Brazilian Steak House and Fantastic Four

Last weekend, I went to the Brazilian chain-steak house: Fogo de Chão for the first time.

[from left: Michelle, Christy, Ivy, Me, and Zhongyan from Shanghai]

I've been to a couple of those Brazilian steak houses numerous times before, but this one, by far, was the best! Salad bar was not limited to usual items like ceaser and macaroni salad. They had dishes like marinated artichokes, fresh mozzarella cheese, grilled asparagas and smoked salmon.
The service was so excellent--not to mention how stunningly handsome those servers were!

For someone of my size, the whole "all you can eat" scene never pays off. You add drink, appetizers, all the breads and sides that completely fill you up, there's very little room for the actual steaks. However, this was the first Brazilian place that made me feel that I received great value. Fillet mignion on the stick (what not to like?), bacon-wrapped fillet (even better!), and oh... the garlic-rubbed fillet was just simply out of this world.

They were originally started in my home country, Brazil, but they have many locations throughout the US and seem to be expanding rather quickly! Check out their location here.





On a different subject...
While Russ is out visiting San Diego, Parker has turned into the rock guy from Fantastic 4!

He took such a hard fall right on our drive way, receiving painful, aweful, and everlasting pebble imprints on his forehead. Can you believe it?

Considentally, I was on the phone with Meredith in San Diego the night before, where she was telling me all about the fall her daughter Ellie took in a store. If I didn't believe that things always happened for a reason before, I am a complete believer now. Because of the information she shared with me, I was very well prepared!

I iced his ouchie with a popcicle while he sucked on one to keep him calm. After he felt much better, he asked me if he could eat the one that I was using as an ice bag, which kept him in active conversation to prevent him from passing out. After he chowed that one down, he asked if he'd be able to get "just one more." When I refused, he got very upset, telling me how badly he was hurt and how it made him sad that I did not care about him at all.

That's when I knew for sure that his brain was functioning properly and that I had nothing to worry about.