WEBVTT - The Beefed Up Churrascaria Episode 0:00:09.320 --> 0:00:12.800 Hello, and welcome to Saber Prediction of iHeartRadio. I'm Annie Reese. 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:14.800 And I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today we have an episode 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:16.320 for you about Rascriez. 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:20.360 Yes, it is going to be a fun with pronunciation. 0:00:21.040 --> 0:00:23.080 Yeah, uh huh absolutely. 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:27.680 As I've said before, I have studied a little bit 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:30.760 of Spanish, just enough to really get myself in trouble 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:33.800 in both Spanish and more trouble in Portuguese. 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:35.600 So here we are. 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:41.159 Here we are. But there was a particular reason we 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:42.200 chose this one. 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:47.920 Yeah, okay, So what had happened was Annie and me, 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:52.960 but perhaps more so Annie, we're fans of Star Wars. 0:00:53.240 --> 0:00:55.880 You know this about us, and of course May the 0:00:55.920 --> 0:01:00.480 fourth is a official Star Wars holiday has May the 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:06.240 Fourth be with you always, but it's also you get 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:11.280 May fifth, the Revenge of the Fifth. And it's furthermore, 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.560 what the twentieth anniversary this year of Revenge. 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:14.680 Of the Sith. 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:17.760 It's the twentieth anniversary of Revenge of the Sith and 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:22.039 the forty fifth anniversary of the Empire Staruk's buck Wow wow. 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:27.959 Okay, all right, so I was like, Annie, are there 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:30.240 any Star Wars related topics that you would like to do, 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:32.360 and she was like, well, because of the anniversary time 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:34.680 with Revenge of the Sith, how about some kind of 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:47.480 barbecued meat. Yeah, because of what happens to Anakin at 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:50.280 the end of that film. And so after I stopped laughing, 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:57.320 I you know, had been thinking about Yeah, yeah, I 0:01:57.360 --> 0:01:59.600 went down a little bit of a Google rabbit hole 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:01.600 about all it's kind of about that sort of thing, 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:05.080 and came upon trescries as an interesting topic. 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:10.840 Yes, and you know, the memes are funny. I don't 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:14.120 think Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader would appreciate it. But 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:17.840 I also don't think he'd be into any of the memes. 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:20.200 So I wouldn't say that he's got a good sense 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:20.680 of humor. 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:26.080 No, I think that's the whole point this kind of honestly, 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:33.760 he really really doesn't. But yeah, there are a lot 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:41.079 of memes, and so here we are. I do have 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:44.320 I wouldn't say a lot of experience with trescria is, 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:47.560 but I do have some. The first time I went, 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:51.639 I went with my little brother to an establishment we'll 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:54.400 be talking about later, not a sponsor, but focus shall 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:58.240 and it was for his graduation and we didn't know 0:02:58.280 --> 0:02:59.920 the protocol of flipping. 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:01.240 Oh huh. 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:06.200 So we got so much meat and it was it 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:09.000 was bad news. But it relates to the Star Wars 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.400 experience because when he walked out, he looked like C 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:13.560 three peo he was so full. 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:19.920 Uh huh uh huh. Yeah, yeah, it was it's a danger. 0:03:20.080 --> 0:03:20.680 It's a danger. 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:23.800 Yes. We kept like panicking because we'd realize, oh no, 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:25.840 it's still our paddles are still on green. 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:30.120 They're coming and they're coming. Yeah. 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.720 But then I also have a friend that I've always 0:03:32.720 --> 0:03:35.080 thought this was really interesting about her, but she would 0:03:35.080 --> 0:03:38.040 go to that same restaurant, but she would only pay 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:41.640 for the buffet, so she wouldn't pay meats, but she 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:45.920 did it for lunch, like not infrequently, and it was 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:50.160 just I was like, oh, that's a new one. 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:53.520 From what I understand, they have a good buffet. Sure, 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:57.040 I actually have never been to this style of restaurant. 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:01.920 I'm not really who it's built for. I'm like, I'm like, 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:04.600 oh no, I had four ounces of meat and a 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:05.320 small salad. 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:09.600 I'm unbearably full. I'm that kind of human. I snack. 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:14.400 I don't really feast, so yeah, yeah, but I mean 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:16.960 I think I should go. It sounds wonderful. 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:20.560 There is something fun about it, sort of like what 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:23.599 we talked about with dim sumwhere you know it's by 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:26.640 your table, get to see it, you get to smell it, you. 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:28.640 Get to try a little bit of everything. Yeah. 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:32.400 Yeah, yeah, and the paddle situation is sort of fun 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:34.320 if you remember to do it. 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:39.520 You can also say no when they come to your table. 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.599 You can be like, oh my bad, note, thank you. 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:44.880 You can also ask for meats, because there are some 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:50.599 they don't bring out as often. I want that I 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:55.000 did get. I did do this, and I think it 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.039 was I was in Peru and I did it and 0:04:58.160 --> 0:04:59.719 it was It was really good, but it was much 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:08.919 less of a I didn't leave feeling miserable. Okay, but 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:12.720 that being said, there is Conan O'Brien, as the show 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:15.720 called Conan O'Brien Must Go. I think the second season 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:18.560 is actually coming out this week. But he went to 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:21.200 Argentina in the first season and they did a whole 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:25.240 thing about where they went to a restaurant kinda like that, 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:28.840 and they had a whole thing with the gauchos that 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.560 they did and it's very funny. So if you want 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:37.520 to check that out, that is something I recommend. Yes, Well, 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:42.120 for past episodes, you could see maybe some we've done BBQ. 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:46.039 A little bit of barbecue related to I think we 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:48.800 talked about it in our Ashville episodes. 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:52.160 That sounds right, I think so. We also did a 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:55.680 really cool interview once with Howard Conyers. 0:05:56.880 --> 0:06:02.599 Who is a rocket scientist who is really passionate about barbecue. 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:03.880 It was really cool. 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:05.720 Yeah, yeah, he's awesome. 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.680 I highly recommend. If you haven't listened to that episode, 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:15.359 buffets perhaps sure, yeah, yeah, But I guess this brings 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:21.280 us to our question traskaria. What is it? 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:27.240 Well, trescaria is a type of restaurant that serves primarily treascos, 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:31.320 which are grilled meats, often in the rdizio style, in 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:34.960 which large cuts or skewers or plates are brought out 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:38.480 from the kitchen and patrons signal if they want some, 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:41.240 and then the servers will will portion some of it 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:45.800 off table side. The grilling is usually over charcoal. The 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.640 meats can vary, but there's an emphasis on beef. Often 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:51.719 the only seasoning applied before cooking is salt. Those skewers 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:53.920 are sometimes layered with like chunks of vegs, like an 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.640 onion and tomato among the meat, and sometimes sauces are 0:06:56.680 --> 0:07:01.000 applied after cooking or offered table side. And sides at 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:05.760 these restaurants can include leafy salads, grilled vegetables, various starches. 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:09.760 Drinks often include wine and beer and cocktails. It's fun 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:11.640 because you can write, you can try a lot of 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:16.720 different things, and it's often a you know, like long, relaxed, chatty, 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:19.480 friends and family kind of meal. Though, as with any 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:23.080 kind of steakhouse, like, some individual restaurants and chains are 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:27.000 more casual and some are more upscale. But in any case, 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:31.440 it's you know, like you've got am, you've got some 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:34.640 like barbecue masters in the back, and then people just 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:41.000 bring their best works straight to your table. It is 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:46.840 a veritable parade or dance of meat dinner in a show. 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:52.520 Yes, you get jealous when you're like, oh, oh, that 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:54.720 one's over there, I want to try that meat. 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:02.360 I should go okay anyway. Let's note here that chirasco 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:05.920 is a broader term used in both Spanish and Portuguese 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:10.720 to refer to barbecue, and just as in the US, 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:14.800 barbecue can mean a lot of things and is like 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:20.440 specifically culturally evocative in different ways for many different people. 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:25.120 Chiasco is not a single thing. Chascarias are a more 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:28.480 specific type of restaurant that arose in like the southeast 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:32.240 corner of South America, like like Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:37.360 uh in the cattle raising plains region there or pump us. Okay, 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:40.920 So there you go. That's that's that's one set of definitions. Next, 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:45.000 Rhodizio means rotation, and it refers to the rotation of 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:46.400 dishes around the dining room. 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:47.480 In Brazil. 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:51.280 There are other ridizio style restaurants and dishes served in 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.200 that style in other restaurants, like basically any anything you 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:55.640 can think of, because it's a it's a it's a 0:08:55.640 --> 0:09:00.760 type of service. The redizio servers are called passadors or 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:05.520 more romantically, gauchos, gaucho being a word for cowboy. We'll 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:09.840 get into that in the history section. So in redizio 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.199 dining dishes will come around the room, but you can, 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:16.000 as Annie said, often make a specific request from the 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:18.400 grill or order things a la carte, or be like, 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:19.719 oh hey, could you bring that one back here? 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:20.480 That was really good? 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.480 When the passador cuts you off a slice you use 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:26.000 personal little tongs to nab it and transfer it to 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:31.680 your plate. Specifically, American Redizio escriaz usually charge a flat 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:35.520 price a prefee for redisio service plus access to a 0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:37.680 salad bar and hot bar with all kinds of sides. 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:42.280 And yeah, each table usually has a card or a 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:45.720 paddle that you can flip between green and red. Green 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:49.800 means please bring whatever you've got by the table, and 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:54.240 red means that you're taking a break. But as I said, 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:58.880 you can also say oh, oh, no, thank you when 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:03.559 someone gets tiered table with something you're not morally obligated 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:05.400 to take everything that they're serving. 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:08.080 Sometimes it happens so fast. 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:13.280 Lord, I know, I know, you can get overwhelmed. 0:10:15.080 --> 0:10:17.400 It's a marathon, not a sprint, for sure. 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:23.959 Taste yourself. But okay, let's talk about those meats. All 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:28.000 sorts of cuts of beef, sometimes from specific breeds of cattle, 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:31.840 some cuts that are traditional to this part of South 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:37.120 America and Brazil's specifically, like the cut of pecuna, which 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:41.520 is a really visually iconic one. It's this top sirloin 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:44.920 cut that still has a thick cap of fat attached 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:47.720 to one side. And these thick strips of it will 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:51.160 be curved into a cea shape onto skewers, with the 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.160 fat cap on the outer edge, so it just melts 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:56.959 into the meat. There's also a coupine, which is this 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:00.439 cut from like the fatty hump of this specific breed 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:03.360 that's popular in Brazil. All kinds of cuts may be 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:07.600 served lean to fatty, everything sort of in between. Again, 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:12.400 most of these are only seasoned with salt before they're grilled. 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:16.360 But table side, you might garnish your plain steak with 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:19.240 the sauces like some chimmy cherry, you know, like like 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:23.360 herbal and bright and garlicee or other vinegar vegetable type sauces. 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:28.760 But they will serve all kinds of proteins pork, lamb, chicken, fish, shrimp, 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:32.800 various sausages, you know, All of the above, including different 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.760 cuts of beef, might be wrapped in bacon or crusted 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:39.400 in parmesan, or given a rub or marinate or based 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:41.920 you might get awful like chicken hearts. 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:42.319 In there. 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:46.520 Then there are the apps and sides, which a lot 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:51.400 of the conventional wisdom or like American wisdom, or like 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:55.680 American this is how you eat the most meat wisdom 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:57.480 is like ignore them. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.719 Go only for the steak, Yeah, which I think is 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:03.520 a little silly. I'm like, food is good. 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.600 You don't need to you don't need to like put 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:08.600 them the most, Put the restaurant the most in the 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:12.200 hole for letting you eat there. That's make the point 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:18.400 of restaurants. But yeah, so you might get grilled vegetables 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:22.280 or fruit like pineapple, lots of raw salid options, often 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:26.680 some cheeses and or charcouterie, maybe some chilled seafood. A 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:30.560 common hot option is faijuata, which is this traditional Brazilian 0:12:30.640 --> 0:12:35.120 black bean stew. Then starches like fried polenta or some 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:39.760 cassava cheese, bread or rice with or without beans, maybe 0:12:39.800 --> 0:12:43.679 some fried plantains or bananas, some mashed or grilled potatoes, 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.160 or farrofa, which is a type of like fluffy grained 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:50.960 cassava meal dish. Yep, little bit like a fine grained couscous. 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:55.880 And as these are full service restaurants, they usually have 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:57.640 a dessert menu. But that's not what we're here to 0:12:57.679 --> 0:12:58.400 talk about today. 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:03.679 We did get dessert the first time we went, Even 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:07.079 as miserable as we were, we were like, it's a celebration. 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:08.000 Let go. 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:13.920 They do have some traditional Brazilian ones at a lot 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:15.840 of these places that we've been meaning to do whole 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:16.960 episodes on, So. 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:19.720 We'll get back to those. Yeah, that's a later episode 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:24.320 for sure. Well what about the nutrition. 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:25.920 That depends on you? 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:35.640 That is up to you. That's a problem. Despite what 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:39.960 certain influencers might tell you, eating nothing but meat is 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:41.800 bad him. 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:44.120 Bodies are complicated. Get a vegetable, drink of water. 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:50.040 Drink of water, pace yourself, have a nice time, have 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:51.840 a nice time. This is I would say, I would 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:53.280 put this in the category of treats. 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:56.880 I would I would assume so, yes, I'd say that 0:13:56.960 --> 0:14:01.640 most steakhouse experiences are probably treats, especially all you can 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:02.560 eat steakhouses. 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:08.160 Yeah, yes, so just don't do it all the time. Maybe, Yeah, 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:10.800 we do have some numbers for you. 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:11.840 We do. 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:15.679 Okay, So, any given Shrescaria is usually going to have 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:18.920 like ten to twenty different meats on the menu at 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:22.480 any given time. This is what's going to be, especially 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:26.800 if it's rudisio like circling through the dining room. One 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:31.640 Sarscaria chain that originated in Colorado, currently has twenty five 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:35.640 locations throughout the United States. That's a Rudizio Grill, another 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:40.000 one from Texas, Texas to Brazil, has fifty five locations 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.520 in the United States and thirteen abroad, including in the 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:47.320 United Arab Emirates and South Korea, and Foga de Sheell, 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:52.160 which originated in Brazil, has nine there, eleven throughout Central 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:56.200 South America and the Middle East, and eighty one in 0:14:56.240 --> 0:15:00.880 the United States. Yeah, and those are just the chains. 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:05.600 There are a plenty of independent restaurants out there. 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:10.360 Yes, there are. And there's a really interesting, if not 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:16.120 complicated history behind this style of dining, in this style 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:16.560 of meat. 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:19.000 Yeah yeah, and we are going to get into that 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:20.640 as soon as we get back from a quick break 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:31.600 for a word from our sponsors, and we're back. 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:37.200 Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you. Okay. So the history 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:40.760 of grilled meats is quite a long one. 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:45.760 Oh yeah, yeah, that's too much for us today, but 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:49.640 all right. So, in terms of cattle in this region, 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:53.480 Spanish colonizers brought cattle with them to the Americas as 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:57.040 early as fourteen ninety three, with Columbus on his second voyage, 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:00.760 arriving first in the Caribbean. Cattle then spread with colonization 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:02.800 and also just on their own in the wild through 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:06.440 Central and South America. The Spanish brought them to Bolivia 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:09.280 as work animals for the silver mines and the fifteen hundreds. 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:12.880 Portuguese colonists were also bringing their own cattle to Brazil 0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:16.200 during the early fifteen hundreds, and due to all of this, 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:20.880 cattle existed in the pump us in great numbers by 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:25.080 the mid seventeen hundreds or so. Like this significantly changed 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:31.000 the environment and ecosystem and human food ways in this area, 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:36.360 and then, especially as uprisings brought an end to enslavement 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:39.480 and colonial rule in this area in the early to 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:45.320 mid eighteen hundreds, cattle rearing became this increasingly important agricultural business. 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:51.040 Yes, so when it comes specifically to Turrosco, experts believe 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:54.360 that it dates back to the Gauchos of South America 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:58.040 in the eighteen hundreds. We've discussed this before, but the 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:01.720 Gauchos were nomadic horsemen, farmhands, and ranchers in parts of 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:05.520 South America. In Brazil, they were particularly associated with a 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:09.800 region called Rio Grande do sol again write in if 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:14.800 I'm mispronouncing anything Portuguese. Yeah, not a language, but yes, 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:18.360 let us know. So as the Gauchos traveled around. One 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:21.680 resource they didn't lack was beef, and it didn't take 0:17:21.720 --> 0:17:23.800 them long to start roasting a variety of cuts of 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:29.200 meats on a spit for a meal. According to some sources, 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:32.080 the core of this style of cooking meat goes back 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:36.280 to the sixteen hundreds, when the Guarani people indigenous to 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:39.399 Brazil with a lot of livestock, salted raw meat and 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:42.600 cooked it on a spit, and then the tradition spread 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:47.159 across Brazil. This is a much larger topic for a 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.239 different podcast, but I do think we should point out 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:53.399 that many countries use the gaucho as a national symbol, 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:57.359 a point of pride. Whenever you introduce that sort of 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:00.679 rhetoric and national pride, these histories have the potential to 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:07.119 be massaged or overblown or fabricated entirely to align with 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:12.000 that narrative. In this case, since the Chotaskania is tied 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.400 to the Gauchows, they can get wrapped up on all 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:18.600 of that depending on your source. That's not to say 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:21.800 that these stories aren't true, but that national pride does 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:25.320 entail a vested interest that is important to keep in mind, 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:26.800 and countries everywhere do this. 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.000 This is not Oh yeah, this happens in the United 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:33.840 States everywhere. Yeah, yes, sure, but at any rate. Yes, 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:37.800 The cattle industry in this area kept growing, including in 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:41.720 the early nineteen hundreds with the import of zebu, which 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:45.320 is this breed of cattle from originally from South Asia 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:48.080 that does well in warm climates and has a little 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:49.240 fatty hump on its back. 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:54.359 Ahm hm, all right. So over time, this style of 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:59.800 dining of meats on skewers over usually grilled over hot coals, 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:03.639 grew in popularity alongside the growth of Brazil's network of roads. 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:07.080 In the mid nineteen hundreds, as restaurants started opening up 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:11.120 along these roads to sustain travelers, meat was plentiful, so 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:14.919 it was fairly cheap for these early charscadias to offer 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:19.000 a lot of meat. By the nineteen seventies, this style 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:22.359 of restaurant was pretty popular in southern Brazil, though they 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:25.600 were almost more like gas station stops at the time 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:29.280 from what I read like roadhouses. Yeah yeah. The meat 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:33.400 was typically cooked outside on wooden skewers over charcoal. As 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:36.560 time went on and as the country became more urbanized, 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:41.520 these venues grew popular enough to transform into larger restaurant spaces, 0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:45.919 and kind of going back to my earlier point, a 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:50.040 lot of big modern restaurant chains that specialize in the 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.280 style of dining like to take credit for the invention 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:57.679 of this type of meat being served at the table. 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:02.160 Yeah, the regizio style. Yeah, exactly as usual. A lot 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:06.240 of them these stories cannot be verified. But one popular 0:20:06.280 --> 0:20:09.840 story a lot of them liked to tell is the classic. 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:15.760 It was an accident, pretty simply, a waiter in a 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:19.359 Rio Grandu soul restaurant accidentally delivered a meat skewer to 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:22.920 the incorrect table. The waiter shaved some of the meat 0:20:22.960 --> 0:20:26.480 off for the table anyway before finding the correct recipient, 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:29.320 but the whole thing was really well received, and a 0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:32.320 lot of other tables then requested the same treatment. They're like, 0:20:32.359 --> 0:20:33.679 what is this? I want to try this? 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:36.520 And the rest was history. 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:41.080 Yeah, the rest was history. And that does bring us 0:20:41.160 --> 0:20:45.560 to Fogo de Chao. Fogo de Shao got its start 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:48.840 in nineteen seventy nine after two pairs of brothers purchased 0:20:48.880 --> 0:20:52.679 a churrascaria in the Brazilian city of Porto Aleegra. 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:55.960 We one pair were investors, the other pair had gotten 0:20:55.960 --> 0:20:58.560 into the restaurant industry a few years before working in 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:02.440 steakhouses and readdition narrow before taking over that first fog 0:21:02.560 --> 0:21:06.280 To show, and they were at the forefront of a 0:21:06.320 --> 0:21:08.920 growing trend when it came to these types of steakhouses 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:14.840 and particularly Rhodizio style steakhouses. This is the style that 0:21:14.880 --> 0:21:17.400 a lot of US are now familiar with, where customers 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:20.399 pay a fixed price and waiters carve off several different 0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:23.400 types of meat from skiwers table side at the diner's request. 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:26.399 They were also the ones who made it into a 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:30.679 fine dining experience and like really brought the Brazilian steakhouse 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:34.800 into cities and tourist areas. Fog To Shao opened their 0:21:34.800 --> 0:21:38.480 second location in this posh neighborhood in Sal Paulo in 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:39.440 nineteen eighty six. 0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:46.560 Yes, and to reiterate, they are often credited with introducing 0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:50.119 this concept to big cities in the US as well, 0:21:51.119 --> 0:21:55.560 but they were not the first. No, we've already mentioned 0:21:55.960 --> 0:21:59.960 this establishment, but Rudizio Grill was the first Brazilian state 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:02.760 house chain restaurant to open in the US in nineteen 0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:06.320 ninety five or nineteen ninety six. The founder was a 0:22:06.320 --> 0:22:09.360 Brazilian immigrant who worked various jobs in the food industry 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:12.920 before setting his sights on bringing Brazilian food and culture 0:22:13.080 --> 0:22:14.400 to the US. 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:14.960 Yeah. 0:22:15.480 --> 0:22:20.280 Other independent restaurants in the style were opening in America 0:22:20.359 --> 0:22:25.160 around that time, including Chidescaria Platiforma in New York City 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:26.440 in nineteen ninety six. 0:22:28.000 --> 0:22:31.760 One of the first reviews of Fogo de Shall printed 0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:37.919 in American media proclaimed it, quote a meat eater's mecca. 0:22:38.080 --> 0:22:42.160 Their first international location opened in Texas in nineteen ninety seven. 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:46.800 They chose Texas because they figured that, like Texans already 0:22:46.840 --> 0:22:47.680 love a steakhouse. 0:22:48.640 --> 0:22:51.120 Yeah, they were like. 0:22:51.119 --> 0:22:52.440 Well, if not there, then where. 0:22:56.000 --> 0:22:58.600 But generally speaking, like the concept had had a lot 0:22:58.680 --> 0:23:01.520 going for it at that time. Time in the nineties 0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:03.959 to early aughts, you know, like all you can eat 0:23:03.960 --> 0:23:05.399 buffets were really. 0:23:05.160 --> 0:23:06.400 Popular around here. 0:23:06.480 --> 0:23:10.320 Then steakhouses in general were big, and anything a little 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:13.960 showy or kind of participatory was very posh. Like think 0:23:13.960 --> 0:23:17.120 of all of those melting pot fondoue restaurants that were 0:23:17.119 --> 0:23:21.280 around then. This is anecdotal, but a lot of the 0:23:21.880 --> 0:23:26.399 American articles that I read while doing my reading for 0:23:26.480 --> 0:23:31.600 this episode, we're like like that we're explaining basically to Americans, 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:36.480 what trascarias are. We're from the early twenty teens. That 0:23:36.600 --> 0:23:39.600 seemed like some kind of zeitgeist moment in this country 0:23:39.640 --> 0:23:40.720 for this style thing. 0:23:41.400 --> 0:23:41.880 Certainly. 0:23:42.000 --> 0:23:48.159 By twenty eighteen, this tabletop game company called Absurdist Productions 0:23:48.240 --> 0:23:52.639 released a card game called Escaria, a cutthroat game of 0:23:52.680 --> 0:23:57.560 gluttony wherein players vie to gain the most meat cards 0:23:57.960 --> 0:24:00.920 and pass off any sides and dessert to other players 0:24:01.280 --> 0:24:04.399 and furthermore cause shenanigans to mess up other players' plans 0:24:04.440 --> 0:24:08.119 to do the same. You have like an active face 0:24:08.200 --> 0:24:11.040 up space in front of you. That's your plate, and 0:24:11.040 --> 0:24:13.440 then you have like a sort of victory point card 0:24:13.480 --> 0:24:14.880 pile that's your stomach. 0:24:15.680 --> 0:24:18.520 It sounds adorable. To be honest, I would play that. 0:24:19.200 --> 0:24:21.879 I would play that. I love that. 0:24:22.000 --> 0:24:25.440 It's the point is, let me send these sides and. 0:24:25.440 --> 0:24:29.040 Deserts to somebody else. I only want the meats. 0:24:29.280 --> 0:24:31.879 Yeah. 0:24:32.000 --> 0:24:33.679 I think a lot of these restaurants did have a 0:24:33.680 --> 0:24:37.000 hard time during the COVID pandemic, perhaps obviously the whole 0:24:37.080 --> 0:24:39.840 restaurant industry did. But but they are back on their 0:24:39.880 --> 0:24:43.560