More Food, Glorious Food!

(At last, here is the continuation I promised of favorite places to eat/meals here in our area!)

#3 – Imperador

This is not just ANY churrascaria. This is (in our opinion) the BEST churrascaria in our area! When we lived in Utah, we tried out all of the different Brazilian barbeque places as they opened up – Rodizio Grill, Tucanos, Samba Grill, etc. And I really enjoyed them. Imperador is the same style of restaurant, only better! Here's how it works: When you are seated, salads and bread and other small appetizers are brought to your table, and you order drinks of course. There is a huge churrasco, where about 20 types of meat are being cooked on sword-like skewers, rotating over the fire/coals below. As they finish cooking, the waiters bring the skewer of meat around from table to table, fresh from the grill, and offer a huge slab to you. (I think this is what makes it different from the US versions. Instead of a small sliver that you can practically see through, here you basically get mini-steaks each time.) You can eat as much as you like of everything, and more will always be brought until you tell them to stop. The meat selections usually include several types of rib cuts (pork and beef), Picanha/top sirloin, Alcatra (an extremely tender cut of beef that you can't find easily in the US), filet mignon, lamb, chicken hearts, chicken legs/thighs, pork, sausage, … I'm not sure what the names are of the other cuts, but there are a LOT. This particular restaurant also barbecues thick chunks of provolone cheese, one of my favorites! Then of course there is my other favorite - barbecued pineapple smothered in cinnamon. You can get as many slices or pieces as you want, and if you want more of anything, you can ask any of the waiters and they will bring it out just for you. There is one other main reason we go to Imperador, besides the meat: Fried Polenta. Theirs is AMAZING. Served fresh, perfectly crispy on the outside and moist inside! I don't know what the chefs do that makes such a difference, but we could go there, fill up on nothing but polenta frita, and be completely satisfied. But wait, there's more! After an all-you-can-eat dinner of meats, salads, polentas, etc, there is also a dessert bar with about 15-20 different desserts to choose from. Usually they have about 3 different types of pudim, 6-7 types of mousse (You have got to try the mousse de maracuja – passion fruit.), fresh fruits and whipped topping, and ice cream.

By the way, our 2^nd favorite place for churrasco = the home(s) of the Maffei family. And by that, I'm referring to my in-laws and Tiago's uncles, not us. :)

#4 – Buttelinho

Buttelinho is a small restaurant which is actually in the basement of a house, here in Farroupilha. They have a good variety of entrees on their menu. This is one of those places where you have to keep in mind that each entree you order is made to feed 2 adults. Our favorite dishes are the baurus – a large steak which is topped with ham, cheese, and tomato sauce in the last few minutes of being cooked. They use high-quality cuts of meat, including filet mignon. Another good choice is their Bife Parmigiana (Beef Parmesan), where the main difference is that the meat is coated with bread crumbs prior to cooking. There are other topping options as well. And as I mentioned before, there are plenty of refillable side dishes – salad, maionese, french-fries, bread, etc. I have to mention the sides, because in my opinion, they have the best maionese of all the restaurants we have eaten so far. (They are second only to the maionese made by Tiago's dad, which is the very best. End of story.) The menu here does have dessert choices which you can order, but it is very difficult to save space for dessert after all of the other yummy food!

#5 – Come Come

Come Come (which was actually bought out by another place recently, I just can't remember the new name) is a Hamburger place. Don't think “McDonalds.” Think of a Brazilian Red Robin, and I think you'll come close to what this place has. You choose from about 20 types of hamburgers or, as the menu says, “Xburgers” (The letter X is pronounced like “sheeze”.) There is the house special – about ½ pound ground beef patty topped with lettuce, tomato, ham, and cheese. I usually order the “Palmito Xburger”, same sized patty topped with diced palm hearts, cheese, lettuce and tomato. The burger is so big and hard to hold together that you have to keep it wrapped as you eat it. Then the juices all sink to the bottom so the last few bites of the bun are extremely soggy. Luckily I am full long before I get to the soggy part. :) You can also get hamburgers with peas and corn, egg, and other toppings. Or if you want something a little 'nicer', there are also sirloin or bauru sandwiches. (See above for description of bauru.) This type of restaurant is especially popular at night for dinner, as here lunch is the main meal of the day. For those who want a smaller dinner, you can easily cut the burger in half and share with a friend, and still feel like you've had plenty to eat. French Fries and other sides are also available, but are ordered separately.

#6 – Q' Delicia

Everyone here will probably laugh at me for including this on my list of “Top Ten Dining-Out Places”, but my list just wouldn't be complete without it. :) Q'Delicia is a bakery/treat shop/coffee house. Whenever the Maffei family has a dinner together, usually dessert will be bought here as they make AMAZING tortas (sort of a combination of pie and cake) and mousses. They have many salty options, which make great snacks or dinners – pasteis, croquetes, pao de queijo, and other things that I do not even remember the names. Pasteis are made by taking a thin piece of dough, put filling of your choice in the middle, fold it over and pressed closed, then fry in oil. Common fillings here are beef, chicken, cheese, and chocolate (either white or milk chocolate). There are also a variety of sweets to choose from – brigadeiros (gooey chocolate candies), branquinhos (same type of candy only white instead of chocolate), quinjim (made with egg, coconut, and sugar mainly), and many other bonbons. Whatever you order at Q'Delicia, you really can't go wrong. Here is a link to their website so you can see the wonderful little sweets yourself.  Warning:  It may cause drooling.

#7 – Panquecas

I don't know if this is actually the name of a restaurant so much as a menu item, but this is another of our favorite dinners, if we happen to be out shopping at dinner time. Panquecas (read a lot like “Pancake-uhs”) are basically what they sound like. They are a thin pancake similar to a crepe. But here, they are made extra large and stuffed with the filling of your choice. The pancake is then folded around your filling and cooked again so that the outside is crispy. You can choose from a list of fillings – stroganoff, tomato and palm heart, ground beef, chicken, cheese, corn, etc. (Your options are basically the same options you get for pizza toppings.) A single panqueca is big enough to fill a grown man. Well, at least Tiago could only finish one. I couldn't even finish mine, but I sure wanted to!

Okay, so my “top ten” is actually only 7 so far. Other places we have eaten pretty much fall into these same categories for the most part. (Vegetarians and Vegans, sorry that most of these meals are centered on meat, but there are lots of veggie options as well. This just happens to be the cattle-raising region of the country, the Texas of Brazil, if you will.)  Let us know when you're ready to come and try these yummy places/foods for yourself!