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

Fogo de Chao’s premier Oak Brook location to open Nov. 23: ‘Everything we’ve been doing for the last 42 years has been elevated’

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

For those who might be tempted but balk at the usual price, Fogo has a limited time special @ $39. The only difference between $39 and regular price is that some of the meats aren't included. Still plenty of choices for most diners.

Must request the "Best of Brazil" special when making reservation, and I advise calling to verify.

For anyone curious what the usual price is, I'm seeing $63.50 at the Rosemont location.

My last few visits to Fogo De Chao have been wholly underwhelming. I posted up thread about how the Rosemont location was not up to standards the last time we visited, and I have not been back since then. I was looking forward to the Oak Brook location as it is closer to me and as the "premier" location in the chain, supposedly everything was "elevated". I waited for a while after it opened to allow it to work out some of the bugs. Unfortunately, it once again disappointed. The salad bar is a pale comparison to what was originally a spectacular part of the Fogo De Chao experience. Service was functional, but not anything special or spectacular. The meats were fine, but the variety just didn't seem to be there. The same cuts circulating constantly, and we had to ask several times for others until they showed up.

Maybe it's just me, but it no longer seems to be the special meal that it once was. Maybe we're used to it, maybe it no longer thrills like it used to, maybe its a combination of a lot of things.

Curious to hear anyone else's thoughts that has been to any of them recently.

I more or less wrote them off after their PPP loan shenanigans but if I were ever to go back, it'd be the downtown location or none at all. But I'm unlikely to ever return.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I more or less wrote them off after their PPP loan shenanigans but if I were ever to go back, it'd be the downtown location or none at all. But I'm unlikely to ever return.

=R=

Did they finance a private jet like Maple and Ash?

I haven't been to fogo in at least a decade but recall it being about $50 a person. Considering the modest increase to $64, it's not surprising that the quality has slipped.

I kinda want to go back for nostalgias sake. Ahh the feeling of trying to get your money's worth here was never worth the aftermath!

Really the ONLY reason I ever go is that they are reliably open Christmas and New Years day. Hard to find places that are open, much less you can just walk into on those 2 days, although that in itself may not be a ringing endorsement.

We took advantage of the special price on a recent trip to Vegas. At local prices there, $39 for an all inclusive dinner seemed pretty good. Compared to long-ago visits, food quality did seem a little bit lower, especially on the beef items. And they seemed less fresh from the fire - not necessarily cold, but not as grilled flavor. The most-gobbled items at our table were not the meats: the roasted cheese, the black bean and sausage soup, the composed salads, the potatoes.

The first Fogo was in Dallas (Addison actually). Our HQ was in the same area. I was known as a big eater at the company so they scheduled a dinner early in their Dallas Area existence. I had never heard of the concept and was blown away. You could have hit my stomach with a sledgehammer after dinner and it would have bounced off. The salads, etc... and the MEATS...... Wow. I do remember they had chicken hearts on skewers in the early years and they were incredible. They faded away though. Made subsequent visits but learned to eat this style a bit better than that first time. Haven't been in years, but could imagine that they would not be up to those early standards.

Puckjam wrote:The first Fogo was in Dallas (Addison actually). Our HQ was in the same area. I was known as a big eater at the company so they scheduled a dinner early in their Dallas Area existence. I had never heard of the concept and was blown away. You could have hit my stomach with a sledgehammer after dinner and it would have bounced off. The salads, etc... and the MEATS...... Wow. I do remember they had chicken hearts on skewers in the early years and they were incredible. They faded away though. Made subsequent visits but learned to eat this style a bit better than that first time. Haven't been in years, but could imagine that they would not be up to those early standards.

Puckjam, my experience was similar. My first exposure to a Rodizio style restaurant was in the Nashville area, probably 25 years ago, and I was as you state "blown away". Shortly after Fogo opened in Chicago, and was similarly blown away. Beyond the meats, the salad bar was special, with high quality products and out of the ordinary options that made you think, lets not fill up on salads with all that glorious meat awaiting. Places like Brazzaz offered other options like grilled pineapple, shrimp and other meat options not typically found at Fogo. More recently, the salad bar contains nothing out of the ordinary, its by no means bad, but just not the same.

Maybe its because it is just not "new" anymore, maybe the quality has slipped, again it is by no means "bad", but its just not the special draw that it used to be.

I remember going to that original U.S. location in Addison, TX in what was probably 2000. I'd seen it on the Food Network and even though I was bummed about having to travel to Dallas for work, I was extremely excited to parlay my misfortune into an opportunity to dine at Fogo. The experience did not disappoint. It was a game-changer, mind-blower, etc. As others have posted, just a lavish, excessive and high quality meal that still resonates in my mind to this very day.

It probably says more about me than either of the restaurants but I also dined at The Mansion On Turtle Creek during that same trip (back when Chef Dean Fearing was a Food Network darling). I enjoyed it -- and I remember their signature tortilla soup fondly -- but that experience paled in comparison to my dinner at Fogo.

=R=

tjr wrote:For those who might be tempted but balk at the usual price, Fogo has a limited time special @ $39. The only difference between $39 and regular price is that some of the meats aren't included.

After seeing this post, I texted the info to a couple of friends thinking we'd laugh about the idea, say we should go, and never actually do it. But one guy was determined to make it happen and that's how the three of us ended up stuffing as much food into our gullets as we possibly could last night (downtown location). After all, the more you eat, the better the deal.


The meats were a mixed bag. We were unanimous in preferring the pork to the beef, which was a suprise given the nature of the restaurant. The parmesan pork loin and the 48-hour marinated bone-in pork chops were the best bites of the night. The Picanha ("prime part of the top sirloin") and the linguica were also very good and we also liked the queijo assado (grilled Brazilian cheese with honey) even though the cheese might not have been on the grill for a couple of hours.

We didn't try most of the chicken offerings, though I can report the bacon-wrapped chicken was a failed effort to use the fat of bacon to make a dry piece of white meat palatable. Some of the beef was too gristly, but the nice thing about all you can eat is that you don't have to eat what you don't like. So the bacon-wrapped beef (seemed like old beef was repurposed), some parts of the fraldinha (bottom sirloin), and some parts of lamb pieces were also left behind.

The servers are seemingly given a disproportionate amount of chicken and lower quality cuts of beef to push, but all it takes is patience and polite requests for specific cuts and you'll be able to get everything you want. We didn't see either of what turned out to be our favorite meat bites in the first hour we were there (it's a marathon not a sprint), but both came out really quickly upon request. Same goes for the cheese with honey.



The salad bar was as good as I remembered. I had two full plates on my own and shared the one in the picture with the table. I ate at least an entire can of hearts of palm, and the sweet and spicy peppers and cauliflower were also top notch. The feijoada was also excellent but I didn't try it until the very end of the night and could only taste a sample. When I inevitably return to Fogo in 5 or 10 years, I'll get a full bowl of that.

As much as I (weirdly) love the random “what are they bringing” anticipation, the only way to do FDC is to request the meats you want, early and often. They always bring them right away and you can easily avoid the not so great stuff that they inevitably push.

boudreaulicious wrote:As much as I (weirdly) love the random “what are they bringing” anticipation, the only way to do FDC is to request the meats you want, early and often. They always bring them right away and you can easily avoid the not so great stuff that they inevitably push.

For regulars that makes sense. But as someone who hadn't been in years, with the exception of chicken, trying them all to pick the best was a big part of the fun.

Fogo de Chão Expands Chicagoland Presence With a New Location in Schaumburg

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fogo-ch- ... 00707.html

Dave148 wrote:

Fogo de Chão Expands Chicagoland Presence With a New Location in Schaumburg

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fogo-ch- ... 00707.html

This will put them in direct competition with the Texas de Brazil steakhouse that is in Woodfield Mall. I wonder if there's enough business to support both of them.