Brasa de Brazil: Artistry of meat

Churrascaria is a Brazilian name for restaurants that serve grilled meat and this is the concept Brasa de Brasil goes for.
The root of the churrascaria stems from the fireside roasts of the gauchos — or cowboys — of southern Brazil in the early 1800’s when European immigrants settled in the Rio Grande do Sul area. They were strong skillful people who treasured and nurtured land and quickly became adept at raising cattle.
Those people came up with a unique cooking style called Churrasco. They would slowly grill big chunks of prime meat on an open fire to perfection. With the large knives they wore on their belts, the gauchos would slice the meat into thin pieces to dine on.
This specific tradition gave birth to churrascarias like Brasa de Brazil, which use the same cooking techniques and presentation. Even their waiters wear the same clothing as the gauchos. You can see them walking around in black baggy pants and cowboy hats.
The restaurant was opened in Jeddah last August and Jeddawis are already filling up the venue thanks to the variety of dishes and wonderful experience that the restaurant has to offer. It is located on Andalus Street. You cannot miss the wooden building right behind Uptown966 restaurant. As soon as you walk in Brasa de Brasil, you are welcomed by one of the gauchos who guide you to a table. The interior is a mixture between contemporary and authentic Brazilian. Some of the walls are bricks, others are made of wood and the rest are glass overlooking the street outside. Red velvet chairs and square wooden tables fill a spacious area that seats up to 360 diners at once. You can see your food being grilled in the open glass kitchen and see your drink being prepared at the wooden bar.
In the center of the restaurant is a full-size salad bar that offers a variety of salads from Brazil, Asia and the Middle East as well as two kinds of soups that change every day.
There is something for everyone, from sushi, seafood salads, low calorie salads and of course vegetarian salads. I sampled many and I loved the hamour fish salad made with garlic sauce. I would also recommend the crabstick salad with cucumber strips in Japanese mayo sauce.
I also tried the ostrich broth soup. I thought it would be clear, but it was a heavy tomato soup with mini pieces of ostrich. This prepared me for the meat feast that was about to come my way.
There is also a separate side dish bar, from which you can choose one or more out of eight different side orders.
My waiter recommended me a caipirinha, an authentic Brazilian drink with lime, ginger and soda. It was refreshing and full of flavor. My friend ordered the Brazilian Crush, a medley of orange and pomegranate with a touch of grenadine and ginger ale. Now that is a must try.
There is a small wooden marker on my table that has a red and a green side. When you flip the green side up, it means you are ready for the meat to come to your table. As soon as you flip it, head to the side dish bar and choose your favorite side dish from rice, potatoes, vegetables and more. The waiter will arrive with five different sauces to prepare you for a great dip for your grills.
Now the restaurant promises you 15 different cuts of meats, grilled to perfection. Make sure to be really hungry and ready for the meat feast when you visit the restaurant.
All their meats are fresh, marinated and grilled on skewers, which help the meat preserve all the natural juices and flavors. Waiters will parade around your table with different kinds of meat on skewers and start serving you. This will never stop until you are fully satisfied.
The cuts include ostrich meat, deer meat, chicken, fish, shrimp, camel meat, lamb chops, lamb legs, turkey meat, chicken wrapped with beef bacon, chicken drum sticks, quail meat, chicken thighs, beef ribs, beef tenderloin, prawns wrapped with beef bacon and many more.
Sometimes eating too much meat can make your taste buds go numb. The restaurant also adapted a Brazilian tradition of serving diners grilled pineapple with sugar and cinnamon to refresh your buds. This enables you to try more kinds of meat.
My waiter came to me asking why I didn’t use the sauces, I totally forgot about them because the marinade was so good that the meats came to me tasting amazing and I didn’t need sauce to make it taste any better.
I know this might be overwhelming but I promise you an experience that no other restaurant can offer you, at least here in Saudi Arabia.
The best part of the meal comes at the end with the desert bar. I tried only Brazilian deserts with fried banana topped with sugar, cinnamon and drizzled with honey. There is also the cream papaya, lemon mousse and other international deserts such as cheesecakes and chocolate fudge.
Expect to pay: SR150 per person
Opening hours: Noon to 1 a.m.

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