All I can eat meat

About a year ago, I went to Rodizio Grill in Stamford CT for a fundraiser eating competition. For those of you who are unfamiliar, rodizio is an all-you-can-eat style restaurant where “one pays a fixed price and the waiters bring samples of food to each customer at several times throughout the meal, until the customers signal that they have had enough. In churrascarias or the traditional Brazilian-style steakhouse restaurants, servers come to the table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of quality cuts of meat, most commonly local cuts of beef, pork, or chicken” (Wikipedia).

The competition was a “last man standing,” wherein the gouchos would continue to bring meats and eaters could not refuse. After a delicious 2.5 hours, I walked away victorious, full, and with $100/month for a year at the restaurant. Unfortunately, the Stamford location closed before I was able to redeem my prize. Corporate was kind enough to honor four free dinners at any of their franchise locations. Last night, I went to the downtown Nashville location for a meat extravaganza.

If you have been reading this blog, you already know I have a capacity to eat more than most, and tonight I was prepared. With my hourglass-shaped red/green indicator, I brought on wave after wave of garlic steak, salt and pepper flap steak, tri-tip, marinated pork, wine chicken, top sirloin, boneless lamb, and of course the iconic cut of the churrascaria, pichana.

Usually, all-you-can-eat restaurants are buffet-style, so there is little interaction with the wait staff. Conversely, at rodizio, you have the most interaction, as you tong freshly cut meats onto your plate. Thus, after over an hour of my indicator being green, I started building a reputation. My plate of sides served more as a palate cleanser and condiments instead of another course of food. I had conversations as to the cuts, levels of doneness, and became increasingly selective about which meats I accepted as started to run out of room. The gentlemen of Rodizio Grille kept it coming with good humor and smiles on their faces (which I suspect was partially due to the running joke of how much I was eating).

Rodizio is an experience, less of a meal. Take your time, come prepared (and by that I mean very hungry), luxuriate in the gluttony and enjoy yourself. The variety and work involved with rodizio make it almost impossible to do at home, so make a night of it, and Rodizio Grill is one place to do it. Thanks guys, I’ll be back (but not before an iron man or two).