1337 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
My cousin invited my uncle, my cousin’s fiancé, and me out for a day of male bonding in Philly a couple of months ago. We had plans to go to the Flyers/Bruins game at 1pm on Saturday, followed by a cigar and some drinks at a cigar lounge, and a night full of meat at Fogo de Chao before meeting up with our significant others at the Christmas lights show at the Comcast Center in Center City. I was really excited about it because I had never been there, even though my family had all gone together while I was down in North Carolina at college.
From the second that we stepped in the door I was super excited. I could see the large slabs of beef and other meats being toted around the dining room by the servers, and I couldn’t wait until it was my turn to begin indulging. For those of you that do not know what Fogo de Chao is or how it works I will explain it. You pay a set price and you get to eat as much as you want of everything that they serve in the dining room. They offer many different kinds of meat listed below.
Picanha – Top sirloin – garlic seasoned beef
Filet mignon
Beef ancho – rib eye
Alcatra – top sirloin
Fraldinha – bottom sirloin
Costela – beef ribs
Cordeiro – lamb chops & leg with mint marinade
Frango – chicken legs & bacon wrapped chicken breast
Costelo de porko – pork ribs
Lombo – pork loin with parmesan crust
Linguica – Brazilian sausage
Each table is also given the following sides, which are replenished each time that they are empty: caramelized plantains, crispy hot polenta, and garlic mashed potatoes.
You are given a card which is red on one side and green on the other. As long as you have that card turned to green, every person carrying any of the meat around the room will stop at your side and look to cut you off a piece of what they have. If you don’t like the temperature to which the meat is cooked, you can tell them and they will send another person around with the meat at the temperature you prefer it. It was absolutely the manliest and most awesome eating experience I have ever had. I tried everything on the menu, and I was impressed with it all. My favorites included the beef ancho seasoned to perfection and with the perfect amount of crust on the outside; linguica, covered in perfectly crunchy skin with a moist, flavorful center, the cordeiro, hands down some of the best lamb chops I have ever had; and the lombo, a pork loin crusted with parmesan cheese that was simply divine. Each and every one of the side dishes was incredible. I love polenta, and this particular polenta was incredibly crunchy on the outside, but it remained light and fluffy on the inside. I was particularly wowed by the caramelized plantains. They were fantastic! I could eat them that way all day every day.
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