Green side up! Brazilian churrascaria Fogo de Chão grand-opened its second Las Vegas location—in Downtown Summerlin—Wednesday night, and the Weekly was there (of course), to scope out the sparkling new digs and see how much sword-sliced meat we could eat before happily passing out on our plates.
A few tips to guide you through future expeditions:
Salad is for rookies. The “gourmet market table”—aka salad bar—is good, so good, in fact, that I know vegetarians who do Fogo for lunch. But for us carnivores, each bite of asparagus, smoked salmon or cheese represents a bite of delicious steak that’ll be left on the skewer. So stay seated, and begin with the beef. –Spencer Patterson
Don't skip the bread. This is no ordinary basket of starchy goodness. This is pão de queijo, the beautiful marriage of sweet-and-sour yucca flour and Parmesan in bite-size puffs that have flaky outsides and chewy insides. They’re popovers straight from heaven. Or Brazil. –Erin Ryan
Bottom’s up! Fogo’s website describes the Fraldinha—or bottom sirloin—as “one of the most distinctive and flavorful cuts of meat from Southern Brazil,” and we can affirm it. On this night, the juicy, dynamically seasoned bottom edged out a robust ribeye and a melt-in-your-mouth filet as our top cut (and extra thanks to the Fraldinha skewer-man, who stayed close to our table). –SP
Beef is not the only meat. You’ll be tempted to keep your stomach free for all the excellent cuts of cow, but don’t miss the richly spiced, salty-fatty wonders of cordeiro, tender little lamb chops that deserve to be gnawed. Or frango, succulent chicken legs marinated in beer and brandy with crispy skin that should be stacked on skewers by itself. And lombo, pork medallions coated in sharp Parmesan. –ER
Embrace the pineapple. If the Old Fashioned is your drink like it is mine, you might choke on your cheesy roll when you see that Fogo’s cocktail menu includes a caramelized pineapple take. But the juicy log of charred fruit speared with a classic macerated cherry is a new garnish love affair, and the muddled pineapple shaken with Bulleit Rye has a deep sweetness that’s pretty much perfect. –ER
Finish with flan. On a dessert list flecked with chocolate this and papaya that, South American custard might not seem like a real contender. But Fogo’s is my favorite in town, its scrumptious caramel-syrup surface sweet but far from sickly so. I prudently cut mine in half … then watched my spoon continue right past my self-imposed line in the sand. –SP
Fogo de Chão Downtown Summerlin, 10975 Oval Park Dr. Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Monday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, 4-10:30 p.m..
