Buffet and steakhouse rarely find themselves in the same sentence, let alone the same establishment. None the less, Fogo de Chao is exactly that. The flat fee of $25 for lunch and $35 for dinner gets you all the succulent meat, extensive salad bar, fried bananas, corn bread, and cheese puffs your stomach can handle. Gauchos bring swords of glimmering meat to your table, unsheath their knives, and serve you tongful after tongful of fillet mignon, sausages, lamb, chicken, sirloin, or any other of their 13 different cuts of meat. A red and green disc indicates your readiness to continue the feast, though the red side is an indicator that you are either resting or finished, it certainly does not stop the temptation of ‘just one more’ bite.

Despite the buffet nature of the restaurant, the quality does not suffer. Come here to indulge, gorge, and bring your gluttony. If you are not waddling out of the restaurant, you are not getting your money’s worth. Dont worry though, you can work it off tomorrow.

Come hungry! You start out with the salad bar – everyone tells you to save room for the good stuff (meat) – but the salad bar is expansive. The highlights of what we chose were smoked salmon, 3-4 kinds of cheeses cut from wheels, artichoke hearts, chilled asparagus spears, sun-dried tomatoes, some kind of fresh mushroom dish, along with salad greens. The meats were tender and had the rich flavor of perfectly grilled dishes. Between my husband and me, I think we tried every cut and each one was a winner! The ribs were good, but not as tender as other choices. They also put baskets of dense, yummy popover-like bread on the table which was unique. We plan to take our family here for a holiday meal. A couple of notes on the atmosphere – be sure to notice the uniforms of the waiters serving the meat, and also take a moment to enjoy the huge floral arrangements on top of the salad bar.

Great unlimited meat! Friendly service, really nice restaurant, excellent food (meat served on skewers, brought to your table; assorted carb side-dishes like fried polenta; high-class salad bar; try the key lime pie for dessert). $40 per person, but well worth it (especially if you arrive hungry).