Photo © Fogo De Chao[AO468a]
The large influx of International visitors to Orlando has brought some exciting dining traditions to our area. South American [highlight]Churrascaria Restaurants[/highlight] have been popping up around town for quite some time, bringing authentic flame-grilled meats, served in an all-you-can-eat style. The term associated with this type of restaurant, Churrascaria, has a Portuguese origin and roughly translates to ‘barbecue’.
So how is a Churrascaria restaurant different than a regular steakhouse? These restaurants are part buffet, part table service. A large salad/food bar is prominently featured in the dining area, providing easy access for you to serve yourself salads, rice, beans, cheese and bread. When you are ready for the main course of grilled meats, just use the disk or token at your table to signal to the waiters to stop by with their current selection. There is usually a green side for ‘go’ and a red side for ‘stop’ – pretty simple.
It’s a wonderful, bustling atmosphere with gaucho clad waiters serving skewers of grilled meat table-side. For true meat-lovers, this is the equivalent of a kid in an all-you-can eat candy store. A large selection of grilled meats, including prime beef, chicken, lamb and pork are available at most Churrascaria restaurants. Eat as much as you like, of the selections that you choose.
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8282 International Drive, Orlando 32819
Though the meat here is prime, the expansive salad and sides bar can also be a full meal by itself with sliced salami, fresh cheese, and a grand selection of gourmet salad options. Every time that I have dined at Fogo de Chao, the service has been first rate. A very attentive staff that works well as a team to make sure your experience is top-notch. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Children ages 7 – 12 are half price.
5259 International Drive, Orlando 32819
Close to the Prime Outlets, this popular Churrascara restaurant is one of the largest of it’s kind in the area. A continuous selection of grilled meats are served table-side. The restaurant is open nightly for dinner and for lunch Friday through Sunday. Children ages 6 – 12 are half price. Bar happy hour prices are from 4:30pm – 7pm Monday through Friday.
