food – Chamas do Brazil – Arlington, Texas USA

Chamas do Brazil
4606 South Cooper Street
Arlington, TX 76017
(817) 375-0250
Chamas do Brazil

February 2, 2015

Chamas do Brazil is a Brazilian styled Churrascaria located in South Arlington. The focus here is meat, meat, more meat and maybe some salad and dessert wedged around yet more meat. All of this served in one of the nicer venues in the franchise dominated Arlington dining scene.

The salad bar is one of the better salad bars in the area. It matches well with other Churrascaria in the Dallas Fort Worth area. All of the usual suspects are here such as Caesar, Waldorf, Iceberg, Spring mix, etc… Hearts of Palm (a personal favorite), prepared salads such as carrots and raisin, soups, charcuterie meats and cheeses, etc… One could easily make a meal from the salad bar alone. This would be an excellent option for somebody visiting during the work week on a lunch hour.

The restaurant has a pretty wide range of meats available for service tableside. All of the typical meats one might expect are present such as picanha (top sirloin rump roast), picanha com alho (garlic) alcatra (top sirloin), fraldinha (bottom sirloin), sausages, bacon wrapped chicken, filet mignon, etc… They also serve lamb loin, lamp chops and the ever elusive beef ribs carved on a wooden carving board. During this particular visit they had BBQ pork ribs as well which I rarely if ever see at a Churrascaria. So the meat selections are wide and in almost all cases well prepared. My only disappointments were the sausages (off tasting) and bacon wrapped chicken (way too dry).

The only negative I have about Chamas do Brazil is the price for the dinner rodizio (i.e. your price per person for the all inclusive, all you can basically eat dinner). Adult pricing is $44.99 per person. That is top dollar for rodizio in the Dallas Fort Worth Churrascaria market. Granted the food and atmosphere here is the best rodizio Arlington has to offer but it isn’t the only option and others are better value on the quality versus price scale. Just my two cents worth of opinion.

Service was good throughout. Our waitress made frequent visits to make sure all was OK. The meat service was quick and regular which is always desired at a Churrascaria.

Chamas do Brazil has a basic but decent wine list available. It is presented on a tablet so you can easily search and sort as needed. Prices seem roughly 2 times retail, maybe 3 times retail for easy to recognize steak wines. The restaurant has a mixed beverage permit so they cannot allow BYOB under state law.

Reservations are accepted but walk-in is typically quick based on two visits. Parking is free self park in the strip center lot in front of the restaurant. Attire is casual: jeans and polo get the job done. Major credit cards are accepted.

Conclusion: Good Churrascaria and Salad Bar albeit a little pricy. I’ll still go back occasionally.

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food – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

I recently found this mostly complete but unposted draft so I’m posting it here albeit late in the hopes it’ll help others. Hopefully, enjoy.

Brasil!

July 1st through 16th, 2014

We were in Rio de Janeiro for the first half of July 2014 to attend World Cup 2014. Naturally as a result we were able to eat at a lot of different restaurants during our stay. Unfortunately, I was constricted on time and being sick a good portion of the time so I didn’t really have the time nor energy to put together detailed individual reviews of each restaurant. So I thought at the minimum I should share some thoughts about each place to perhaps help point others towards places to try themselves.

Please bear in mind we spent by far the bulk of our time in the Ipanema Beach area so a lot of the places are located there. Particularly around the Praça General Osório. Incidentally there is a metro stop right there in the Praça making it easy to access these restaurants from other areas of the city.

Lanchonete e Bar Nabuco
Rua Joaquim Nabuco, 127 – Ipanema
RJ
20080-030, Brazil

This is the first place we ate at here in Ipanema. We were looking for a pizza place our landlord recommended but we couldn’t find it walking around the entire block. We had just flown in from Porto Alegre and were tired and hungry and stumbled onto this on the beach so dinner it was! Seems a bit more oriented towards a bar at least at night but they do serve a decent range of food throughout the day. I ended up eating a steak that was pretty good, nothing great, got the job done. Drinks are nice and stiff so that made me happy. I might go back.

Lanchonete e Bar Nabuco: OK

Casa da Feijoada
Rua Prudente de Moraes 10
Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro 22420040, Brazil

We popped in here as it was right across the street from our rental apartment and my wife loves Feijoada so this was a natural first fit for lunch. The feijoada was good. Some of the best we enjoyed while in Brazil. The bean juice they bring to you as a cocktail is pretty killer albeit just a bit salty. I guess that’s why it tasted so good with the Caipirinha. Overall it was a good lunch but it was definitely on the pricey side of the ledger. Beware.

Casa da Feijoada: Good but seemed a little pricey

Banana Jack
Metrô Ipanema
R. Visc. de Pirajá
Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 22420-010, Brazil

We ate dinner here one evening. It was weird. First up you got a card at the front door and I guess if you didn’t get your butt out of there before the band started playing or I presume spent a certain amount of money eating and drinking then you got popped with a cover charge for watching the band. Next up is the concept. The place looks like a Bennigans meets Outback meets Applebees meets Whatevertheheck. At first I was kind of stoked after spending 4 weeks in Brazil to see some guilty pleasures like chicken wings, burgers and beer. Unfortunately they failed miserably at executing any of the above. The wings were like triple breaded tempura wings. I asked for a medium burger and got a stone cold burger. Told them to warm it and got a surface of the sun burnt piece of shoe leather. Apparently cooking in grades is foreign to these guys. Anyway, the food was not good. Fortunately we got a “Saida” card for getting out of there before the band started and didn’t have to pay for that as well.

Banana Jack: I will not go back

Sindicato Chopp
Avenida Atlântica, 3806 – Copacabana
Rio de Janeiro – RJ
22070-001, Brazil

We walked down to Copacabana Beach and this was the first place that popped up on the radar before hitting the beach so we hit it for lunch. I had a simple hot ham and cheese sandwich with fries and a couple of namesake Chopp beers. First impression was “eh, not that great” but in retrospect it was decent. Basic fare with a pretty good view. Pricing was acceptable given service and location.

Sindicato Chopp: I’d give it a second shot for lunch

Felice Caffè
Rua Gomes Carneiro, 30 – Ipanema
Rio de Janeiro – RJ
22071-110, Brazil

We noticed this place our first night here in Ipanema but didn’t bother to step inside. That was a mistake. We finally ate dinner here and I have to say this is easily one of the best restaurants we’ve eaten at in Rio de Janeiro. The focus is pretty much Italian with a few twists around that. I had a traditional ravioli dish in a tomato sauce that I’ll call “New York City Gravy”. That’s exactly what it reminded me off and I was all over it. Loved it. Definitely one of the best pasta dishes if not the best yet basic pasta dish I’ve had so far in Brazil. Plus the bonus here is they have a cocktail list that is patterned after an American bar list and they actually know how to make the drinks on this list. For the first time since I arrive over 4 weeks ago I finally got a dry vodka martini that actually tasted and smelled like a dry vodka martini. Well done. Naturally I had a few more in celebration.

The food was good, the drinks good, the service good, the prices good. Good enough we ate here twice in one week. Enough said.

Felice Caffè: recommended

Brasileirinho

Didn’t even bother to take notes. No recommendation.

Stambul Bar Arabe
Rua Domingos Ferreira
Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This place was on the corner near our apartment in Ipanema. It was a nice change in pace to eat some food with a strong Middle East influence. The food was good quality with good flavor. Prices good. Service good. I’d stop in again at some point for a lunch but probably not much more.

Stambul Bar Arabe: good for a lunch at least

Brasinha de Ipanema Galetos
Rua Gomes Carneiro, 112, Loja A
Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 22071-110, Brazil
+55 21 2247-3778

This place was pretty much a repeat of the place above. It was on the opposite corner down the street from our apartment in Ipanema. This place serves basic Brazilian cuisine, ice cream and sundries like candies, gum, papers, etc… The food was decent flavor, decent quality and inexpensive. Once again not a bad drop in for a quick and inexpensive lunch.

Brasinha de Ipanema Galetos: good for a lunch at least

Bar Abencoado
Pão de Açúcar
Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 22210-260, Brazil
+55 21 2275-8925
http://www.abencoadorio.com.br/index_arquivos/slide0001.htm

This bar is located atop Sugar Loaf (there are two stops to Sugar Loaf and this is the first before heading to the “top”). Nice little bar with really good drinks and decent, light snacks. Definitely worth popping in for a drink while visiting Sugar Loaf but not a destination until itself.

Bar Abencoado: good for a drink and snack while visiting Sugar Loaf

Confeitaria Colombo
Rua Gonçalves Dias, 32
Centro, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 20050-030, Brazil
+55 21 2505-1500
http://www.confeitariacolombo.com.br/siteen/

Austrian Konditorei located in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. The restaurant has been here over a 100 years and for good reason. Good quality lunches, reasonable prices, excellent Old World ambience. Obviously the strength here is the desserts washed down with a great cup of hand pulled coffee.

Confeitaria Colombo: Definitely recommended for at least one lunch during your visit

Terzetto Ristorante
Rua Jangadeiros, 28
Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 22420-010, Brazil
+55 21 2247-6797
http://www.terzetto.com.br/

This Italian inspired restaurant is focused mainly on seafood. Located one block over from our apartment it was easily in the top two restaurants we ate at during our five week visit to Brazil. Excellent, fresh seafood with inventive as well as classic preparations. Extensive wine list with good quality stemware to match. High level service. Good ambience. The restaurant basically has everything right. The only problem is what you would expect with a place of this caliber: price. It is pricey but not enough that it chased us away. We ate here twice in one week we enjoyed it so much. We weren’t alone. The place was busy both evenings we were there, completely full one of those two evenings.

Terzetto Ristorante: Definitely recommended for a nice evening out

Fazendola
Rua Jangadeiros, 14
Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 22420-010, Brazil
+55 21 2247-9600
http://www.fazendola.com.br/

This is a little casual place next to Terzetto Ristorante. They typically serve Brazilian food, sushi and pizza. Yeah, quite the eclectic mix. On busy nights, particularly weekends, they setup a casual outdoor restaurant across the street in the park. That’s where we ate. We focused on pizzas and such. The food was good, tasty and fairly inexpensive. Definitely worth checking out at least once.

Fazendola: worth a quick drop in when you have no other plans and you’re wearing shorts

D.R.I.
Rua Barão da Torre, 248 – Ipanema
Rio de Janeiro – RJ
22441-010, Brazil

We popped in here for lunch after a long walk around the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. The restaurant and the menu looked interesting and I wouldn’t mind going back again to try some different fare. Saturdays they prepare Feijoada much like many Mexican restaurants in the U.S. prepare Menudo on Saturdays. So we went with the Feijoada despite saying we were done with it having it so many times already on this trip. I’m glad we did it. It was easily one of the best Feijoada we had during our stay.

D.R.I.: recommended.

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Travel – Brazil – It’s a wrap!

Brasil!

July 26, 2014

Well we’re finally back from our 35 day trip to Brazil to attend the World Cup so I thought I’d share some random thoughts on our visit.

The most common question I’ve received since I practically first set foot on Brazilian soil has been “How do you like Brazil?”. More on that one later.

I’ve been told by many people I’ve met over time that Brazilian people are some of the friendliest and nicest people you’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting. For the most part I can attest to this. Just about everybody we met was very friendly and helpful. However, the dark side is most people don’t really realize how innately capitalistic Brazilians are. Sometimes the overly helpfulness is because they have their left hand in your pocket. I’m not saying this to be mean, just candid. This happens everywhere in the world and it certainly happens in Brazil. Just letting you know sometimes that smile is there because you’re being sized up on whether you’ll pay $50 or $100.

My goodness there are a lot of beautiful Brazilian people. You can’t stand on a sidewalk swinging a dead cat over your head and not hit 12 beautiful people with one swing. These are the people you see on your television back home. However, there are tons of people here in Brazil that are not quite as beautiful. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I’m the ugly fat Gringo here myself so I have nothing to say. But there are an awful lot of people like me down here. Stated otherwise, normal people.

On the heels of the above paragraph Brazil has some of the most stunning and beautiful landscapes you’ll see before you exit this spinning ball of ice called Earth. We saw mountain after river after ocean after waterfall after you name it. The Brazilians are truly blessed with some natural beauty you don’t see just every day. However, Brazil has a serious poverty issue as well. You can see equally ugly vistas around any corner. People living in a lean to, sleeping on a cot under a business door jam to avoid the rain, walking through two feet of water in their homes while you pass by on a brand new multi-million dollar subway line right above. This country has a lot of poor and a lot of squalor and without getting too political about this I think the government needs to step in and do something because sometimes only something as big as the government can fix something that is that badly broken. Enough said.

We were here for the World Cup and make no mistakes: soccer is religion here. Not only is it religion here it is religion for just about every country that played here during this tournament. These people take this very seriously. They will cry uncontrollably at a loss while the next guy in line will beat your ass because you’re wearing the jersey of the team that just beat his. So it is all fun, well and good but make no mistakes. This is a serious affair when you attend the World Cup and the deeper teams go into the tournament the more serious it gets.

If you really like pepper on your food then you had better bring some with you in your suitcase. Carry it around in your pocket every time you think you might be eating a meal. These people have a serious aversion to pepper. Something to do with trading with another country in their history and only receiving pepper in return. In any case, you’ll have a really hard time finding it on any table in Brazil and if you ask for it you’re going to get a small jar of pepper sauce similar to Louisiana or Tabasco or Sriracha.

Along the lines of the previous paragraph if you have a strong affinity for things like ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise then you might think about bringing those with you as well. If you ever find these on a table you’ll likely find a 1 gram packet of something that once upon a time might have resembled the condiment you’re seeking. Odds are pretty high it won’t even be there and if you ask for it you won’t get it. If you do, see above. It’ll be a 1 gram packet of suck.

If you are in a big city like Rio de Janeiro think long and hard about ever taking your cell phone out of your pocket while in public. The second you raise it to your ear I will just about guarantee you that you are now a made target waiting to happen. You might win, you might lose. In either case, I don’t think it is worth it. We saw this in action ourselves and it is quite fast and dare I say impressive to witness. If you really need to even carry your cell phone with you always step inside someplace to make or take a call or exchange text messages.

Along the lines of above plan on getting pickpocketed at some point in your trip. Take the necessary precautions to not get pickpocketed but plan on getting robbed at some point in your trip. If you do get robbed it’ll be done and over with and on you go. If you don’t, you’ll consider all things great and a wonderful vacation had. I don’t say this to be mean or negative but the reality is we stayed at several hotels across several cities and I heard several stories over the course of the trip of somebody getting robbed or pickpocketed. It just happens with a reasonable enough frequency here that you might get nailed so prepare for it and forget about it if it happens. All the normal rules apply. Don’t go anywhere alone, down dark streets, carry objects out in the open, wear any jewelry, dress flashy, etc… Same things you’d practice in any major city in the world. Some of the best advice I heard before this trip was “Don’t take anything with you in the morning that you want to bring back in the evening.”

If you’re flying inside the country TAM has made great strides in improving their fleet and service.  They are actually now part of the OneWorld Alliance they’re doing so well.  On the flip side Gol has fallen quickly and hard after their promising start.  I’d say avoid Gol at this point.  Azul is a bit of an outlier but I enjoyed both flights as they are a 2 by 2 leather seat configuration with plenty of room, live TV, etc…  Patterned after U.S. carrier JetBlue.  I also heard that if you can get it due to limited routes most Brazilians that want a quality experience use Avianca.

Brazilian drivers including your taxi driver love their cell phones while driving.  Make no mistake, everybody has a minimum of one cell phone stuck to their ear while driving, taxi drivers being professionals have two while they are driving.  Don’t fear for your safety.  They are properly distracted.  If they hang up the phone and see what you’re seeing while they’re driving they’d shit their pants in fear and kill you in a fiery crash.  Roll with it.  It is normal in Brazil.

So back to the original question. “How do you like Brazil?” The answer is I like Brazil just fine. It is a beautiful country filled with happy, tortured souls if that makes any sense at all. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to Rio, explore the Iguazu Falls and visit Florianópolis which is the one city I wanted to visit that I didn’t get to visit on this trip. There are also a couple of minor areas like Paraty. So yes, I like Brazil and would go back. I’m just not in a hurry to return. After all, I have two more continents to visit.

Hope to see you again soon.

Tchau!

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Brasil! – Day 36 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

July 16, 2014

Today is day 36 for us here in Brazil. This is our final day in the country. Our bird back to the U.S.A. takes off a little after 09:30PM this evening. God willing we’ll be back on American soil first thing tomorrow morning.

There really isn’t anything to report for today. Today is what I can a dead day in traveling. We’re kind of in limbo. You have to be out by 10AM. You have to leave your bags someplace. You try to figure out something to do until it is time to go to the airport.

I probably won’t see you tomorrow but I will soon. I’ll try to put together a final wrap to the trip over the next day or so.

Hope to see you again soon.

Tchau!

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Brasil! – Day 35 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

July 15, 2014

Today is our 35th day here in Brazil. It is our last official day of the trip. We’ll be here pretty much a full day tomorrow but our overnight flight home leaves at 9:30PM local time so we’ll be heading to the airport somewhere between 5-6PM local time.

Today was lazy butt day. I’m sure PURPLE doesn’t approve but we both slept late, she worked a lot, I worked some, we had an early lunch since we had no breakfast and we basically hanged really close to the apartment all day. Boo…but I’m exhausted and sick so I need it.

Dinner tonight was at Tremezzo. Another excellent dinner. Highly recommended.

Tomorrow we are homeless. We have to be out of our apartment by 10AM. There is another American couple on the way in as we speak. So our host will place our luggage in his extra room downstairs and we’ll try to figure out how to be homeless for about 7 hours before we head to the airport.

Hope to see you here tomorrow. I doubt it as I’ll be completely out of pocket but it is what it is.

Tchau!

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Brasil! – Day 34 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

July 14, 2014

Finals Argentina v Germany

Today is day 34 for us here in Brazil.

Germany are World Champions! Deutschland Weltmeister! No matter how you say it like honey dripping off the end of your tongue. Four years of planning this trip with tons of go, no go decisions along the way and we’ve finally culminated with me not only attending my first and perhaps last World Cup Final but I got to see my beloved Germany take the trophy home. I really couldn’t be any happier. The crowd and environment were truly electric from the start of the closing ceremonies through the presentation of trophy. The stadium literally stood packed full of both German and Argentina fans until well after the trophy was presented. What a sight it was to see. I’m so glad I finally got to experience it.

Now onto today…

Christ the Redeemer

Today we’re up early and attum. We’re off to see Christ the Redeemer this morning. I made reservations Saturday morning and barely got a morning reservation for today! The place is hopping I tell you.

So our landlord called two taxi companies and none could provide taxis. Late already we headed down to the busy corner and tried to hail a taxi for way too long. None were available. Every taxi was occupied. Finally we decided to head across the plaza and see if we could catch one there. No success for way too long again. Finally a taxi let somebody out right in front of us and we snagged it. We were off to our appointment albeit it seriously late.

Then we hit traffic. A wall of it. There are two ways there so we u-turn and go the other way. Another wall of traffic. So we sit. And sit. And sit. Finally we get to our appointment about 45 minutes late. We’re a no show. However, they were kind enough (aka we got there early enough in the day still) that they rescheduled us for an appointment two hours after our original one. So we sit around for roughly half that before we finally figure out that yes indeed, if there is space on the train, they’ll take you regardless of your appointment. So finally around 11AM this morning we began our climb of the mountain to Christ the Redeemer.

Man oh man this sucker is up there! He’s much more imposing that close up as well. Has to be, being the son of god and stuff like that. The views of Rio are absolutely spectacular from this vantage point as well. Unfortunately, you have to experience this with roughly double the capacity of the place. Everybody and their dog is up there. They’re laying on the ground trying to snap photos from that angle. They’re doing selfies from every corner. They’re blocking the stairs down to the viewing area to take pictures of their friends below. They’re hogging every sliver of concrete rail available. This jesus dude is pretty freaking popular apparently! We did manage to muscle a view pictures before calling it Christ Almighty. Caught a quick drink in his cafe & bar overlooking the ocean before heading back down his mountain.

Then the fight for a taxi began again. We tried this side of the street. That side of the street. Up. Down. Thought I had one but self righteous taxi driver said get in the line across the street. Finally and literally 30 seconds later not so self righteous as long as the money spends taxi driver showed up right behind him and after dumping his previous patrons we were off to the races.

The races to sit in traffic. Jesus (sorry, I just saw you and now I’m using your name) this town is nuts today! So we sit in traffic where traffic normally isn’t according to our taxi driver. I believe these guys because they do this for a living and they hate sitting in traffic more than anybody else. Finally, around 2PM local time our taxi driver drops us off at the same plaza where we departed 5 hours earlier. We’re 7 hours into this day and we’ve done 1 thing that I thought we’d have wrapped up well before noon.

Lunch was at Terzzeto Cafe. It was good. I liked it despite throwing their food all over my shirt. This shirt has taken a beating on this trip.

The afternoon was lazy. I’m pooped and hitting my wall at this point. Hung around the room and did basically nothing other than screw off and nap a bit. Sometimes you just need that.

Dinner was a return trip to Felice Caffe. I really dig this place. It wasn’t quite as good as the first time but I still really dig it.

Hope to see you here again tomorrow.

Tchau!

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Brasil! – Day 33 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

July 13, 2014

Finals – Argentina v Germany

FINALS DAY!!!

The day has finally arrived. Today is day 33 for us here in Brazil and the main reason we’re here has finally arrived. Today is FINALS DAY!!! Today we finally get to attend our first and perhaps even last World Cup Finals game. I’m so excited right now. I look at these tickets and they are like gold bars in my hands.

My beloved Germany takes on the boring Argentina team today. Hopefully Argentina will show up and decide to actually score goals today. If not, I hope they are suitably punished by Germany for not trying. I desparately want just a wee bit of excitement in my finals match today. Go Germany!

I’m finally decked out in my Germany jersey this morning. I even brought along my club team Bayern Munich hat to compliment the ensemble. Hopefully it will bring the German team a little good luck and a win for the cup.

Germany Uber Alles

Early rise today followed by an early breakfast and early preparations for a trip to the world famous and historic Maracana Stadium! Kick off is at 4PM local time but the closing ceremonies start closer to 2PM local time. Gates usually open 3 hours beforehand and it is roughly a 35 minute train ride with no hiccups so we’ll be out of here by 11AM this morning. This will be a full day commitment! I’m posting now in case I can’t make it back later this evening. If I can I’ll update this post later. In the meantime enjoy the glory that is World Cup!

Maracana

Hope to see you here tomorrow.

Tchau!

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