Churrasco de Brazil: A Dining Review
Churrasco de Brazil is the newest restaurant in the Tucson Mall arena. It opened in October. We usually do not review restaurants that have been open less than a year, however, in this case we made an exception as it looked quite interesting and afterall the new year and the resolutions that come with it were imminent.
I’ll let Ms. Karen have her say first.
Ms. Karen’s Pan-seared Salmon
The Dinner Menu is simple. You can choose one of two: What I call the “Full Monty” meat experience, 13 different meats, with Salad Bar; OR the Salad Bar and a cooked to order Salmon. I could not imagine being able to consume that much meat. Granted, I could have chosen one or two meats to nosh on, but that was not likely to happen as this was our first time here and tasting all the flavors is part of the fun. So I opted for the Salmon. I was not disappointed.
The Pan Seared Salmon was crusty on the outside, which I love, and flaky and flavorful on the inside. One of our many Gaucho servers said it was imported from Chile. My favorite has always been salmon from the Pacific Northwest but this was every bit as tasty. The place was quite full by 5:45. There was only an area on the other side of the salad bar that sat empty and the tables for 8 or 10 in the bar area were vacant. The serving staff, I did not count, but it must have been 20 or 30 milling around, each with a job to do. When you arrive, you are given a card, one side green, one side red. When you want meat, you turn it to the green side.
Jim’s Thin-sliced Prime Rib
A man in gaucho pants carrying large skewers of meat comes around with one of the meats and offers to slice you off a piece. It is quite a show, but not ostentatious in the least. I tried the Squash soup, but missed tasting the fried bananas. I did not find the Beans and Rice. I didn’t miss them. My only complaint is that the side of mashed potatoes was small and was refilled a bit late for my salmon. But who needs mashed potatoes when you have all the meat you can eat.
Jim’s Plate of Meats
So much for Ms. Karen’s salmon dinner ($33.50). She didn’t mention we ordered a bottle of wine: sauvignon blanc from Chile ($42). It was very good, with buttery afternotes. I had the full meat experience ($42). As Ms. Karen pointed out, the wait staff comes around with skewers of meats: COSTELA* (Beef Ribs), PICANHA* (House Specialty Cut), ALCATRA* (Top Sirloin), FILET CON BACON* (Bacon Wrapped Filet), LOMBO (Pork), LINGUICA (Pork Sausage), FRALDINHA* (Bottom Sirloin), FRANGO (Chicken Drums and Breast), CONTRA-FILET* (Ribeye), CORDEIRO (Lamb Chops, Steak), and COSTELA de PORCO (Pork Ribs) and they added a Parmesan coated pork dish for good measure.
I sampled all of them. I assisted my servers by using a small tong or pincer fork. As they partially sliced the meat, I clasped the cut with the pincer and they finished the cut and I placed the piece on my plate. It was a wonderful experience. The prime rib was divine. The pork sausage was excellent. Even the chicken drumstick was very tasty. The Parmesan pork was the best, except for the lamb which was extraordinary. All cooked to order which was amazing given the quantity of meat they serve. I had never eaten that much meat at one sitting in my life, but it was a treat to say the least.
We shared this flan.
We finished our meal with a dish of flan topped with a strawberry ($8.50). Excellent! The service was superior to just about any place in town. I cannot recommend Churrasco de Brazil highly enough to you. This place is tops in my humble opinion. Five saguaros for sure. If we had a six saguaro rating, I would give it to them.
Churrasco de Brazil
150 W Wetmore Rd
Tucson Mall
(520) 293-7991
Lunch – ( A touch different menu)
Mon – Fri:11:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Dinner: Casual Attire
Mon – Thu:
5:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Fri:
5:00 PM – 10:00 PM.
Sat: 3:00 PM – 10:00 PM.
Sun: 3:00 PM – 8:30 PM