Fogo de Chao-down!

I survived... eating more meat... than any human should ever consume.  I am basically a t-rex at this point.

It was date night for my and my better half this Saturday.  We packed up the babies and shipped them off to Damma & Rara's for the night.  After years of reading the ads in the American Airlines magazine, it was time to see what this Brazilian steakhouse thing was all about.  Our partners in crime, the baby brother-in-law and his east-coast girlfriend, were in tow.  Could we do it??  Could we conquer the mountain of meat??

The first course... the salad bar.  Now please, who in their right mind would waste precious stomach space on a salad bar?  But this one was different.  Breads and cheeses and veggies... oh my!  Not to mention an entire bowl dedicated to strips of bacon and the largest asparagus ever created.  We are talking state-fair-winning, mythical asparagus.  I knew the boys couldn't handle it.  I knew that salad bar was going to be the end of them.

Now, I am reasonable lady.  I sampled some of the delights from the salad bar from heaven, but knew I had more important things to tackle.  I mean, come on... I am from Kansas.  It was meat time.

So, if you are new to this like me... there are a few things to learn.

1. That may look like a coaster on the table, but it is not.  It is your ticket to meat paradise.  Flip it to green when you are ready to go, back to red when you feel like you are drowning in protein.
2. The sides: mashed potatoes, polenta, and bananas (I know, strange).  They come on toddler-sized plates.  Don't be sad, they refill them approximately every 30 seconds.
3. The bread: Hmmm.  Let's say cream puffs with out the cream.  Doughy crescent roll balls.  Great for breaking the meat cycle.
4. Most importantly... remember it is a marathon, not a sprint.

So I flipped that baby to green and was ready to go.  Literally within 1 minute the "meat men" came galloping to the table.  Oddly enough, they were wearing exactly an outfit I sported many times in 2005... gauchos, tall boots, and a white shirt.  Each one with a different type of meat on stick.  We are talking EVERY cut of beef, amazing pork and chicken.  These dudes even had sausages (heehee).  Before we knew it, we were all self-proclaimed "meatatarians".

Turns out the the New Yorker was the last woman standing... and she doesn't even eat meat normally.  She couldn't get enough.  We all left officially "meat drunk".  It was the best drunk ever...

If I ever decide to take the farm international... Brazil will be my first choice!!