Let us bring a little South American flavour to your reading with this journal entry. Ready muchachos?
The Churrasco-style is a special way of serving food, originating in Latin America. The term 'churrasco' refers to grilled meat - a prominent feature in the cuisine of Bolivia, Argentine, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Brazil. This original feasting method was mostly practiced by Gauchos - equivalent to American cowboys. Historically, these nomadic horse-riders lived in the Pampas region, which extended from the Andes, to Uruguay, and to the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. They thrived on hunting wild cattle, as early as the year 1580. In the 18th century, Gauchos were recorded by the famous travel writer Alonso Carrió de la Vandera. When he passed by what is now Northern Argentina, he learned of the gaucho way. Commercial cattle ranching began in the second half of the 18th century. The Churrasco- style is now preserved in many restaurants across the world.
So what is the Churrasco-style? Well, as mentioned at the beginning - it's all about grilled meat cooked on an open fire (traditional to the Gaucho cooking). Cuts of meat are placed on skewers and cooked on an open fire until grilled (or basically BBQ'd) to perfection.
All of this was experienced and learned about at a beautiful location in Niagara Falls, ON (yes, we've expanded our horizons a bit).
Tonight's Feature: Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse
So here's how it goes - You make a reservation (or walk in, but be ready for the line up), you sit down, you grab your coaster and flip it to green. What does this mean? "GO!". Yes, it signals the servers to begin serving you. As long as you have that coaster flipped to green, the gauchos will come to you and serve you meat from a skewer. They do stay traditional in the way they serve you, as well as the clothes they wear. All servers wear traditional gaucho clothing. Once you're all filled up on the meat for the night, you can flip the coaster to red. Even if you're not done, but really need a break - flip it to red and back to green when ready! During your break you can enjoy a glass from the list of wines they have, as well as their humongous salad bar. If the meat choices weren't enough..you also have 70+ items to choose from at the bar. They include various salads, sea food, cheeses, salamis, etc. The salad bar is all buffet style.
So...pretty simple! But yet, an amazing experience.
What's on the menu then? Well more like "What's on the skewers?". Here's what they have as a selection:
-Chicken Leg
-Chicken Thigh
-Bacon Wrapped Chicken
-Lamb Leg
-Beef Rib Eye
-Beef Top Sirloin
-Beef Rump Steak
-Beef Bottom Sirloin
-Garlic Beef Steak
-Beef Short Rib
-Parmesan Pork Loin
-Pork Sausage
-Salmon
-Grilled Pineapple
So that's it. A restaurant full of flavour, all stemming from a historical tradition. The night we visited, we were lucky to catch a salsa performance.
Ps. Restaurant directly linked to Fallsview Casino... yeah get your gamble on!