Fogo de Chão means "ground fire", and at the first Fogo de Chão, a wooden structure, nestled in the countryside of Porto Alegre, they literally cooked over fire pits. Fogo opened its second restaurant in São Paulo, utilizing modern restaurant equipment. After being urged to enter the American market, Fogo opened in Dallas in 1997.
By 2013 it had expanded to 29 restaurants. Fort Lauderdale’s outpost opened in 2022 at the corner of Las Olas Blvd & Third Ave. The restaurant features an open-air churrasco bar, large, covered patios, and a lively indoor-outdoor bar. Adopting the “Fort Liquordale” attitude, this location of Fogo has an all-day happy hour with $5 beers, $8 South American wines, and $10 Brazilian-inspired cocktails.
Many think of Brazilian steakhouses as “meat-a-palooza” events, where you have unlimited access to various cuts of steak, chicken, sausages, pork, and more. While that is true, and more on those options later, what they don’t realize is that the meals at Fogo also include unlimited trips to the “Market Table” a bountiful buffet with plenty to please vegetarians, and which can be purchased separately.
The Market Table always features a couple of soups and stews (feijoada, a black bean stew with sausage served over white rice) as well as numerous salads (rainbow kale with pomegranate, miso black bean pasta, quinoa tabouleh, and fresh greens). Diners can dress those salads with smoked salmon, candied bacon, cured meats, aged cheeses, and fresh, roasted, and marinated vegetables and fruit. During brunch, the selection is augmented with bolo de fubá (sweet cornmeal cake) with whipped banana crème, waffles, Greek yogurt parfaits, Brazilian sausage, beef rib hash, and made-to-order omelets.
For the carnivores, the selection can be mind-boggling. Among the beef options are the signature Brazilian picanha (prime top sirloin, lightly seasoned with rock salt), as well as filet mignon (plain or bacon-wrapped), bone-in ribeye, bottom sirloin, and beef ribs. The meat selection continues with lamb picanha and chops, pork belly, chicken leg, pork loin, linguiça (a spicy pork sausage), double bone-in pork chops, and bacon-wrapped chicken thighs. All tables are also provided with side dishes including garlic mashed potatoes, sweet plantains, and pão de queijo (warm, soft cheesy rolls that are addictive).
If you prefer seafood or don’t want meat delivered to your table on skewers by handsome gauchos (why?), you can order a plated entrée such as Chilean sea bass, salmon, seared tofu with miso black bean pasta, or cauliflower steak. There are desserts, but even I, with my sweet tooth, have never been able to consider dessert. But, if you must, there are plenty from which to choose.
The base price for dinner is $62.50 and $36 for the Market Table. At lunch, it’s $45/$18 and at brunch, it’s $46.50/$35. You can easily bump that tab up by ordering additional appetizers, top cuts such as Wagyu beef or lobster, which incur surcharges, but there truly is no need to do so. The food is of high quality and plentiful and unless you’re on an expense account, it is simply not necessary.
The question of how to tip often arises, since no one person is attending to your table alone, and the Market Table is, in essence, a buffet. A minimum would be 15%, a little higher if you’ve experienced a particularly nice server. I have always had wonderful service, both friendly and informative, and usually tip 20-25%.
Fogo de Chão
201 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
754-900-3111
fogodechao.com