NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 18:42:29 PDT
Organization: SBC Internet Services
Xref: pale-rider.INS.CWRU.Edu alt.food.barbecue:13351
Having eaten a dozen or more times at Fogo del Chao, the first Brazilian churrascaria (grilled meat, all you can eat) restaurant in Dallas, we decided to try its competitor, Texas de Brazil. After a visit to its in-town Cedar Springs Road location, the difference is in the execution. And there was a huge difference:
Texas de Brazil is in a two story former law office building, remodeled for Chuck Norris's ("Walker, Texas Ranger") short-lived restaurant/cigar bar. It's a classy joint, but not nearly as functional as Fogo's. The salad bar claims to have thirty items, and it may have. There didn't seem to be as much variety as Fogo's, some of the items brought a "what do you think THAT is", and some, e.g., the deviled eggs, had been out too long. The salad bar is in another section of the restaurant from the main dining room, requires walking past the hostess stand, the bar, etc., to get to it. Fogo's salad bar is in the center of the room, convenient for seconds.
Grilled meat is pretty much grilled meat. While Fogo gives the illusion that the servers are back in the kitchen, holding the metal skewers over the coals, Texas de has the chef visible behind the salad bar. I was shocked to see the "Wizard" in front of the curtain. Some of the meat was downright dry; I thought that might be a result of being there early (7P on a Friday night) before the Big Crowd arrived. A couple of times we found ourself with nothing on the plate, even though our "red/ green" serve-don't serve disc had been flipped to red for quite a while. Brochure promised "sea food", there were a few shrimp on the salad bar, but anything more must have been well hidden. Service was, generally, pretty bad. A guitar player, part of a trio playing, came up to our table, pulled a chair away, dragging it fifteen or twenty feet away. "Ya'll ain't gonna be using this." No, guess we weren't.
Fogo carries the South American theme to a greater extent, only male servers, all with leather gaucho pants ... many of them from South America. Texas de obviously has more local staff.
Texas de was a couple dollars per plate more expensive than Fogo. Side dishes were identical, Fogo's bread puffs with cheese are fluffy and light, Texas de's were cold and hard. Texas de's bananas in cinnamon and brandy were good.
My companion had a concise summary: "Fogo is a great dining experience. Texas de serves meat on a stick."
As always, your experience may differ.Dallas, TX