Churrascaria means meat. Well, not literally. Churrascaria (tchoo-huh-scah-REE-uh) actually means house of barbecue, but to fans of this type of Brazilian steakhouse, it means meat, meat and more meat. Texas de Brazil is a small chain out of, no surprise here, Texas that is riding the wave of low-carb popularity with a new location on International Drive.
Here’s the way it works: you first visit the salad bar, which is more than just lettuce and condiments. You’ll find all manner of salad fixings plus such items as hearts of palm, tabbouleh, artichoke hearts, Brussels sprouts, roasted red peppers and, for some inexplicable reason, sushi.
When you’ve had enough of the salad bar — and my advice is to go easy there — the waiters, called gauchos and dressed accordingly — will start bringing large skewers of meats, sausages, chicken and seafood to your table. And they’ll keep bringing them until you tell them to stop. (You do that by turning a small disc on your table over so the red side is showing.)
The thing that keeps this from being just another glutfest is the quality of the meats, which is first-rate. Plus, the overall atmosphere is upscale and attractive.