Father's Day Meatfest

Yesterday was Father's Day, and my children (both grown to adulthood now) took the old man out to eat. My wife did not come along, it was just the three of us. Dorothy is not a big eater, and this restaurant we went to deals with serving their guests copious ( in my daughter's words) amounts of meat.

The establishment was named FOGO de CHAO in Scottsdale. This restaurant bills itself as a Brazilian Churbrascaria, which roughly translated is Portuguese for BBQ.

I knew I was in for a dining delight when I walked into the restaurant and saw large beef ribs on spits in the front window! These ribs were skewered and rotating on spits horizonatally with the juices running into a pan. The fire was not under the skewers, but rather the ribs were in a circle around it! The skewers and fire were about 3 feet high, and I could easily look at them without bending over.

When we sat down, we were cautioned by the waiter to not indulge too much in the salad bar, or we would miss out on a rare dining experience. This gaucho knew his stuff!

Here is the deal... guys with skewers holding different kinds of meat walk around the dining room and ask guests if they want some meat. Now there are 13 different kinds of meat, and each skewer is about a yard long. (Think of it as a "yard o' Meat"). Each diner has a card that is red on one side and green on the other. When the red is up, you are saying "No meat"; when the green is up, you are shouting, "Come here and cut me some animal flesh!" And they do!

The gauchos bring the meat to your table, and cut it right off the skewer and lay it on your plate. Not just one gauch, but all of them come by your table until you turn the card over to RED! Chicken, pork, lamb, beef, sausage, chicken wrapped with bacon, beef wrapped in piggy, chicken on a stick, ribeye, sirloin, and Little Bo Peep all brought to you for your gorging pleasure.

In addition, you get potatoes, something that I can't spell or pronounce, and glazed bananas.

We ate for over two hours! I was so full when I got home, that my buttons on my pants were straining and my belt was cutting into my already large belly. But what an experience!

Some Dads get ties, some golf clubs, some socks.... but my kids know their Daddy! I won't have to eat for a day....

Doughnut