Pampas is Delicious, Props to Itaunas, Wicked Bargain
With my poor Cafe Belo in Allston still under repair after the fire (there is a sign outside saying the are rebuilding) I hit Pampas in Somerville to sate my Churrasco craving tonight.
Dang, I must say, across the board the quality/taste was WAY better than Cafe Belo. Props to Itaunas for suggesting this place. Of course when it comes to Brazilian vittles he is THE authority and a dang good cook.
Most notably the beef at Pampas was tender, rare, and luscious whereas at Cafe Belo it is usually kinda chewy so I have learned to stick with pork, chicken, etc. and skip the beef.
The plantains were perfectly ripe; at Belo they are often on the green side. I am too lazy to detail every tidbit, but across the board everything was more thoughtfully prepared and just generally tasty.
Also, who knew, but they are doing an $8.99 dinner buffet, which if you ask me is just downright absurd given the quality of the food. Seriously at this price, if you are hungry this might just be the best deliciousness/quantity/price scenario in Boston.
And the gal behind the counter was just sweet and helpful.
Pampas Buffet & Grill
617-960-8978
505 Medford St
Somerville, MA
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Aromatherapy
Apr 4, 2009 03:06 PM
Pampas became Valentim Restaurante e Pizzaria several weeks ago. I saw the signs change but had no chance to investigate until now. They bought it from Pampas, so I assume it's a new kitchen crew but don't know. There's a smallish buffet with the usual stuff, looked decent. They still have the grill in the back. If you've ever longed to try a pizza with mozzarella, banana, sweet condensed milk, cinnamon and brown sugar, or with mozzarella and guava, they've got it, as well as more traditional Italian and Brazilian versions. They also have pasta and other stuff on the menu. $10 minimum for takeout or delivery (delivery up to 5:30 pm). Open daily 11-10.
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re: Aromatherapy
itaunas
Apr 4, 2009 03:28 PM
Aromatherapy, the sale is probably about 6 weeks old and probably dates to when the rodizio changed to $10.99 (as of 2 weeks ago, Malden/Everett was $8.99). I wrote up a long post after talking to the staff in Malden (twice), but didn't do it offline and had posting errors on both attempts. As far as staff, the staff from Churrasco grill became part owners when Pampas bought the restaurant and the moved to the Malden location (so its been different for more than a year) but don't know if it changed again. They are also running a restaurant in Worcester, presumably the Pampas there, so I got the impression running three restaurants was a bit too much work.
None of the Pampas restaurants are related to the Central Square Pampas from the late 80s (someone asked above). I was under the impression the owners of that restaurant (as well as the owner of Axe Brasil in Union Square) went back to Brazil, but don't know for certain.
Both of the sweet combinations you mentioned are pretty common (the cheese/guava is called romeo e julieta), although I would have it as a fried pastel over a pizza. Pastelaria Vitoria Broadway does it as a pastel.
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re: bear
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re: Aromatherapy
Thanks, Aromatherapy and itaunas. That would explain why my son and I couldn't find it last Saturday night. We drove by quickly, not remembering the street address, and decided to go to the Paddock instead rather than backtracking.
Good, if smallish, mussels app., and very good pizza.
I'll have to have my first churassco experience another time.
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Luther
Feb 24, 2009 01:01 PM
Went this weekend with a group, the dinner buffet was $10.50, I would say the place is nice and quiet compared to a lot of the by-the-pound places. Sides were solid but there weren't a whole lot of them. Aside from the salad bar, there was fejoada, some stewed beef, excellent sweet plantains, so-so fried mandioca, barely-cooked and super-heavily-salted collards, and some spaghetti. The meat (sausage, chicken breast, chicken wing, pork loin, beef) was at the salty end of the salty churrasco spectrum, and some slices were so dry that they were sort of jerky-esque. It was all filling and nice but nothing to get really excited about as far as I'm concerned. Desserts are extra.
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I took a group of friends to Pampas last night based on the positive reviews here at Chowhound. I have to say, I was very impressed. AYCE rodizio was only $10.95, and both the selection and quality of the food was excellent. Even the items on the buffet were quite good, unlike at Midwest Grill. There was also a wider selection of meats, and since it was not crowded, you could just walk to the counter where the meats were cooking and ask for whatever you wanted. I definitely preferred it to both Midwest Grill and Oasis.
It was very quiet for a Friday night; there were only 3 or 4 other diners there at 7-8 pm. Hopefully they have enough business to stay open and keep offering that wide array of foods.
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I love this place and have been eating there for some time.
The reason it is so good and cheap is because there's a lot of competition in Somerville. Minas Grill at 89 Broadway was recently revamped and had a $9.49 AYCE last I went. There's another big churrasco on Broadway in East Somerville just past McGrath Highway - can't remember the name - but that's very good too. I wouldn't be surprised if you stumble on to some more in E. Somerville or Little Brazil as it's called.
The so-called well-known ones like Cafe Belo and Midwest Grill really don't even come close and are a waste of money as far as I'm concerned.
Oh those chicken hearts! -
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re: Taralli
StriperGuy
Jan 23, 2009 06:00 AM
Think the Somerville local is trying for a booze license. They have beer taps installed but not working and in googling I saw their support letters from the community for the license.
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re: buffet king
StriperGuy
Jan 24, 2009 01:59 PM
Fairly full complement of Brazilian sides: 2-3 rices, farofa, nice veg options including a small green Brazilian veg that reminded me a bit of thai eggplant. Meat: beautiful tender rare beef, pork, chicken, chicken wrapped in bacon, chicken hearts, chicken wings and more. At the buffet a really nice beef stew and chicken with okra. Think the items vary every day.
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Is this place new? Googling finds a Pampas Buffet & Grill in Everett and scant references to one in Somerville.
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re: Dinsdale45
StriperGuy
Jan 23, 2009 05:28 AM
Both the Everett location and this one are owned by the same people according to the young woman behind the counter.
With regard to the price. I noticed on several different flyers that the "all you can eat" priced has changed around a bit from $12-13, to $9.999, to the current $8.99 which was newly stuck to the takeout menu with a sticker. Honestly it ought to be in the $12-14 range at a minimum just because of the quality. Getting a decent chow on at Cafe Belo, unless you are a really light eater, always seemed to be about $12 bucks.
I definitely have to try Pescatore...
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re: StriperGuy
Aromatherapy
Jan 23, 2009 09:00 AM
They're probably competing with Oasis's $10 AYCE down the street. (I'm stuck on the (fish, mostly) specials at Pescatore--but a dull farmed fish is a dull farmed fish, so order carefully. Their Alfredo was a pleasant surprise.)
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Bob Dobalina
Jan 22, 2009 04:20 PM
Is that $8.99 buffet an all-you-can-eat deal? That's absurd, if so.
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re: Bob Dobalina
StriperGuy
Jan 22, 2009 11:29 PM
As Men Nguyen the professional poker player often says: "all you can eat baby." And seriously it is absurd. The food is just so good.
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re: Bob Dobalina
I just ate at Pampas last night so can clarify some details.
There are two options for pricing--you can either pay by the pound ($4.99/lb), or do the all-you-can-eat thing ($10.95). My DC and I both filled our plates and wound up paying about $6-$7 each for a large amount of delicious food.
For those asking about alcohol, bear in mind that they do have awesome fruit juices here, so if you're someone who enjoys fresh guava or passionfruit juice that's a good option if the BYOB doesn't work out.
They also have tasty-looking Brazilian desserts for around $2-$3 each.
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re: AnyaEssen
StriperGuy
Feb 2, 2009 01:17 PM
They do seem to keep changing the all you can eat price around, cause when I was there it was $8.99.
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re: Luther
StriperGuy
Feb 3, 2009 05:51 AM
Holey moley lots of questions... There is a nice dining area with seating for 20-30 people.
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MC Slim JB
Jan 22, 2009 04:07 PM
Itaunas is a treasure, full of lore on places many Hounds fear to tread. Nonpareil on Brazilian and Portuguese food, given me many great tips that have me scouring the wilds of East Somerville and beyond.
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re: Bob Dobalina
hiddenboston
Jan 23, 2009 05:14 AM
Itaunas has definitely steered me to a number of restaurants that I otherwise wouldn't have considered. With all due respect to MC, Pegmeister and a few others, I probably read his posts more than any others on this site.
There are a number of little dining spots in that part of Somerville/Medford that I want to try, including Pampas. Definitely an interesting neighborhood, restaurant-wise. BTW, I was at nearby Pescatore once again the other night and am really starting to see this place as perhaps my favorite Italian restaurant in the Boston area right now.
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