A Tale of Two Restaurants Part II: Texas de Brazil

So the night after we went to Lamberts, Ryan and I went to Memphis and decided to try a new dining experience, one totally opposite from "throwed rolls" and country victuals. Ryan had been saying earlier that he'd always wanted to dine at a Brazilian restaurant so we found Texas de Brazil. There are only about a dozen locations in the United States (I happen to know there is one in Miami and in Vegas) but if you are ever able to visit one, do take advantage of the opportunity. Walking in I was immediately struck by the dim lit elegance of the place. Ryan was handed a thick leather menu and we were escorted to a table near the back. It didn't take us long to realize that the "menu" we had been handed was actually an extensive wine list. In fact, the wall we were seated next to was a large wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling wine case. The first stop on your journey through culinary paradise is the international salad bar where you can feast upon items such as asparagus in raspberry sauce, prosciutto, several kinds of imported cheeses (that were so delicious!), hearts of palms, sushi, pastas, salami, different kinds of olives, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, marinated portobellos and other mushrooms, and some divine lobster bisque. Brazilian cheese bread, garlic mashed potatoes, and fried bananas are brought to your table. Beside your plate is a small, double-sided card. One side is green and the other is red. The gauchos (besides wearing really cool pants) emerge from the kitchen carrying swords upon which are sizzling the most succulent selections of meat. If the green side of your card is facing up the gaucho will stop and slice off a portion for you. If, however, the red side is up he will pass by. We found it to be a blessing, as sometimes several gauchos would stop at once and we would flip our cards to red to take the opportunity to eat the plateful we had just acquired before we tried more selections. The meat was delicious! So tender and flavorful! My only complaint would be that there were one or two selections that seemed a little salty. But all in all it was a wonderful experience I would repeat anytime! That night Ryan and I sampled lamb chops, parmesan chicken, parmesan pork loin, Brazilian sausage, bacon wrapped chicken breast, leg of lamb, filet mignon, bacon wrapped filet mignon, braised beef ribs, and house sirloin.