13 Red Flags To Look Out For When Eating At A Brazilian Barbecue Restaurant

When it comes to sampling foods from around the world, American consumers are more interested in authenticity than you might imagine. According to the 2018 Ethnic Food & Beverage Consumer Trend Report (via Food Dive), consumers in the United States are invested in trying foods that cultures actually enjoy. In fact, 44% of Americans who eat foreign foods said that they always look for the most authentic international eats on the market. In practice, that means that folks are growing more interested in Mexican delicacies, like mole or pozole, than they are in American interpretations of these classics (think bright orange nacho cheese). 

Of course, however, a huge part of selecting the most authentic international foods on the market is knowing how to differentiate the real stuff from cheesy Americanized interpretations. At Brazilian barbecue restaurants, also known as "churrascarias" in Portuguese, it isn't always easy for the untrained eye to determine whether or not the set-up is authentic. Luckily, though, there are plenty of tricks that can help you evaluate the quality of a churrascaria. From a lack of picanha to a failure to serve dessert, these red flags are solid indicators that a Brazilian barbecue restaurant is not authentic.   

In the United States, it is normal for bars and restaurants to offer drinks from around the world. If you go to any kind of eatery, it would not be surprising to see a cocktail menu with a diverse offering that can include mimosas, mojitos, and, of course, margaritas. That being said, authentic Brazilian barbecue restaurants absolutely must serve the national drink of Brazil: the caipirinha.

Traditionally, caipirinhas are made by crushing limes in sugar to make a syrup, which is then mixed with ice and cachaça to create a refreshingly sweet citrusy drink. These cocktails are an integral part of traditional Brazilian grill-outs, and many people in Brazil like to serve this beverage at their own backyard churrascos. The best part is that there are tons of modern interpretations of the caipirinha, including passionfruit and strawberry versions. At authentic Brazilian churrascarias, it's also typical to see caipiroskas (vodka-based caipirinhas) and sakerinhas (sake-based ones).

Because of the vast diversity of caipirinhas that exist in Brazil, a true churrascaria will serve several different interpretations of this drink. On the flip side, a cocktail menu that serves five different types of margarita and just one type of caipirinha is a huge red flag. This ends up being a strong indicator that the restaurant's owners aren't too focused on actually sharing Brazilian culture.

Chicken hearts are not the only non-steak items that are commonly served at Brazilian churrascarias; grilled cheese on a stick is also a popular menu item. This dish generally uses "queijo coalho," a unique type of semi-hard cheese that hails from the Northeast of Brazil. Unlike most cheeses, which grow gooey and soft as soon as they come into contact with heat, queijo coalho won't melt when you throw it on the grill. This makes it the ideal variety for a churrasco. Brazilian cooks simply cut the cheese into cubes, skewer it, and cook it over a hot fire. This creates a hot cheese skewer that's crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

Because of its uniquely high melting point, queijo coalho skewers are hugely popular at Brazilian barbecue restaurants. Authentic establishments will certainly offer this treat as a part of the all-you-can-eat menu, even sending waiters from table to table with it in tow. If, for some reason, you notice that a restaurant does not serve queijo coalho, that's a massive red flag. This dish is fairly typical churraco fare, so a churrascaria that doesn't serve it is highly suspicious. 

Brazilian barbecue restaurants serve many kinds of meat, but ground beef is not one of them. The reason why you won't find hamburgers at a churrascaria in Brazil is due to its price. Brazilian barbecues are more expensive restaurants, and patrons don't want to pay top dollar for cheaper cuts of meat, like ground beef. As per the Brazilian blog Mala Pronta Gramado, an inexpensive churrasco experience in Brazil costs around 89 reis per head. When converted into dollars, this price may seem like a good deal. However, when we consider that the average Brazilian earns around 2,700 reis per month, that number is pretty steep. Consequently, when Brazilians go to a churrascaria, they generally want to make the most of the experience. Rather than eating ground chuck, local patrons prefer to enjoy treats like picanha, queijo coalho, and maminha.

As a result of this dynamic, authentic Brazilian barbecue restaurants don't generally serve hamburgers. And, any so-called churrascaria that offers this typical American menu item could be considered suss. If you glance at a menu and notice multiple hamburger options, consider taking a step back. That is a major red flag indicating that an eatery is not Brazilian at all.

Brazilian barbecue restaurants may be famous for serving juicy steaks, but that doesn't mean that these establishments are only enjoyable for carnivores. On the contrary, all authentic churrascarias offer extensive salad bars, which contain way more than just lettuce and tomatoes. These self-service bars typically include traditional plates, like the Brazilian version of chicken stroganoff. They can also carry potato salad, endives, asparagus, shrimp dishes, buffalo mozzarella, and more.

These sides are a key part of the traditional Brazilian churrascaria experience, although not everybody can appreciate that. One U.S. blog, Amigo Foods, actually tells its readers to go to the churrascaria and skip the salad bar so that they have extra space in their stomachs for meat. From a Brazilian perspective, this is blasphemous. The point of the salad bar is the help cleanse your palate between rounds of meat. For this reason, many of the salad bar offerings — like endives and asparagus — are soaked in vinegar. This gives the veggies a light, refreshing characteristic that will help cut through the fattier flavors of the meat. So, don't skip the salad bar; skip out on any restaurant that doesn't offer one. It probably is not authentic, anyways. 

In English, the word "vinaigrette" probably calls to mind a unique sort of salad dressing. In Brazilian Portuguese, however, the word means so much more. If you are at a Brazilian barbecue restaurant, vinaigrette likely refers to a finely-chopped salad that includes tomato, raw onions, and green peppers. And, as you can probably guess from the salad's name, these veggies are dressed in plenty of vinegar; some recipes even call for more than one type. 

Because of the dish's high vinegar content, it is most commonly consumed at a churrasco as a way to help cleanse the palate between different meat options. Savor a bite of your picanha, for example, then dip into the vinaigrette for a much-needed refresh. Then, try your grilled chicken or queijo coalho with cleansed taste buds. This unique salad, which is typically found at the salad bar, will prepare your mouth to enjoy the unique flavor of each individual meat. Its refreshingly acidic flavors also help cut through the fatty flavors of the meat, giving you the chance to fully appreciate the Brazilian churrasco. Thus, if a restaurant lacks this important side, it's probably not Brazilian. 

There may be no food as authentically Brazilian as farofa. Made of cassava flour, this unique dish can trace its roots in Brazil to well before the cruel years of Portuguese colonization. Farofa was invented by the Tupi-Guaraní peoples, who would roast cassava flour in empty tortoise shells in order to give the treat a warmer and deeper flavor. The thick layer of tortoise fat from the shell would flavor the flour, making it heartier and richer, much in the same way that bacon grease flavors grits in the U.S.

These days, farofa is no longer cooked in tortoise fat, but that doesn't mean it has lost its rich meaty flavor. Many cooks prepare this delicacy using pork fat instead, even serving their farofa with little bacon bits mixed into the flour. This gives contemporary farofa a deep and delicious taste, as well as a more varied texture. 

When it comes to Brazilian barbecues, farofa is a favorite. This garnish tastes great sprinkled over a plate of rice and beans, but many people also like to use it to top their meat. Because of this tradition, it would be odd for a Brazilian-style steakhouse to lack farofa. Any establishment that claims to have its roots in "The Land of the Palms," as the Guaraní people once nicknamed it, should offer this classic delicacy.