Meat cooking churrasco-style in Pelotas, Brazil. (Photo: Eduardo Amarim)
Around mid-September, Knoxville will be able to add Brazilian food to its list of international restaurant offerings. Brazeiros restaurant will open on Kingston Pike, housed in the building formerly occupied by Amerigo. Owner Vilmar Zenzen gave your Knoxville Restaurant Examiner the scoop on what to expect from Brazeiros, and from Brazilian cuisine in general.
Brazeiros will be operating as an authentic churrascaria, a word that means "steakhouse" in Brazilian. The churrasco method of roasting meat by direct exposure to fire is an ancient one, employed by the cowboys, or gauchos, of Southern Brazil and Argentina.
Zenzen describes the cooking method with an obvious excitement and reverence for the past. "The gauchos from ancient times pierced big pieces of meat and stuck the spit into the ground around a bonfire while talking about their adventures in the plains," he explains.
I'm proud to say that I am a Gaucho!" boasts Zenzen. "I was born and raised in a small southern Brazilian farm town where I was, from an early age, immersed in the gaucho culture." He says he plans to keep that culture alive in his new restaurant, where the churrasco tradition will be reproduced in a modern setting.
The Brazeiros menu will feature twelve different cuts of beef, pork, lamb and chicken, all of which will be roasted over an open fire by Gauchos chefs in the centuries-old method, which Zenzen says preserves the individual taste of each cut.
The house specialties will include Picanha, described as "the noble part of the sirloin;" Chicken and Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon; Pork Ribs and Lamb Chops. The owner describes the service as "espito corritos, which translates from the Portugese to 'continuous service.'"
The fixed-price, all-you-can eat concept at Brazeiros lets guests control the pace of their meal with a two-sided disk, explains Zenzen. "The green side signals to the Gauchos chefs to bring skewers of sizzling meats to carve at the table, while the the red side indicates a stopping point. Turn to green again, and the Gauchos chefs re-appear to serve more."
An all-you-can-eat salad bar with vegetables and exotic cheeses will accompany the meals, along with traditional Brazilian side dishes such as Caramelized Banana, Polenta, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and hot, fresh-baked cheese bread. Brazeiros will also feature a wine list that includes international as well as domestic selections, and plans to be open for lunch and dinner.
Why Knoxville? Zensen says he fell in love with the city after a 2002 visit. After living in larger cities like Dallas (where he was Head Chef at Fogo de Chao), Atlanta and L.A., he was charmed by the city that, he says, "Reminded me so much of home (Southern Brazil)."
"I always wanted to live in a smaller city, where one can easier be part of a community. Knoxville is also a city where people like to eat out and enjoy great food. And what a great combination of a beautiful city with friendly people that like to eat out!"
Knoxville welcomes Vilmar Zenzen, his family and Brazeiros Steakhouse to our city.
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Comments
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I have eaten at Fogo de Chao and I am happy that something like this is comin g to Knoxville.
You mentioned a fixed price menu. Any idea what price range we are talking about. This sounds like a great place to eat.
Hi--
Zenzen didn't mention prices, but I'd bet that it depends on your choice of meat. I'm sure some sort of combination will be offered, too.
I'll post a review as soon as Brazeiros is open.
The story clearly states that is a fixed price for all you can eat, so with little respect you are wrong...the price will not depend on your selection of meat.
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The prices probably won't vary by meat but by the time you go to eat at the restaurant. In Atlanta and Washington DC the churrascarias are cheaper during lunch hours. From the Portuguese "Espeto Corrido" (or "espito corritos" in Spanish) as mentioned by the article means "continuous service" ... which is typical of a real Brazilian churrascaria. You pay a set amount to enjoy as much as you can of all the meats on the menu!! Sometimes the lunch menu is cheaper because instead of serving 12 types of meat they'll serve 8.... I'm not saying this is the case with Brazeiros; this is what most churrascarias do.
Thank you for this article! I (and about 20 of my friends and family) can't wait until Brazeiros opens!!!
the brazilian restuarant in myrtle beach was price around $25 to 30 per person but.. it was well worth it..this type of restuarant is for meat eaters .. i would advised people who dont like meat not to go to a brazilian themed steak house. this is mostly what you eat. And if you really want to get ur moneys worth skip breakfast and lunch.
Excellent restaurant. Great food. We loved it.I am glad that Brazeiros came to Knoxville.We will definately go again.
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