Don't Forgo Fogo de Chao

The Fogo de Chao line of churascarias brings Southern Brazilian barbecue to the US in style. With thirteen locations in the States and six in Brazil itself, Fogo has established itself as a decent brand. I cannot say how authentic it is; I could very well be praising the Brazilian PF Chang's, but it is worth a visit. Last night I had a chance to go to the Beverly Hills restaurant with several fellow bloggers.

I met...

Gauchos, or friendly waiters, bring around hefty skewers threaded with fourteen kinds of meats to your table. A simple green-red card lets the servers know when you're aching for some bacon bursting at the seams (there is no in between at Fogo). Since this was a blogger meet-up event, I spent most of my attention on the people over the food. I know, food is always the priority, but I've been here before so I can speak intelligently enough about the dishes.

Well, not so much dishes as heaps of meat. I passed on the sides of plantains and mashed potatoes. From the extensive salad bar, I picked up a few cucumbers to clear my palate between the meat. If you're anything like me, your first reaction hearing that there are fourteen meats is to ask for a list. Hence, here it is with my favorites bolded:
Picanha - Garlic beef sirloin
Filet Mignon - Nothing special, but make sure to get the bacon-wrapped one
Alcatra - Top sirloin
Fraldinha - Bottom sirloin
Costela - Beef ribs
Cordeiro - Lamb chops and leg. I preferred the leg
Lombo - Pork loin with parmesan
Costela de Porco - Pork ribs
Frango - Chicken legs and chicken breasts wrapped in bacon
Linguica - Pork sausage
Ancho - Ribeye

Just make sure whatever option you choose, to ask if there is a bacon-wrapped version. Even if you don't eat bacon, anything bacon-wrapped always tastes better, even fruit.

More importantly, I got a chance to meet Famished LA, Grubtrotters, Kevin Eats, Teenage Glutster, Foodie Traveler, and see Wandering Chopsticks again.


Salad Bar

Meat
^

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Bossa Nova

7181 W Sunset Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90046

Adequately Fed: $18

Ordered:
Guarana Soda***** (The waiter described this as a mix of ginger ale and cream soda, but I don't think that does justice to this. It's fruity and delicious)
Fried Cheese Shrimp Appetizer** (I forgot the actual name of this, but it tastes a little like a cheesy crab cake. Only drawback is that they give you one per order. Not worth it)
Grilled Lamb Platter*****
Grilled Seasonal Vegetable Platter***
(Out of Five Stars)

I don't know if I would go to Bossa Nova for Brazilian food, but I would definitely go for what I would consider Brazilian/Italian/American

fusion. First, find a parking spot then most likely settle down for a lengthy wait. This place has a large customer base for good reason. The seating area itself is relatively small but my main complaint is the discomfort of the metal tables and chairs. They do not allow enough room to sit comfortably for an extended time.

The menu consists of many sandwich, pizza, and pasta items. In fact, I had to look hard to find anything that sounded Brazilian. Most of the dishes had Brazilian elements, but I'd be hard pressed to actually call this a Brazilian restaurant. We ordered from their grilled platter section. The portions were gigantic and very diverse. Each plate had pico de gallo, black bean, fried plantains (or fries), rice, and cornmeal. The cornmeal was dry and took a lot of the flavor out of the food, but of course it is optional. Strangely, the lamb plate came with more grilled vegetables as well, and even better vegetables than the veggie platter in my opinion. So keep in mind that each plate has vegetables if you plan on getting the veggies alone.

The service is this place's biggest downfall. An overanxious waiter approached us for our order before we even opened the menu. Then throughout the night, he tried to compensate by hardly coming by our table at all. Bossa Nova is understaffed for its large turnover rate.

I have also heard, on good authority, that the coffee is excellent.

Also to note, there is at least another location of this restaurant. For the purposes of this review, I only based my observations on the location in Hollywood.

Recommended: Adequate date restaurant. The slow service gives you time for idle date chit-chat.

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