Mrs Willie and I were out of candy so decided to go out to dinner and a movie for Halloween.

Went to Rosemont location of Fogo de Chao. We hadn't been for quite a number of years.

Started with a caipirinha, Mrs Willie had the aged cachaça and I the traditional. I like the bite of the non-aged, Mrs Willie was thrilled with the aged.

Salad bar was delicious, fresh and had many choices, the marinated mushroom mix being a favorite.

The Feijoada was made with sausage only, I was hoping that it would contain a mix of "off" cuts as well but it still was darn tasty. Various toppings of course were available like farofa, cassava flour.

Onto the main course, the meats. The top sirloin and garlic beef had the most flavor. We were disappointed with the other cuts as they just didn't seem to have much flavor and were not seasoned well. Lamb was noticeably lacking in flavor. Service was good and the servers came around at a good pace with all the meats, some meat types as usual more frequently than others.

Validated parking ticket means zero charge for parking at Rosemont.

A nephew was in town this past weekend with his girlfriend who is one of the most picky food eaters I've ever come across. Where to go?

Meat centric Texas de Brazil came to mind, well not actually, I was in Costco and noticed that $100 Texas de Brazil gift cards were going for $74, so Costco marketing is how it came to mind. Purchased $200 worth.

Went to the 210 E Illinois Texas de Brazil location this past Sat evening.

Salad bar was really good, hot smoked salmon was a stunner, terrific smoke yet still moist, Mrs Willie & I couldn't get enough of it. Lobster bisque was ok.

Top sirloin and the lamb chops were the star meats, amply seasoned and done to our desired state. Other meats were good but didn't hold a candle to the sirloin & lamb chops.

Nephew & his girlfriend were thrilled so mission accomplished.

http://www.texasdebrazil.com/locations/ ... s/chicago/
-

Which restaurant did you like better? Fogo de Chao or Texas de Brazil? It looks like you went to both of them recently.

shorty wrote:Which restaurant did you like better? Fogo de Chao or Texas de Brazil? It looks like you went to both of them recently.

based on visit to Rosemont Fogo de Chao & Chicago Texas de Brazil, I give a clear nod to Texas de Brazil as there were some outstanding items, Fogo de Chao was overall ok, no standouts. (this said I used to business entertain quite a bit at these locations and back in the day Fogo de Chao was always the clear winner, just not the case with my recent visits)

Sweet Willie wrote:

shorty wrote:Which restaurant did you like better? Fogo de Chao or Texas de Brazil? It looks like you went to both of them recently.

based on visit to Rosemont Fogo de Chao & Chicago Texas de Brazil, I give a clear nod to Texas de Brazil as there were some outstanding items, Fogo de Chao was overall ok, no standouts. (this said I used to business entertain quite a bit at these locations and back in the day Fogo de Chao was always the clear winner, just not the case with my recent visits)

I found the Rosemont Fogo de Chao to be somewhat lacking as compared to the downtown location. The last time we went there the service was just not on par with what we have had in the past. When Brazzaz was open we began to shy away from Fogo, as Brazzaz offered a few other choices that were a nice addition to the meats offered, like shrimp and grilled pineapple. I find Texas de Brazil and Fogo to be very similar salad bar and meat selections wise, the difference comes down to service and attentiveness of the waiters and gauchos. I have always enjoyed the Brazilian steakhouse concept, but the Rosemont Fogo was really off recently, enough so that I'm not sure we will go back to that location any time soon.

thetrob wrote:I found the Rosemont Fogo de Chao to be somewhat lacking as compared to the downtown location.

Me too - so much so that I haven't returned to any FdC location since my single, unacceptable experience at Rosemont.

=R=

At Fogo De Chao, the meats served for lunch and dinner are the same. At Texas de Brazil, the meats offered for dinner are slightly different than what is offered for lunch (e.g. no filet mignon for lunch).

Out of curiosity, has anyone who has been to Texas de Brazil and/or Fogo De Chao ever been to Chama Gaucha in Downers Grove, and if so, how do you feel they compare?

I personally have been to Chama Gaucha many times and love it, but have never been to the others. Based on the descriptions, they sound very similar, with the exception that Chama Gaucha never really struck me as overly salty, and I'm not a guy who likes salty things very much. Reviews I've read on Yelp also seemed to suggest less salty meat, which is why I chose Chama Gaucha in the first place, and I just kept going back.

Spent Christmas day at Fogo De Chao today with my 2 younger daughters and could not have been more pleased. Service and food both excellent; While not exactly cheap I felt it was an excellent value for the level of dining we received. I really need to restate just how welcoming, warm, and accommodating the service was.

This was our first trip and it's now on our short list.
Well Played FDC!

zoid wrote:Spent Christmas day at Fogo De Chao today with my 2 younger daughters and could not have been more pleased. Service and food both excellent; While not exactly cheap I felt it was an excellent value for the level of dining we received. I really need to restate just how welcoming, warm, and accommodating the service was.

This was our first trip and it's now on our short list.
Well Played FDC!

Zoid, just curious, which FDC did you visit? My last visit to the FDC in Rosemont left a whole lot to be desired, especially the service and attitudes of the staff, while the one downtown still seems to maintain a much higher level of service.

Downtown. It was my first visit so I have no history to compare and I assume they upped their game for Christmas day but it was really perfect. Much different than Gyu Kaku the day before which is consistently plagued by some of the worst service I've ever experienced (but the kids love it so I cave).

I agree that the downtown location (661 N. LaSalle) is far superior to Rosemont. I won't even consider going back to Rosemont again. My most recent trip there was, hopefully, my last. I like the downtown location a lot, though.

=R=

Fogo de Chao Brazilian steakhouse to open in Oak Brook as part of development at former McDonald’s Plaza site

https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/ ... story.html