Churrascaria (chew-rah-SCAR-ee-ya) is a Portuguese word for barbecue. It’s not the kind of ‘cue cooked in a pit with sauce, but a technique where meat is cooked on a spit over fire.

Churrascaria means “fire in the ground” (i.e., campfire), and describes the traditional cooking method used by gauchos (cowboys) on the pampas (plains) of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay: the spit and a fire dug in a hole in the ground.

As it expanded beyond its gaucho origins, churrascaria evolved into a rotisserie-style restaurant, where meat from the spit was carved at the table.

The concept is rodizio, all-you-can-eat. You don’t have to over-consume; you can eat as modestly as you like.

The traditional Brazilian churrascaria further evolved, in recent decades, to include vast salad bars.

It is much more than a steakhouse. It’s a cornucopia of foods in an environment that’s festive, engaging and elegant-yet-fun, where you can get up and walk around (browse the salad bar) when you need a break from sitting.
 
 
WELCOME TO FOGO DE CHÃO

That’s how a carnivore, a vegetarian, a vegan and a pescatarian came to dine together at Fogo de Chão, a churrascaria that began in São Paulo and now has more than 30 locations globally.

Our closest location, in Manhattan, is right across the street from the Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA). The architecture of the restaurant is itself a work of art.

Fogo de Chão started and has now come to our town, New York City, where it is one of the most beautiful restaurants in town [photo #5, which does not come close to reflecting the impressive architecture].

And the food: equally beautiful. There is something—much more than merely “something”—for everyone, along with a very pleasant and hospital service team.
 
 
A FEAST OF MEATS

Yes, there are some more than a dozen meats, brough to your table on a spit, right off the grill [photo # 3] and expertly carved at your plate from the skewer [photo #3].

Eight different cuts of beef include cowboy steak, filet mignon, rib eye, picanha [top sirloin cap, our favorite, photo #1], ribs and sirloin.

Lamb lovers can have chops, [photo #2], leg of lamb or both.

Chicken breasts are wrapped in bacon; chicken legs are marinated in beer and brandy.

You grow wide-eyed as the choices keep coming. Have as much as you like, or take a rest.
 
 
OR, ORDER SEAFOOD

You don’t have to be a meat eater to eat well. For seafood lovers there are:

 
 
…AND PLENTY FOR VEGETARIANS & VEGANS

We counted some 40 items on the vast Market Table [photo #4]. While some are cheeses, charcuterie, candied bacon and smoked salmon, the majority are fruit- and vegetable-based, plus soup.

A complete antipasto awaits, along with salad fixings that enable one to build a fantasy green salad, with all the fixings one could desire.

[5] The two-story dining room in the four-storey Manhattan location is much more breathtaking than the photo shows.

For our first pass, we made a plate of artichoke hearts, beets, fire-roasted bell peppers, hearts of palm, marinated mushrooms, tomatoes and mozzarella.

For the table, scalloped potatoes, yucca fries, sautéed bananas and the delicious cheese bread, pão de queijo, appear, as if there weren’t enough to eat (we reveled in the sautéed bananas and vowed to make them at home, often [very easy!]).

Yes, there are desserts; but who has room? We didn’t even have room to go back to the Market Table for mango, papaya, pineapple and melon (among numerous other tempting fruits).
 
 
COCKTAILS & WINES

We started our dinner with Caipirinhas and then moved on to glasses of Brazilian wines. Beyond the famous malbec, there are chardonnays, rosés and sparkling wines.

On the night we attended, there was a half-price offer on bottles over $100. Finding a $50 bottle of wine in a good restaurant is a welcome bonus.

If all you want is to stop by for a drink, a lovely cocktail lounge awaits, with tasty bar bites.
 
 
WHEN TO GO: ANYTIME!

Whether it’s a special event or a lunch, brunch or dinner with family, friends or colleagues, the Fogo de Chão experience is waiting for you.

Prix fixe menus include all you can eat of the meats and Market table (prices vary at lunch, dinner and weekend brunch—chose your city on the website). There is a lower price for salad-bar-only and for kids.

Prices in New York are a bit higher than elsewhere, but certainly competitive with other restaurants.

Check online for your city. You can make reservations online, at FogoDeChao.com.

A tasty and fun time will be had by all.
  

Before there were grape presses, there were feet. In earlier times, wine grapes were crushed by people stomping on the grapes.

You may have seen the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy takes a shot at it.

Now, we take you even farther back, to the time of the ancient Incas, who lived in the mountains of Peru.

They brewed chicha, their beer, not from barley as we do (they didn’t have barley), but from purple maize (they had plenty of it).

How did they break down the corn [photo #] so that it would ferment? By chewing it, to break down the hard endosperm.

Now, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware is bringing back their own chicha [photo #1], which they first brewed in 2009. It is, they say, “an extreme beer.”

More than 100 Dogfish Head coworkers convened at a company-wide event, to prepare the beer’s main ingredient: chewed purple maize.

Each attendee was given a cup of purple corn to chew up and spit out, to contribute to the brew.

Small communities in Peru still produce chicha the way their Inca ancestors did, from masticated maize.

There, the chewed corn kernels are naturally fermented in large clay pots, often flavored with indigenous fruits and spices.

Dogfish Head produced their version with malted corn (maize) plus malted barley.

What about all that saliva?

The wort is boiled for full sterilization (here’s the conventional beer-making process).

It is then chilled, blended with strawberries and fermented with a unique blend of yeast strains.

Dogfish Head chicha has an 3.1% ABV with fruity, spicy aromas and a dry finish.

[2] Purple maize. You can grow your own with seeds from Rare Seeds.

There’s a limit of 2 bottles per person. The beer will also be available on tap at the Tasting Room, “while supplies last.”

Road trip?

HOW TO GET YOUR BOTTLES

Book an overnight stay at the Dogfish Inn on Thursday, March 8th, guaranteeing that you can buy two bottles of Chicha at the Milton brewery on March 9.

Reserve your Inn package online using the code “CHICHA!” in the special request section, or by calling the INN and mentioning the promotion during booking.

BTW, don’t plan to give the chicha as Christmas gifts to your favorite beer lover. Chicha is a beer that should be enjoyed fresh; each bottle has a “drink by” date.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF BEER & A GLOSSARY OF BEER TYPES
  

[2] Dried cherries to sprinkle on anything or serve with cheese (photo courtesy Murray’s Cheese).

[3] Frozen cherries turned into Cherries Jubilee (photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma).

[4] Enjoy a shot of cherry liqueur, or add it to tea or atop ice cream or sorbet (photo courtesy Cocktail Guiden).

Today is the birthday of George Washington, leader of the Continental Army and first president of the United States Of America.

His honesty is a lesson for us all; after chopping down his father’s beloved cherry tree as a young boy, he admitted, “I cannot tell a lie…I did cut it with my hatchet.”

While that story has since been found to be apocryphal, created by his biographer after Washington’s death, the association with cherries endures (more myths about George Washington).

It’s a happy excuse to celebrate the day with cherries at every meal:

 
And if you’re feeling especially indulgent, some chocolate-covered cherries. And less indulgent, this…
 
 
RECIPE: CHERRY VANILLA ICE CREAM SANDWICH

Delicious.com.au made the cherry ice cream in photo #1 from scratch; here’s the recipe.

But you can do it in minutes with a trip to the market to buy cherry vanilla ice cream plus cookies or brownies.

Then, soften the ice cream on the counter until you can spread it, and you’re in business.

(No cherry vanilla ice cream in the store? Swirl canned or frozen cherries into softened vanilla ice cream.)
 
Preparation

1. USE a rubber spatula to place the ice cream on the bottom cookie. Add the top cookie and use a metal spatula to remove excess ice cream from the sides.

2. WRAP each sandwich in plastic and place it in the freezer to harden. In half an hour, you’re ready to celebrate.

NOTE re brownies: If the brownies are thick, slice them in half horizontally. You can also use pound cake slices.
 
 
MORE CHERRIES

> The History Of Cherries
 
> The different Types Of Cherries

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