Restaurant Review - Fogo De Chao, or Holy Meat on a Stick

A normal night out with a few friends all of a sudden turned into a celebration. I don't know what we were celebrating, other than the fact it was Thursday and this particular group of friends hadn't seen much of each other over the summer. So rather than join the rest of Minnesota at the fairgrounds, since this was the end of buy Ritalin online we all met up at a ginormous restaurant on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis for a different kind of "food on a stick" experience. This joint seats over 200 people and was very crowded so I guess we weren't the only ones looking for alternatives to Sloppy Joe on a stick. Fogo de Chao, (Portuguese for campfire) serves all of their meals on a stick. Well they're actually more like a cross between a long sword and barbecue skewer. This Brazilian chain opened in late April and has been winner with locals and tourists alike, but most likely tourists I suspect. Our local fascination with food on a stick really doesn't go much beyond Labor Day.

The food service at Fogo is made up of two very distinctive features. The first is a Class A salad/cold appetizer bar. The self service island dominates the center of the dining room loaded with a great selection of cold salads, sliced charcuterie, cheeses, thick asparagus stalks, large hearts of palm and smoked salmon to name just a few of the more notable treats. This salad bar eaten alone would make a worthy reason to visit. And it is available by the way without having to partake in the meat on a stick portion of the show.

The meat... wow, a seemingly endless parade of costumed "gouchos" att conference call your table, sometimes two or three at a time for large groups, ready to carve a slice or un wedge a chunk of simply roasted meat. The signal for the parade to start or stop is a colored coaster. Green on one side and red on the other spur the gauchos into action. Beef, pork, lamb and chicken in various shapes arrive warm and well seasoned. I tried to taste them all and paid dearly for it later that night. (Thank You Tums)

I really really liked the little side dishes brought with little or no fanfare to the table. (As if the salad bar and meats weren't enough) First to be brought out while we were still having cocktails was a basket of warm pao de queijo, melt in your mouth baked cheese puffs made with chewy cassava flour and parmesan cheese. These little beauties are addicting foils to a chilled Caiprihna, the high octane lime and cachaca national cocktail of Brazil. During the meal more side dishes in tiny silver platters are set on the table. One was filled with an ok mashed potato, but the other two were real treats. Fried polenta, crispy on the outside with a creamy slightly cheesey inside and fried bananas, sweet and warm.

We actually made it to dessert. We tried a few Creams, ice cream and fruit blends. Or fruit shakes north of the pampas. And a passable Key Lime pie that was actually a welcome tangy respite from all the rich meat.

This is a real party experience. Fogo is not the place to go for a light bite. You need to go hungry and be prepared to overeat. To put it in Minnesota terms, dinner at Fogo De Chao is a lot like a trip to Target. You know how it is, you go in for one thing and come out with a hundred dollars worth of stuff you didn't know you needed. With its over abundant salad bar and tasty parade of meat, an overstuffed feeling after dinner at Fogo is a hard trap to avoid.

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Tobie began his career as part of a restaurant and tavern family in Chicago. As a student of liberal arts at Kendall College he discovered his calling in the restaurant industry. Leaving school before graduation, he accepted an apprenticeship under Chef John Snowden at Dumas Pere LEcole de la Cuisine Francais.

The classic French apprenticeship prepared him for a career as Chef and consultant. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises re-opening of the legendary Pump Room in 1977 was his first project. Since then, he has used his creative talents working with restaurants all over the country. He currently resides in Minneapolis working with an active list of consulting projects including, The Sample Room, a renovation of an old bar to a modern eatery Ikes Bar and Grill, classic dining in downtown Minneapolis, Monkey Dish Bar and Grill ; an outrageous fun concept in suburban Chicago among others. His articles have appeared in various local publications and he makes regular appearances on radio and TV. He is working on a book called IMPROV COOKING.