USA, Texas, Round Rock – Fogueira Gaúcha Brazilian Steakhouse

(See my other posts related to Round Rock  and Food ) – I had dinner this evening at the Fogueira Gaúcha Brazilian Steakhouse located at 2000 South IH-35, Suite D1, Round Rock, Texas 78681. This is the third Brazilian Steakhouse I have dined at this year, though the first in Texas. I have to say that the food was excellent!

You first get to go to their salad bar. There are many selections to choose from. It is self serve and you can return as often as you like, but you really need to leave plenty of room for the meat!

As soon as you are ready for the main course, you flip over a small card at your seat at the table. When the waiters see you have a ‘green’ card they stop at your table to see if you want a portion of the meat they are serving. You have several choices. Per their website:

Our 15 cuts of meat, consisting of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and sausage, will be carved and served to guest’s desired temperature by a gaucho – trained Brazilian chef, on a large skewer. The service and carving of the meats are initiated by each individual guest using a red and green sided card.

Their meat selections include:

• Picanha – their signature cut, prime part of top sirloin. Comes with 2 additional flavors of Spicy and Garlic.
• Filet Mignon- Tasty cut of tenderloin. Also served wrapped in bacon.
• Rib Eye- Richly marbled steak seasoned with fajita.
• Costela – Juicy beef ribs, rubbed with rock salt, slow roasted to bring forward natural flavors
• Fraldinha – Flavorful cut of bottom sirloin.
• Cordeiro- Succulent lamb chops and tender leg of lamb.
• Frango – Beer-marinated chicken legs and juicy chicken breasts wrapped in bacon.
• Costela de Porco – Pork ribs, seasoned and cooked to perfection.
• Lombo de Porco – Pork tenderloin coated with parmesan cheese.
• Linguica – Savory pork sausage.

Tables are also served with bowls of garlic mashed potatoes, caramelized bananas, hot cheese breads, farofa, crispy polentas, and rice and beans. Waiters keep coming by with meats until you give up and turn your card over to red. If you need a short break, just turn your card over to red for a while, then back to green when you are ready for more.

Prices are $34.95 for weekday lunch and $49.95 for dinner any night. A salad bar only option is available for $26.95 and $31.50 for lunch and dinner respectively as well.

A number of very tasty desserts ($8 – $12) are available, though they are not included in the dinner meal price.

I can say with certainty that I will be going back!

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[Photos are from the Fogueira Gaúcha website and Facebook page]

USA, Nevada, Henderson – Rodizio Grill

(See my other Food posts) – I recently went with a group of the family to the Rodizio Grill in Henderson, NV. This is one location in a chain and it is a Brazilian Steakhouse or Churrascaria. The first restaurant in the chain opened in 1995. There are currently 21 locations in the chain, with a 22nd in development. Unfortunately, there are none in the Austin, TX area yet. The location we visited is located at 1300 W Sunset Rd, #2950, Henderson, NV 89014.

 

 

Like most Brazilian Steakhouses, the Rodizio Grill has an extensive salad bar, in addition, there are over a dozen rotisserie-grille meats & signature items served right at your table by ‘Rodizio gauchos’. You can view the extent of their selections with their online menu.

We all thought the food very good. TripAdvisor rates this restaurant as 4.5/5, while Yelp rates it at 4.5/5 also. You can choose to just eat at the salad bar ($19.99 for lunch, $21.99 for dinner) or have the full meat selection along with the salad bar ($26.99 for lunch, $36.99 for dinner). We chose the full selection at dinner and it was well worth it. After your meal is over, you get to pick (if you have any room left) from their selection of desserts. A desert comes with your meal.

This is a restaurant I would recommend, but make sure you that you arrive hungry! With all of the food at the salad bar, then the ‘gauchos’ coming by your table every few minutes you will certainly leave stuffed.

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Las Vegas, Nevada – Texas de Brazil Steakhouse

Food – A few nights ago we went with family to the Texas de Brazil Steakhouse in Las Vegas. This location is at 6533 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV 89119. This is only one of the many locations of this restaurant. Sadly, there is no location in Austin, Texas or Singapore . . . yet.

First, there is a huge salad bar. This contains salad items and some hot side dishes. You can opt to just eat off of the salad bar ($19.99 for lunch, $29.99 for dinner). Easily I could eat my fill just at the salad bar and never have more than one serving of any item. The challenge is not eating too much from the salad bar before you are served the meats.

The real attraction to this restaurant is the variety of meats that are brought to your table. The full experience is $32.99 for lunch and $51.99 for dinner and well worth it. Waiters bring skewers of meat by your table (examples shown in the photo above – NOTE all photos in this post from Google image search). You can pick and choose what to have added to your plate. They keep coming by until you are stuffed! The meats include Herb-Marinated Pork Loin, Picanha, Brazilian Sausage, Leg of Lamb, Chicken Breast Wrapped in Bacon, Alcatra, Lamb Chops, Filet Mignon Wrapped in Bacon, Parmesan-Crusted Pork Loin, Garlic Picanha, Braised Beef Ribs, Barbecued Pork Ribs, and Parmesan Drumettes. It was all wonderful!

The service was excellent. The food was plentiful and delicious. We are already talking about returning the next time we are in Las Vegas with family. This is a great experience, though a little on the pricey side. Just make sure you prepare yourself before going and fast all day!

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Singapore, Singapore – Black Angus Steakhouse

Food – On one of my walks here in Singapore I came across the Black Angus Steakhouse. It is about two miles away so it is not a place I am able to visit very often. This location of Black Angus is at 1 Tanglin Rd, Singapore 247905. As stated on their website:

Black Angus Singapore is the only franchised Black Angus steakhouse licensed by the U.S. Principal for the whole of South East Asia.

Black Angus Steakhouses originated in the US in 1964 and have several US locations, though I have not visited any. I have enjoyed a very good burger on both of my visits to this Singapore location. They have a good menu to choose from with several Steak and Prime Rib options.

I enjoyed my meal on both occasions and I am sure I will be going back. This is a nice place to have a casual, but very good dinner or lunch.

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USA, Texas, Austin – 827Ray’s

As we have over the past few years, my wife and I went out with friends on Christmas Eve for dinner. This year we went to 827Ray’s located at 3519  Ranch Road 620 N, just West of Mansfield Dam in Austin.

We tried three appetizers: the Meat and Cheese Board, Baked Goat Cheese and Beef Carpaccio. All were well received. I had a Grilled Filet Mignon as my main course and it was a very good steak. This is definitely a place I would return to for the steak.

If you are in far North Austin, this is a great place for a steak. It is rated at 4 stars on Yelp and 4+ stars on OpenTable. The meals range from $30-60, so it is not an inexpensive restaurant.

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USA, Louisiana, New Orleans – Mr. John’s Steakhouse

We were in New Orleans last weekend for one of the 2016 regional NFL flag football tournaments. After the long, nine hour drive over from Austin (with stops at Buc-ees of course) we made some time for ourselves. The couple we were with had found Mr. John’s Steakhouse (2111 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA).

I shared a “Who Dat Shrimp” appetizer (Bacon wrapped gulf shrimp stuffed with crabmeat served with a sweet Thai chili sauce and chipotle remoulade) that was very tasty. I followed that with a “Hearts of Lettuce” salad (A crisp wedge of iceberg lettuce topped with grape tomatoes, crispy apple wood bacon and crumbled blue cheese). Anticipating that I would order dessert, I only ordered the “Petite Filet” accompanied by a Baked Potato. As expected I topped it all off with at piece of cheesecake covered with chocolate sauce.

All four of us were very happy with our meals. If you are in the garden district of New Orleans and are looking for a good steak, you won’t be disappointed with Mr. John’s Steakhouse. It was a little on the expensive side (Yelp rakes it in the $31-$60 per person range) but seemed to be well worth it (the Yelp rating was 4.5 out of 5, with a rating of 4.6 out of 5 on OpenTable).

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Projection Mapping and Le Petite Chef

I had not heard of projection mapping until I saw the YouTube video referenced below. In this case an automation is used to put on a short show for each guest around a table. It is clever and I imagine that we will see more of this mix of technology and art. The “Le Petite Chef” was produced by Belgian automation studio Skullmapping.

USA, Texas, Austin – Vince Young Steakhouse

  
My wife and I, along with another couple, visited the Vince Young Steakhouse the evening before last. This was our second opportunity to enjoy the food there and it was every bit as good as the first time. It is located at 301 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701 in downtown Austin near the convention center. Public parking is a couple of blocks away, but they do have valet parking. 

We had not been out to a fancy restaurant in a while so we made an evening of it. We started out with appetizers – Shrimp Gratin, Daily Beef Tartare, Shrimp Cocktail, and Roasted Bone Marrow. I only sampled the Shrimp Gratin which was excellent, but the others said the rest of the spread was outstanding. For salads we selected a couple of Grilled Caesar Salads, a Farm to Table Salad , and (for me) a Wedge Salad with Blue cheese. We followed those ups with various steaks and a selection of sides. 

  The decor is a little on the modern side, but very nice and cozy. All together it was a wonderful dinner enjoyed by all. The steaks were the best we have had in Austin. This is not an inexpensive restaurant, but it is worth every cent! I am sure we will be back again in the future more than once. 

If you are looking for a great steak in a refined dining atmosphere, I strongly recommend Vince Young Steakhouse.

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USA, Washington, Seattle – Virginia Inn

After the Alaska cruise my wife and I took in the fall of 2013 we spent a couple of days in Seattle, WA. One of the places we came across and decided to stop for dinner was the Virginia Inn. Located only a few blocks from Pike Place Market on 1st Avenue, it is in the center of the high traffic area for visitors.

The Virginia Inn has a pub-like interior and a few tables outside on the sidewalk like a French cafe.

I wouldn’t say that the food was exceptional, but we both enjoyed our steak dinners. We sat outside on a pleasant September evening and enjoyed the end of a long day of exploring the city.

If you are in the Pike Place Market Historic District of Seattle, I would recommend the Virginia Inn as a good place for food or beverage.

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