A Little Bit of Brazil in Downtown Denver

Denver is quite an international city as far as food goes.  There is a rich and diverse food culture all throughout the Denver metro area.  Brazil is one of the countries represented through food and there are a few Brazilian restaurants located around town.  One of our favorites is Rodizio Grill, the Brazilian Steakhouse, which you can contact at rodizio.com.  We do not go there very often, but we love it when we do.  You have to make sure you bring a good, hearty appetite when visiting, because the food just keeps coming, and it is all so good, it is really hard to stop.

We have never eaten at any other Brazilian steakhouses, but from what I hear Rodizio is pretty typical of how they work.  You are given a block that is red and green.   Green means go, and when the green side is up, the waiters just keep bringing around different kinds of meat that they cut and serve right at your table.  Red means stop.  Once the red side is up, the waiters know not to come back to your table, unless they see the green side up again.  There is no limit except for what your tummy can hold.  The waiters are almost always typically men, dressed in traditional gaucho style attire.  The gauchos are the cowboys of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and were once the national symbols of these countries.  The gauchos were very proud, traditional horsemen.  Their diets were almost exclusively meats, and that is why the Brazilian steakhouses offer so much meat and so many meat varieties as their menu.

Once we were seated, our server brought up some hot fried bananas rolled in cinnamon, known as banana fritas.  These are delicious, and best when they are eaten hot.

Although the main attraction in a Brazilian steakhouse is meat, and lots of it, in many different varieties, there is also a delicious and extensive salad bar too, serving both American style salads as well as Brazilian style salads and vegetables.  There were two sides to this salad bar, with a side bar that served hot vegetables and bread.   Unless you are there for the salads, which are all very good, DON’T fill up on the salads though.  The main attraction is on it’s way, and does not stop coming until you say so.

This is just a small representation of the different items served on the salad bar.  I had some marinated mushrooms, beets, olives, quinoa salad and some crab salad.  I was already full, after this, but the main attraction is the meat, and I was not about to pass that up.

The gaucho waiters are serving up lots of varieties of meats, directly off the hot skewers.  A Brazilian steakhouse is a carnivore’s dream.  There are so many different types of meats, that just keep coming, until they red side of the block is up.  This is just a mere sampling of what they offered.  There were many different varieties of steak, wild boar, chicken, pork, sausage, and so much more.  We tried little slivers of all of these, but we were so full after.  You wouldn’t think a bit or two of so many different meats would fill you up so much, but trust me, they do.  Those little bites or two quickly add up to a lot of little bites.  We certainly could not eat like this on a regular basis, but it is a fun dining experience when we do.