A Mighty Meaty Meal at Texas de Brazil

By: Alex Loanzon

Following a gluttonous Thanksgiving Day meal, the Mister and I decided to continue on the path of excess throughout the weekend by going to a buffet on Saturday night - I mean, why quit while we're ahead (on the weight gain) LOL? Enter Texas de Brazil (TdB), an upscale Brazilian eatery featuring all-you-can-eat grilled meat carved tableside & a salad bar.

Downstairs Bar

The newly opened New York City TdB is a Texas sized space in the heart of a crowded Big Apple. The beautiful and modern bar area downstairs looks perfect for an after work drink (I was told they have many happy hour specials during the weekdays) and the impressive upstairs dining area overlooks Bloomingdale's and appears to be great for groups (there was a birthday party later in the evening).

Strawberry Caipirinha

We arrived at 5:30pm - super early for NYC dinner standards, but we wanted plenty of time to eat! I started the evening off with one of TdB's signature strawberry caipirinha ($12) - it was a heavy pour of alcohol but you could probably drink a few of these without feeling much, given the amount of food available.

Salad Bar

The $60 per person all-you-can-eat deal includes access to an extensive salad bar along with the meats. In more traditional buffets, I generally skip the leafs in favor of the main attraction, but TdB's high end salad bar is just as good as the meats, if not better (FYI patrons can get only the salad bar for $40 a person)!

Pineapple Carpaccio

The salad bar was filled with jumbo cocktail shrimp, sushi, an assortment of fine cheeses and my favorite items of the night - an innovative pineapple carpaccio (literally sweet pineapple sliced carpaccio style) with mint pesto dressing.

Meat Roasting Station

After I had my fill at the salad bar, I then attacked the meats. Out of the 13 plus meats served that night, my favorite was the Brazilian Picanha. A staple meat of Brazilian steakhouses, the picanha (beef rump cap) was juicy and tender (though I suspect the blanket of fat it was covered in helped the juiciness factor!) The filet mignon covered in bacon was also another highlight as well as the medium rare flank steak. Overall, all the meats were well prepared and flavorful (albeit a bit salty).

Tableside Carving

Having grown up eating at a variety of buffets, I consider myself most adept to not stuffing myself with the table breads / carbs. Unfortunately, the table fixings proved to be somewhat of my downfall – as the Pao de Queijo (Brazilian cheese bread), garlic mashed potatoes and candied bananas were unbelievably good. I found myself mindlessly popping the warm Pao de Queijo in my mouth when waiting for the meats – I tried to stop but alas, the temptation from the little carb puffs was too strong!

Table Goodies

TdB offers dessert al a carte, but I was stuffed like the potatoes on my table by the end of my two hour meal to even look at the (attractive) display plate. I tried to go in with the mentality of eating modestly, but I failed – everything was just too good and I wanted to try it all! Although the service was a tad spotty (there was a portion of the night where I felt our waiter went MIA), the quality and quantity of food here is well worth the price tag (obviously not on a weekly basis, but as a splurge/treat meal for sure). I look forward to my next visit – hopefully they won’t have to roll me out the second time around!

Texas de Brazil
1011 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10022
(212) 537-0060
texasdebrazil.com
Cuisine: Steakhouse