The Mother Lode for Beef Lovers: Texas De Brazil, a Brazilian Steakhouse

I admit it. I love beef. I hate to love it, but I do. I have gotten a subscription to Vegetarian Times hoping to tame this carnivorous craving I have for steak and meat. Unless you're eating a very tiny amount of it, it's just not healthy for you.

A couple of months ago my 14-year-old son and I decided to try this restaurant after so many people have told us how good it is. My son came walked out there wondering when we could possible ago again. Well, we were celebrating a family event so this time the five us went. This is a price fixed (though expensive) dining experience. The meats are brought to your table by a variety of servers (Gauchos) and you just keep sampling until you scream for mercy.

First Impressions
Upon walking into this non-smoking establishment in Richmond Virginia we were greeted by the hostess who checked us in for our 6:30 pm reservation (reservations ARE suggested for weekends). As we were led on our short walk to the table we passed by the most amazing and colorful salad bar I've ever seen.

After getting seated and giving the waitress our drink orders we moseyed up to the salad bar. Wow. Some of the delectable items included grilled provolone triangles, grilled artichoke bottoms, freshly grilled asparagus with a raspberry vinaigrette sauce, fresh mozzarella, marinated red onions, roasted red and yellow peppers, varieties of olives, fresh romaine with thick sliced parmesan cheese to the side. The balsamic vinaigrette was amazing. There were tons of other items like delicious marinated mushrooms, but I can't go into all of them.

Back at the table....

When we returned to the table the waitress reminded of the color code disks at each person's place sitting. These are cardboard color-coded disks that let the gauchos know if you want to indulge. Green says, "BRING IT ON, DUDE" while turning over the disk to red means, "I surrender!!! I've had enough (for now)."

When you say, "bring it on" a convoy of Gaucho's start making their way to your table with skewers of meats such as filet mignon, filet mignon with bacon, top sirloin, sliced beef rib, salt encrusted flank steak, garlicky salt marinated sirloin, lamb chops, sausage, parmesan encrusted chicken, pork ribs and I know I'm leaving out a few things. All the foods are slowing spin roasted over an open flame. On my first visit my son and myself sat right by the window where we could look in and see the chefs preparing the meats.

If the meats are too rare, you can ask them to make them a bit better done. They will be back shortly with the items cooked to your liking.

If that isn't enough....

Also included with the meal is an unbelievable side dish: fried bananas fixed with cinnamon sugar. Holy cow! This could be a dessert item. Garlic chunky mashed potatoes just scream out to be eaten. I will only have a forkful, because MEAT is what I'm there for and I won't let too much salad, potatoes, bananas, or even the incredible warm bite size cheese rolls they bring to the table ruin my appetite for BEEF!!! I won't even drink a beer because it's too filling! The waiters and waitresses are always on top of refilling water glasses and asking if everything is OK. How could it not be OK? I'm stuffing my face with my favorite foods!

Oh Puleeease!!!! There's more???

Just when you finally turn that disk to red and you're screaming for mercy, like as if you've been tortured, the waitress brings the dessert tray to the table. For mercy's sake! How cruel! My kids wanted to share a piece of a beautifully presented slice of cake that was layered with generous amounts of chocolate and white chocolate mousse. My older son ordered a slice of key lime pie, which was so large he actually had to leave some of it. I ordered a vanilla bean ice cream blended with mango that was a cool and refreshing end to the dinner

HOW MUCH???

This is definitely a place for special occasions. The dinners are $43 each for adults and my 11-year-old twins were considered children and their dinners were 50% of the adult price. If you plan ahead you can sign up online for the E-Club. I got a welcome certificate for 25% off the adult dinners so we saved $32 on our bill. The tab for five us (no alcohol) after the discount and before the tip was $175.00. That's a LOT of money for dinner, but I was not disappointed in the least. One benefit of joining the E-Club is that (as I've been told by friends) that the company will send out various and generous coupons during the year for birthdays and anniversaries! To be fair to the waiters, please remember to tip based on the amount BEFORE the discount!

There are several locations of Texas de Brazil around the country, including locations in Fairfax Virginia, Dallas, Addison and Forth Worth Texas, Memphis Tennessee, Schaumburg, IL (right outside Chicago), Miami, Orlando, Denver, and Aruba.

The Texas de Brazil by our house in Richmond Virginia is located in the Regency Square Shopping Center at 1420 Parham Road. The phone number is 804-750-2003.