Pinch and a Palate: Brazil: Meat Lovin'

"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook."- Julia Child

We did it! We completed "B," with Brazil. And guess what!? We even did it correctly; we picked a COUNTRY (Not much room for error... there are no continents starting with B). We just won't go there.

When was the last time you were served a juicy, hunk of meat, off a long skewer, table-side at a restaurant? Probably never or not very often. Before I explain why I am asking, let's find out a little more about Brazil.

A few fun facts about Brazil:

Slightly smaller than the U.S.
Fifth largest country by geographical area
Capital is Brasilia
Population of 190 million-largest population in Latin America
Language is Portuguese
Roman Catholic is their primary religion
Approx. 90.3% of adult population have an education
Climate is mostly tropical
Government type- Federative republic

Food Facts:

Cuisine varies greatly by region and the natural crop available
Root vegetables, yams, peanuts and fruits are local ingredients used in cooking
Rice and beans are an extremely common dish, as are fish, beef and pork
Brazilian pine nuts called pinhao, are a popular national snack
Know for their popular liquor Cachaca
Typical dishes include: Caruru, consisting of okra, onion dried shrimp, and toasted nuts. Feijoada, a simmered bean and meat dish. Moqueca capixaba, consisting of slow-cooked fish, tomato, onion and garlic topped with cilantro. Milled tapioca, a popular dessert

Feed me! Feed me!

So, let's go back to that big hunk of meat I was talking about. This last weekend, my adventurous friends and I enjoyed a filling but satisfying lunch at Ipanema, a Brazilian Grill, located in downtown Seattle.

It was set up like a rodizio, a common Brazilian style of service, where one pays a fixed price and servers circulate with food. How did it work? Several times throughout the meal, servers came to the table with a knife or skewer, on which were speared various kinds of meat. The meat was then freshly sliced at the table. The most common cuts of meat were beef, pork and chicken. The sign above let the servers know we wanted MORE- green side up. Here is a list of what we had... and yes, we were stuffed.

Still Mooing?!

Filet mignon chunks wrapped in bacon
Sirloin steak
Pork ribs
Beef ribs
Chorizo
Prime rib
Peppercorn steak
Parmesan pork
Tri tip
Rib eye
Lamb
Chicken

Anyone missing a rib?

Bacon Hug

Weiners. Get your wieners.

Oh, but wait....it did not end with all this amazing and juicy meat. Crazy right? We also had unlimited visits to Ipanema's "Mesa de Frios"(Cold table). The cold table was set up buffet style. It included an array of cold cuts, cheeses, fruits, vegetables. It also had great salads, bread, collard greens, black beans and rice. Everything was fresh, colorful and had a great aroma. There were so many great options, it was hard to try them all! I take that back. All but one dish, the baby squids were a sign to stay away. One random thing to add, the butter for the bread was amazing. I am pretty sure I had 5 pieces loaded with this butter! The group would agree.

Circle of vegetable love.

Endless buffet: Fat kids love it here.

Hungry? It's soft and chewy and will swim into your mouth.

We also had fried bananas for dessert. I'm, not a fan. Too gushy. Too greasy. I like my bananas firm. Haha! I know, you are wondering how we possibly walked out, fitting through the front door. Well, we all turned sideways. Only kidding. I won't mention any names, but some of our group went to get donuts at Pike Place afterwards! Crazy huh. I guess pregnancy has that effect.

I'd like some banana with that grease!

Speaking on behalf of the group, our Brazil experience totally surpassed expectations. The food was fantastic! The meats were fresh, tender and full of flavor and definitely worth the price. It's not every day you get a variety of high end cuts of meat all in one sitting! I think what made this experience so fun was the uniqueness of it all. I mean really, multiple, 20 pound meats brought to your table and sliced right in front of you... how cool is that? Would we go back? YES! YES! YES! If you like to eat meat and try new things, GO. All you have to do is drive in to the city and spend a little over 20 bucks for lunch. Do it! Take your friends and family, you won't be disappointed!