porto alegre brazilian steakhouse

pasadena, ca

website

my brother had just had his medical school graduation ceremony at the pasadena civic auditorium. mom, dad, aunt tina, amanda, cindy, my niece, and i were all waiting outside, pondering where to take the newly minted doctor out for a celebratory lunch. well, my niece was doing less pondering and more singing and dancing. i really wanted to go to koreatown for my favorite korean bbq but it was too far and there were too many of us to make that happen.

glancing across the street, we noticed that the shopping mall had a churrascaria on the top floor. a quick check on yelp confirmed that it was decent and my sister called to make lunch reservations. i really don't know how we survived before iphones. anyway, to cut to the chase, the buffet portion of the churrascaria wasn't great. the gougeres were okay, but everything else was boring. what was great, however, was the meat - the sirloin and skirt steak were my favorites. perfectly cooked with just the right amount of char. the photographed piece doesn't look very good, but i forgot to take a picture of the good stuff. sorry.

pampas

palo alto, ca

website

this is a favorite special occasion spot for derek and myself. peak times require a reservation, but we prefer to dine early when it's less crowded and everything is fresh. it's a churrascaria, similar to churrascaria plataforma in nyc - a set price for all-you-can-eat. they give you a disc that is green on one side, red on the other. flip it to red while you check out the salad bar (my favorites are the marinated mushrooms and the coconut couscous). flip it to green for servers to come by and slice you a piece of meat. my favorites are the top sirloin, the skirt steak, and the tri-tip. they also bring around filet mignon, lamb, spicy chicken, housemade chorizo, and grilled pineapple.

one of their tricks to keep you from eating too much expensive meat is to put really good sides on your table - gougeres, fried polenta, and fried bananas. the gougeres are amazing, especially fresh out of the oven. pacing yourself is key when you eat here - it helps to order a good bottle of red wine. we like the napa cabernet sauvignon from their wine list. flip the disc to red, take a wine break, maybe even a little conversation with your dining companion, then flip it back to green for more meat.

sushi samba

new york, ny

website

it took a while before derek and i decided to try this restaurant. between the asian fusion menu, trendy-looking exterior, club-like interior, it didn't really look like our scene. (although it was featured on an episode of satc - "and you can forget samba!" yells samantha as she storms off). turns out, however, that the food is very good. it's a mix between brazilian, peruvian, and japanese cuisines. i know, it sounds weird and it is weird, but the dishes turn out pretty tasty.

pictured is our favorite dish - the seared otoro kobe beef, served mostly raw with warm japanese mushrooms, ponzu gelée, and truffled tofu crema. it's only about 5 bites of food, for $3 a bite. but each bite is luxurious, meaty, and delicious. we usually order a couple of other things there, but we never end up full because it just costs too much and takes so long for each plate to come out. still, we keep going back for the seared beef. yum.

churrascaria plataforma

w bway (franklin/white)

website

the price of their prix fixe dinner has increased significantly since i took ryan and cindy here on their nyc vacation a few years ago. the price is understandable because it is all-you-can-eat, but i simply don't eat enough to justify the cost. i'm saddened because i like this place - great food and lots of fun. at the beginning of the meal, everyone gets a disc that is green on one side, red on the other. if you leave the red side up, you are free to go to the "salad" bar, which includes sushi, cheese, risotto, salads, various antipasti, and the BEST chicken salad i've ever tasted. i would be completely satisfied with a meal that consisted entirely of the "salad" bar.

but wait, there's more. flip your disc to the green side and that gives the waiters the green light to start bringing you giant slabs of meat. the meat is often carried by the waiter on a spear. if you would like a piece of a particular cut of meat, the waiter slices off a piece for you. there are all different kinds and cuts - duck, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, chicken, sausage, prime rib, sirloin, beef rib, pork rib - even octopus and salmon. my favorite was the sirloin - fatty and juicy with crispy charred spots. amazing. derek has mastered the art of staring down waiters who are carrying his desired cut of meat. it's quite impressive - he spots them as they walk out of the kitchen and stares at them until they walk to our table. with the price, however, this is a restaurant to save for special occasions - maybe the next time will be when cindy and ryan visit the big apple again!

barros luco

new york, ny

CLOSED

given the success i had with the last recommendation from midtown lunch, jenny and i decided to try another - barros luco. i was drawn by the delicious-looking baked empanadas and jenny was drawn by the massive amounts of avocado used on everything.

unfortunately, they were out of the baked empanadas (by 1:00 pm!) so i ordered the greasier, less-filling fried empanadas. the meat inside was very good, but there just wasn't enough of it. sweet potato fries were bland and soggy. jenny got the hot dog, which was good but again, not very filling. i might come back to try one of the baked empanadas, but this seems like a snack spot rather than a lunch destination.