WASHINGTON, D.C. — As best man, it was my duty to come up with a suitable bachelor party for my brother. When I had one, we went it at a Nats game, but that isn’t Christopher’s thing. Going to a gentleman’s club was also out because there is something about a dancer offering to show it all for a dollar that is kind of demeaning to all involved. A Dave & Buster’s type place wasn’t of any interest either, so I began to wonder what kind of party I would throw for him. Fortunately, I found out about Fogo de Chão.
I don’t recall how I discovered Fogo de Chão, but I think it was through washingtonpost.com’s cityguide. As soon as I learned what they were about, I knew I had struck gold:
A recent import to Washington, Fogo de Chão is a Brazilian churrascaria, or steakhouse, with five other branches across the country and four restaurants in South America. If you’re new to the concept, a waiter patiently talks you through the experience. Those kerchief-wearing sword-bearers with the puffy black pants? They’re gauchos, or Brazilian cowboys, and they offer more than a dozen types of meat, which they slice before your eyes. The tiny tongs next to your plate? Those are to pluck the freshly shaved meat from the gauchos’ skewers. As for the name, Fogo de Chão is Portugese for “fire in the ground,” or campfire.
Meat on swords?! I don’t think there could be a more appropriate venue for this event.
We had a party of 11 for the occasion with several joining us late which wasn’t a problem for the staff. After we were seated we were given instructions on how Fogo de Chão works. Each patron is given a cardboard circle that is green on one side and red on the reverse. While waiting our drinks to arrive, we hit the salad bar (highly recommended) which was okay, but unspectacular. There were also cheese popovers that were quite tasty in their own right; I had to limit myself because I knew the main event was coming.
After several minutes, one of the gauchos asked if were ready for the meat to start coming out and we eagerly announced that we were. For the next two hours or so, the gauchos would come out with the various meats which included:
- sirloin
prime rib
ribs
filet mignon
chicken wrapped in bacon
lamb chops
ribeye
sausage
I may be leaving some out and I am not using the specific Fogo de Chão names either. Also, many of these came wrapped in bacon as well which scored highly with the group.
I sampled most of the beef selections as well as the lamb and ribs. The fillet was tasty, but not terribly noteworthy. The ribs had dry rub full of herbs and spices which was an interesting departure from the ribs most restaurants offer. I had two servings of them. The lamb I tried was a little dry and since I prefer beef, I did not ask for more. The prime rib was a little fatty, but still tasty enough for a few servings. The ribeye was quite good; I enjoyed a few times. The real star was the sirloin though, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. It was so flavorful and tender. Despite being extremely rare, it was hot, a real treat and the finest example of that cut I had ever eaten. It may have been the best beef I ever consumed period.
At times some of the meat was a little overcooked, but given that it keeps going back to the fire after being served to a table or two, this will happen as the restaurant begins to empty. Since were were there at the end of lunch, the intervals between gauchos coming by began to increase. Given that most of us were completely stuffed this was not an issue. There were also several side items like fried plantains, polenta and mashed potatoes included in the meal. The potatoes were quite good.
The staff was friendly and patient at times as we sometimes flipped our cards quickly or did not want to have the meat being offered despite showing green. Since we had just walked in from the rain, they also gave out napkins to a few of us as we walked in.
Since it was lunch time, nobody ordered off the wine list, so I have nothing to report. Also, it is worth noting that the lunch time price is about $30 instead of $50 for dinner and that sodas are charged individually. It would not be hard to get out of there for $40 for lunch if you were not drinking alcohol.
I’ll be back someday, but I want to let my cholesterol levels drop a little bit first.
Fogo de Chão is located at 1101 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in the Evening Star building in what used to be Planet Hollywood (remember them?). It is only half a block from Federal Triangle Metro.
