Restaurant review: Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse, Troy, MI
*Disclosure: I received a meal at Fogo de Chao in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.
I was super excited to try out Fogo de Chão (pronounced "Fogo dee shown") this week in Troy. It's only about a 5-minute drive from my house, and I had been curious about it ever since I saw its sign go up a few months ago, replacing the Champps that used to be there.
Fogo de Chão is a Brazilian steakhouse, or churrascaria, where meats are delivered to you tableside. You can also opt for just the Market Table & Feiojada Bar if you're more of an herbivore.
I've been to Texas de Brazil before, in Detroit, which is essentially the same concept, so I was interested in comparing it to Fogo.
When you first arrive, you enter through the lobby, which is dazzling—the whole restaurant is very upscale, and would be great for a special occasion or date night.
The first thing you'll want to do is check out the Market Table and Feiojada Bar (pictured above), which contains meat, cheeses, and stews. My favorite items from the Market Table were the peppers, fresh mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, and some sort of maple sugar bacon, that was off on a table to the side.
I strongly recommend NOT filling up too much at the Market Table, however, because you're going to want to save room for the unlimited churrascaria meats!
At your table, you have a coaster that is green on one side and red on the other—green means "go," or "yes, please serve me meats," and red essentially means "no thanks" or "not right now."
Meats include chicken, pork, both beef and pork ribs, and, of course, steaks. You can even request a specific type of meat, aka medium, medium rare, medium well, etc.
The entire churrascaria area upstairs (the dining room is two levels, with a ramp leading up to the second level) has glass windows, so you can see exactly how the meats are being cooked.
My favorite meats were a few of the steaks, the flank steak in particular, and the bacon-wrapped steak! All of the meats were seasoned to perfection, though I will say one of the pork chops I tried was a little dry—the lime seasoning on it, however, was great.
Sides are included with the full churrasco experience and include fried polenta, fried plantains, and mashed potatoes. I'm usually not a big polenta fan but my mom loved those; the mashed potatoes and fried plantains were very tasty, though.
We *may* have overdone it on the desserts ... but they were all delicious. I ordered the creme brulee (top left), my mom ordered the flan (bottom right, and already partially eaten at that point ...), my dad ordered the cheesecake (top right), and we also ordered the key lime pie (bottom left) to share. We ended up all sharing each others' desserts, though, and my favorite was actually the flan, with the creme brulee coming in at a close second.
The restaurant also has a full bar and bar area, and I ordered the Caipirinha with my meal, which was tasty but pretty potent. The Caipirinha is Brazil's national drink, and is made with cachaça, sugar and lime.
Fogo de Chão is an excellent addition to the Troy restaurant scene, and should do very well here. I definitely want to come back again for the full churrasco experience ($48.95 for dinner, or $34.95 for lunch), most likely on a special occasion, though it looks like Fogo also has a happy hour (Mon-Fri, 4:30-6:30pm, bar only) so I may stop by for that too.
In honor of its grand opening, Fogo de Chão is hosting a "Backpack through Brazil" fundraiser that benefits Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan from Monday, Nov. 6 through Thursday, Nov. 9. During lunch and dinner on these days, Fogo de Chão will donate 25% of guests' food sales to Gleaners when they mention the food bank.
Have you ever been to a Brazilian steakhouse before? If so, which one, and how was your experience?
Fogo de Chão is located at 301 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, MI, and can be reached via its website or at (248) 817-1800. Click here for pricing information.
Related: Read about my second visit to Fogo! {January 2018} -->
Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse (Troy, MI), a great place for foodies and meat-lovers
