By Don Napier
On Father’s Day this year, my family took me to Knoxville for a special lunch/dinner. My wife Natalie had discovered this place on a recent trip to Knoxville and knowing my carnivore nature, knew that I would be crazy about it. Boy, was she right!
Brazeiros Churrascaria (pronounced, ‘shoe-RHAS’-ka-ria’) turns out to be a truly unique eatery. I don’t know which was the most unique: the style of cooking or the style of serving. Both require an explanation.
To start with, there’s no menu, which is pretty strange. The first part of the Brazeiros’ concept is to visit and experience their unique salad bar, which was a one-of-a-kind love affair.
Here are just a few of the 20 items on the salad bar: fresh steamed asparagus, Italian salami, heart of palm, fresh mozzarella, artichoke bottoms, cured meats, smoked salmon, several speciality salads, spanish goat cheese “Manchego,” and other imported cheeses, apple salad, and more.
A host waiter came to our table and explained the unique serving process that Brazeiros uses. Once you’ve finished the salad, waiters bring the side dishes, family-style. Ours included seasoned mashed potatoes, caramelized bananas, crispy polenta and warm cheese bread. These dishes were replaced as needed throughout the meal.
Each diner had what looked like a round coaster at their plate, green on one side and red on the other. Once you were ready for meat to be served at your table, you simply turned your coaster to green.
Churrasco is a unique type of cooking. In the old days, a pit was dug in the ground and gauchos (the equivalent of our cowboys) would start a bonfire to create large pits of embers. Large pieces of meats were skewered and slowly roasted over the open fire pits. Today, Brazeiros brings a modern interpretation of Southern Brazil’s centuries-old gaucho heritage. The meats are prepared in their kitchen, and then served by waiters with very sharp knives, carving the meats from the skewers.
Diners each have a pair of small tongs, to hold on to the meat while it’s being carved – so basically, you serve yourself. If you want your meat rare, tell the gaucho and he will bring it the way you want it.
The day we were there, they served eight different cuts of roasted beef, including top and bottom sirloin steak and filet mignon wrapped in bacon. They also served smoked sausage, lamb chops and carved lamb, pork ribs, and turkey. Each diner could control their own service simply by turning their coaster to green. We tried a little of everything and personally, my favorites were bottom round and lamb chops. I ate basically none of the unlimited side dishes. Being the son of a butcher, and a major meat-lover, all I needed was the meat.
All in all, we chose from 15 different cuts of meat and when we needed a break, we could turn our card to red then back to green when we were ready for more meat. The gaucho chefs didn’t stop delivering to the table until all cards were turned to red and the check requested.
Laura and Natalie enjoyed the fried bananas, which served as a dessert. I have no doubt their house specialty desserts (Brazilian Flan) and coffees were delicious, but there was no room on this day.
On the day we went, we paid a special price of $32.50. We had reservations, but there was still a wait. I feel confident that was caused by the holiday. It’s a special occasion destination and based on our experience, you stay in the restaurant longer than normal. The cost, based on what you get, is not out of line. A full dinner is $38.50. A “light dinner” is $28.50 and the salad bar alone is $19.50. Lunch (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.) is $25.50; light lunch is $19.50; Sunday is $28.50.
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IF YOU GO – They’re open Monday to Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.;
Friday, 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Children 0-6 are free, 7-12 are half price. 6901 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Call 865-247-0295 for Reservations.
