At Fogo de Chão it costs a mere $75 for the best, most expensive meal you will have in your entire life. The interior didn’t feel nearly as decorated as Alta Via or Yuzu Kitchen, but it was obvious that the price reflected both the food and experience all the same.
Fogo de Chão is an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. After I was seated, my waitress nervously explained to me that the red circles, about the size of a coaster on the white tables, can be flipped to show green instead, signifying that a customer is opting into the meat experience.
To opt into the meat experience a customer must first go to the $32 salad bar which was a metal table full of ice and a conglomeration of gourmet-in-house items like marinated corn, cheese, potato salad and fruit.
Flipping the colored spot to green, and adding the meat experience, is what made the total bill $62.
Before getting to the buffet I could see wait staff walking around the dining room with gourmet meat on a stick searching for green-colored spots. They stopped at each table asking a customer if they would like to try filet mignon, lamb, sirloin, chicken thigh and more.
Each meat was certainly cooked to perfection. Although the chicken breast wasn’t anything special, every other meat had a unique flavor and juice that allowed one’s teeth to sink right through it like butter.
To my left, I wondered how the family of four could decide to bring their two kids to enjoy such a fancy meal.
Every item I tried at the buffet was in the best form the dish could have ever been in. It was like every component of each dish, even down to simple vegetables, was elevated with extra marinade and flavor.
Halfway through the meal, my waitress came over with three yuca fries, three plantains and a plate of flavored mashed potatoes. In comparison to a normal-price restaurant that serves a plantain and yuca side, it was comical for how small it was, but certainly appropriate considering I could barely force myself to eat anything else. This was because I spent so much time stuffing myself with expensive meat and cheese.
The best dish in the meal was probably served first which was the cheese bread appetizer. The flavors of the cheese and bread meld together on the tongue which fooled the taste buds to think that the bread was the cheese and the cheese was the bread.
I couldn’t take boxes home, but I should have put the bread into my pockets. Unfortunately, I do not want to pay $32 just to taste that piece of heaven again.
However, If you have money or know someone who has money that can take you here, go. If you suddenly find $72 on the sidewalk and are thinking about investing it, no. Go to Fogo de Chão. The high price covers the home-cooked and brilliant standards that they serve.
