Brazilian BBQ Buffet

[reality check]

Picanha, Gaucho Village, Greenfield's.

What are the names of the other Brazilian BBQ buffets?

Which rates the best?

[DrBruin]

I personally think Fogo is THE best Brazillian BBQ in LA but it's probably the priciest by far.

For completeness sake, there are a couple of other Brazillian BBQ buffets and some non-buffet Brazillian restaurants.

1. Samba in Redondo - I haven't been. I've seen mostly tepid reviews. I hear they have entertainment on the weekends.
http://www.sambaredondo.com/

2. By Brazil - A small Brazillian BBQ place. The chef/owner was very nice. The food was okay to good. I found it took too long for them to come around with the cuts of meat that I most enjoy.. They had cashew fruit juice, which I found interesting.
1615 Cabrillo Ave
Torrance, CA 90501

Not really the BBQ Buffet, but they are Brazillian.
3. Silvio's - Smaller Menu. No wandering skewers of meat.
http://www.silviosbbq.com/

4. Bossa Nova - I've eaten there and thought it was mediocre.
www.bossanovafood.com

[Kitchen Queen]

Took a drive today and landed the the old part of Farmer's Market. Found ourselves at Pampas Brazilian Grill. Quite pleaed with the whole thing. 27$ for two! Food was awesome. I ate the salads and fish stew. He had the sirloin cap and lamb. So yum we'll make the effort to go again, soon. Anyone been to the Culver City location?? Is it just as great? :)

[streetgourmetla]

Pampas in the Farmer's Market is awesome.The Culver City location is even better, more cuts of meat, I believe seven, and more buffet items.Beer and wine, too.

[Kitchen Queen]

Thanks for the reply - I'm going to make the effort to go to the C.C. location!!!

[streetgourmetla]

Churrascarias in The Los Angeles Area:

The best-Fogo de Chao
Economical and great-Brasa Brasil Grill
Non-rodizio(all you can eat)por kilo service-Pampas Grill, beloved by many local Brazilians for their sides.There are about 5 cuts of meat available.

Fun showplace to take your mom or relative from out of town-Gaucho's Village(I like hangin' at the bar here for caipirinhas.

Mid-price range-By Brazil,Porto Alegre,Ummba, Agora,Amazon,Roda Viva,M Grill

Places I don't like-Picanha, Espeto's, and Greenfield

[ceviche]

you should search the LA board for brazilian bbq recs by streetgourmetLA, he seems to have a good understanding of the brazillian offerings in LA.

i went to Brasa Brasil Grill in culver city based on street's chowhound postings about it, and i have to say it was excellent.

the buffet items:
the hold/cold buffet probably doesn't have as many choices as pricier places (i've never been to Fogo, but i went to a similar place in phoenix) but every item that they do have on offer is tasty. my favorites from the buffet were the fried polenta, the fried yucca, all of the bean dishes, the cucumber cilantro salad, the hearts of palm, and the fried plantains.

the meats:
per street's info, i stayed away from the sausage/chicken meats and stuck to the good stuff. my favorites were
- the garlic beef, which has a very nice aroma and isn't overpowering with the garlic
- the picanha, but you have to specifically ask for seconds of that one
- the sirloin: the red/purple bloody inner part of the sirloin was AWESOME with a sprinkling of salt.

for $17/person for dinner it was a ridiculous bargain. they charge $5/bottle for wine corkage, so go to trader joes nearby and get a few bottes of a hearty red. awesome!!!

[Foodandwine]

Ceviche,, thanks for descbing the experience. I concur with your write up. Fellow Chowhounds enjoy!!

[mdpilam]

Does anyone know if you can bring beer since they don't serve alcohol? Do they charge for this? I did some searching and it looks like someone said they charged $2.50 a beer, which to me, seems ridiculous. I understand the $5 corkage fee.

[streetgourmetla]

I brought a six before they started charging without a problem.If they have a wierd thing about beer I would just bring wine.You're right $5 is a reasonable corkage fee and I'm content with that.If in doubt, just bring wine, or both and save the beer for later if they charge per bottle.No worries.

[ceviche]

one more thing about Brasa Brasil: when we went they had a sign on the window that said $8.95 lunch specials. this might be worth checking out, especially if you don't want to stuff yourself silly for the buffet. has anyone tried those lunch specials?

also if the $2.50/bottle corkage for beer is true that would just be weird. but, given the pretty cheap $5 corkage for wine, i wouldn't sweat it too much. i'm the furthest thing from a wine expert, but i think the richness of the beef they serve would go well with a dry, bold red wine.

[briskettburger]

I've been to FDC numerous times, second to none. M-grill(wilshire/western) is also very good(surprisingly inexpensive < $20/lunch) , samba(redondo beach) was also tasty. Haven't been to porto allegre or by brazil yet, however, I would definitely not recommend Greenfield<--only went to the one they have in LB, cuts of meat were poor, took forever to get some service, yeah the salad bar is probably the best out of all the churrascaria's(at least those I've been to) however, I'm not there for the salad bar, couldv'e went to hometown buffet/sizzler for that

[Foodandwine]

There is always Brasa in Culver City around $15 for AYCE at Lunch with a small cold and hot buffet. pretty good for the price. Nope Very Good for the price!!

-----
Brasa Brasil Grill
10022 Venice Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

[Dave and Stuff]

I have eaten at Fogo de Chao twice before, and really enjoyed it, but last week went to Picahna in Burbank for Mom's birthday.

The salad bar paled in comparison to Fogo, but the meats were exaclty as good in most cases, and even better than others in other cases. Plus, Picahna is about half of what we paid at Fogo.

Good service, and great caiparhinias.

[Professor Salt]

I'll also add Agora in Irvine for the Orange Countians. I enjoyed my lunch there very much.

[Diana]

To tell you the truth, Picana ain't bad.

[ktla97]

First Brazilian BBQ I have ever been to was Fogo De Chao. I thought service was excellent, the cheese bread was out of this world (still dreaming about it after almost a year pass). Salad bar was very fresh and plenty of selections. Meat was good but I thought it was quite pricey.

Just today, I went to Picanha in Burbank. I wasn't impress with it at all. It was quite inexpensive actually ($25.90 pp) compared to Fogo, but IMO not worth it. Service was just okay, quality of meat could have been better, I actually preferred their salad bar to the meat (and the salad bar was nothing to talk about!). They kept bringing inexpensive cut; meat was pretty much well done. I had to request the filet. After a while, Gaucho shown up with petite filet; the meat was very tough and I didn't like the marinade at all. It actually smelt like old or rotten piece of meat. I took one bite and just lost the appetite. Yep, pretty bad. I won't recommend Picanha to anyone.

[Dorothy]

A friend and I tried Amazon in Fullerton a couple weeks ago. It was my first churrascaria experience, but I really enjoyed it. I found it well worth the price ($23.95/pp).

One thing I particularly remember from the buffet was the gazpatcho "shooters" with a small shrimp in each one.

The meats came out pretty regularly and we got to try just aobut all of them, including alligator, rabbit, quail and duck.

Their website is at: http://www.amazonbbq.com/

[Funwithfood]

I have never tried that place, thanks for posting...

[msmd310]

Fogo de Chao in BH is very good, quite pricey (54 for the dinner- not incl drinks, tax, tip, dessert) very pretty salad bar, nice meats, but a pretty generic selection, and no hot buffet.
I DO love their cheese rolls....

the BEST brazilian BBQ in LA is
Greenfield in West Covina
half the price of FdC
better selection of grilled meats (incl Chicken Hearts)
delish hot dishes...mmmm Feijoada

I just need someone who wants to drive me out there.....

[bittermelon]

When do they have the chicken hearts? I went on a weekday night, so perhaps it's just a weekend thing.

[reality check]

I've been to Greenfield's in Long Beach. I find their meats to be very salty and after awhile they all taste the same.

The different or better cuts of meats, chicken hearts, bacon wrapped turkey, filet mignon do not come around as much as other cuts of meats, you'll get top sirloin all day long.

[Andrew Gore]

At Farmer's Market, I've noticed what appears to be a buffet-style Brazilian place, that always has a long line waiting.

[wilafur]

its not a buffet as you pay for the food by the pound.

[VanNuysBear]

Haven't tried it yet, but Porto Alegro Brazilian B.B.Q. just opened recently at Paseo Colorado in Pasadena.

[wilafur]

there is also m-grill in koreatown.

[AlwayzHungry]

I've only been to Fago de Chao in Beverly Hills but I think the service and food was very good. I'm not a huge meat eater, but I enjoyed their chicken offerings and they have a huge salad bar.

But my favorite food is bread and Fago de Chao has these delicious cheese bread rolls that kept being renewed when they got cold. We didn't have to ask or anything!

It's pretty pricey though... I went for lunch with a friend and the total was around $90 w/o tip... Dinner is around $50 a person... but I heard the meat is mostly the same...

Must try those others and compare...

[Norm Man]

Other Brazilian BBQ Buffets include Fago de Chao in Beverly Hills, Samba in Redondo Beach, By Brazil II in Torrance and Rio in Encino.