Churrasco - Magoun Square

[Guido]

Went to Churrasco in Magoun Sq. Somerville on Friday night. I drive by every day and was in the mood for some good meat. It was almost empty when I went in and still almost empty when I left. Sign in the window said $12.99 all you can eat rodizio. Such a good deal I couldn't resist. Inside was spotless and well lit. All the items on the cold buffet were fresh and appetizing. The Brazilian style potato salad was superb; not too much mayo, excellent flavor. Nice greens and salad bar items. The real treat was the protein in sauce category in the hot food buffet. Maybe half a dozen choices - a delicious firm fish, a couple of chicken dishes, one with okra. Several kinds of meat without sauce, also nicely done and delicious. Also great vibrant green leafy greens, almost like they were stir-fried. Of course the staples, white rice and 2 kinds of beans (red & black), were front and center. The grilled meats were the star - the grill is right in view with many varieties of meat on skewers; great tender steak, outstanding beef short ribs, both chicken and pork sausages, little chicken hearts, and breasts (a little dry, but hey). All well seasoned and moist.
You can get the all you can eat plan, as I did, or pay by the pound to eat in or take out. When I went to pay, the owner said I didn't eat enough to pay the full price and gave me a discount (I'm not a real big guy; only had 2 full plates) - that's friendly! They said they do a good lunch business lately but dinner has been very slow since the holidays - it's cold and people have to replenish the kitty after holiday spending. Don't get me wrong; this is a casual place with Formica tables and no liquor license, but it's clean and the food is delicious (and did I mention, cheap?). Give it a try.

[Aromatherapy]

Thanks for the push. I haven't been in since the ownership change a couple years back. FYI, one sign still says Churrasco but another sign has the current name, which I forget but starts with V--not Veronica, but something like that.

[VivreManger]

Do you know if they allow BYOB?

I think the name is Valentin.

I share much of your enthusiasm, but I have not wanted to try the fish since that protein sitting on a steam table seems not to improve with age. Beef and pork only improve with steaming in sauce.

The other grilled meat they often offer is brisket. The precise choices vary by day of the week.

[lipoff]

I think the name is Valentim.

[VivreManger]

Valentim sounds right, particularly since it is Portuguese.

[Guido]

They don't have a liquor license. I didn't ask if BYOB was allowed - is there some sort of law in Somerville that applies, or is it up to the restaurant?

[Libbypizza]

My bf used to live across the street and ate at this restaurant about 7X a week for about 3 years. It is so yummy--I am glad you brought it up on the board!
And yes, we have BYOB'd and they didn't care--granted the owners almost cried when he moved--i don't know if it is cause he was guaranteed money or they liked him as a regular lol.
Sweet owners, delicious food--what more could you ask for?

[itaunas]

It is Valentim under the current owners, Aromatherapy actually ties this back to the original Brazilian restaurant there which was a woman's name (I can't quite pull that out of my memory but maybe its in an old post). It was taken over by a couple from the south of Brazil which made it a churrascaria Churrasco Grill, later the original staff of Churrasco Grill took it over together with the owner of Pampas in Everett, but were also managing the Everett location and one in Worcester which proved to be too much so sold Somerville before finishing the renaming to Pampas (which is why churrasco grill signs are still there). Churrasco grill put a fair amount of effort into renovating it, although some of the tiles maybe original, but as Guido says its a casual place which has been passed off from owner to owner with minimal investment.

Valentim changed the format a little bit, added pizzas (which I believe Pampas had planned as they do in Everett). Shortly after the move, I was a bit disappointed with the churrrasco at Valentim and enjoyed it at Pampas at the same time, although that the same time the buffet foods at Pampas became almost uneatible. Valentim grills over charcoal, is inexpensive and has both rodizio and "marmitex" offerings (fixed price take out) so while I'd say its a bit limited and not as good as Churrasco Grill its worth checking out. Since my last visit they did start advertising that they sell pamonha which is the Brazilian form of tamales (this is a common "festa junina" food and also sold on the beach and at truck stops across Brazil)... if it was easy for me to check it out, I would check that out. If Beer/Wine is a requirement, you should go to Oasis (gas churrasqueira) nearby which offers that (or perhaps Pampas in Everett/Malden if that is convenient) and BYOB is prohibited in Somerville, so its better not to ask the restaurant to do so.

[chickendhansak]

To add to the confusion I think it still goes as "Valentine Pizza and Grill" on Foodler.

[itaunas]

Such things happen all the time with Ethnic restaurants and translators, menu/online services, and web page designers. The name is correct, it just won't help you recognize it driving by. At least they didn't go with Valentinus Bistro (I love how another Brazilian organization in Somerville has mixed Italian and French in their name to sound trendy).

BTW for other Somerville ethnic sineage fun, check out Blessings Grill (?) on Broadway in Somerville. It opened as 509 Bistro, but they kept half of the sign for Minas Grill which says "& Grill" and has part of a cow. Not certain what it should be called now, but the Grill has become part of their name as I see them written up as Blessings Grill because of the sign. That also was named after a female in its more ancient incarnation (in this case the proprietress) Branca's Restaurant.

[VivreManger]

Are they still in business?

I have not been in several months and tried all the numbers I could find for this location, 505 Medford St, Somerville, MA 02145 and none work.

The difficulty is that the resto has had so many names that one can not be certain, but it seems to have gone out of business.

[itaunas]

I am out of town, but they were cleaning the door glass with windex at 10:15am on Monday so that seemed like a pretty good indication they planned to serve lunch. And they looked open another evening. The posted price for the rodizio was $12 and there is a buffet-only all you can eat option of $9-10. I believe they still had signs for pamonha, but it only seemed to have a small Valentim sign whereas it used to be written in larger letters in the window so its possibly changed in some manner but don't think its closed. Not so certain about Acai juice bar further down the street, but I am told its just incognito.