at their disposal than the typical band of gauchos. And churrasco apparently worked on just about everything they could find. So well, in fact, that it seemed unfair to limit diners to just one choice. So these days, most churrascarias (or at least the ones here in the U.S.) serve their food rodizio style -- with servers wandering through the dining room with large skewers of various types of meat, carving off slices for anyone who's hungry.
Five or 10 years ago, there were only a handful of churrascarias in Las Vegas. But recently they've been springing up all over town. In fact, two brand new ones have opened within the past several months. So when I got a recent carnivorous craving, I had plenty of choices. I opted to ignore my general disdain for the faux city atmosphere of local hotspot Town Square and check out Texas de Brazil. It turned out to be a good choice, as it was easily the best churrasco I've had in Las Vegas, if not ever.
Texas de Brazil is a huge restaurant, with an even larger selection of meat. But before you begin sampling, make sure you pay a visit to the equally massive salad bar. I normally consider a visit to a salad bar at a restaurant like this a sucker move, because you end up filling up on cheap salad and side dishes before being confronted with the onslaught of all-you-can-eat meat. But the variety and the quality of dishes offered at this particular salad bar are so good, it's definitely worth doing at least a little sampling. Among the cornucopia of munchies, you'll find countless salads, imported cheeses, fresh Buffalo mozzarella, Portobello mushrooms, hearts of palm, Greek olives, shrimp, black beans and even lobster bisque -- just to name a few of the temptations.
Of course, people don't go to a churrascaria for the salad bar, so as soon as you return to your table, turn your red coasters over so the green side is facing up, and before you know it you'll be swarmed by servers holding large skewers. While most restaurants of this type offer anywhere from seven to 10 different types of meat, these guys have 14. They include beef and pork ribs, rack of lamb and leg of lamb, Brazilian sausage, two types of pork loin, crispy parmesan chicken drumettes and chicken breast wrapped in bacon. Then there's beef. In that category, you have your choice between flank steak, plain old filet mignon, the ridiculously decadent filet wrapped in bacon and a cut known as picanha.
I think I succeeded in sampling just about everything. And each cut of meat was excellent quality, deliciously seasoned and perfectly cooked. It's tough to pick a favorite, but the one that kept me turning my coaster green long after I was stuffed was the incredibly lean pork encrusted with parmesan cheese. The side dishes of garlic mashed potatoes and fried bananas, shared family style, were also excellent, although I was a little disappointed in the cheese bread for not being quite as cheesy as what I've had elsewhere. Unfortunately, by the time we were asked if we wanted any of the 10 tasty-sounding desserts, I was too stuffed to even think about eating anything else.
The service at Texas de Brazil was also the best I've had at any similar restaurant. Our coasters were rarely turned to green more than a minute before someone was carving something onto our plate. And servers were constantly checking to see if we needed more drinks, bread or side orders.
Texas de Brazil isn't cheap. The all-you-can-eat feast will set you back $44.99 a head. That's probably the result of many customers piling on more than they can possibly eat. Because of all that waste, all-you-can-eat deals usually end up costing more responsible diners more than they should. But when you're in the mood for meat, nothing hits the spot like a churrascaria. And when it comes to churrascarias, Texas de Brazil is as good as it gets. The gauchos would be proud.
Texas de Brazil
Town Square
614-0080
http://www.lvcitylife.com/articles/2008/12/11/eat_and_drink/dining/iq_25584491.txt