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• Brazilian Grill Steakhouse

Tony Smith, a waiter at Brazilian Grill on West 86th Street, presents a skewer of pork loin roasted in a curry marinade. (Zach Dobson for The Star)

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With its meat-loving reputation firmly intact, it's perhaps surprising that the Circle City hasn't indulged in the Brazilian steakhouse trend before now. But it finally has arrived in the form of Brazilian Grill, a somewhat scaled-back version of the churrascaria dining scene making a name for itself in Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York and other up-to-the-minute cities.

The concept is simple, if a vegetarian's nightmare: you pay one price, giving you access to a cold bar (a bit of a misnomer, since it includes hot side items in addition to a roster of salads, cheeses and the like) and unlimited servings of meat carved directly from skewers delivered tableside by "passadors" (meat waiters).

Who's counting?

How much meat, you ask? Well, that varies upon your source. Brazilian Grill's Web site boasts 18 types. During a premeal chat, the owner, Renato Nascimento, told my friend Mary that the actual number was 20. Our server said 15. No matter. Just know there is a lot of protein on its way to your table.

Mary, my husband, Pete, and I visited on a Friday night. The small restaurant sits next to the much larger Bravo at 86th Street and Township Line Road, so just finding a parking spot proved to be challenging. Mary was waiting at the small bar tucked into a back corner of the eatery, and we relocated to a table in the middle of the room.

Beside each set of flatware were two items key to the churrascaria experience: tongs for plucking the meat servings from the skewers, along with a plastic-coated card with one green side and one red. When you're ready to begin the meat parade, you flip your card green side up. Once you've stuffed yourself silly, you turn the card back to red.

Our server appeared, introduced herself and asked if we had been to the Grill before. When we replied in the negative, she explained the plastic-card signal system, took our drink orders and left. That's when things got a bit rocky, because she didn't return. For a really long time.

We weren't sure how to proceed. We had no plates, so kicking off the skewer service didn't seem an option. I spotted plates at the cold bar, but did we need to wait to be invited up? Was there a certain procedure we should follow? The answers wouldn't be forthcoming, as our server seemed to be preoccupied elsewhere.

Helping ourselves

Finally, our hunger getting the best of us, we headed up to the cold bar and helped ourselves. At larger versions of a churrascaria, the owner had told Mary, this area would be much more expansive. Still, there was an adequate amount of mixed greens, salad toppings (bacon bits, various veggies, cheeses, dressings) and interesting sides (cold shrimp, pasta salad, a couscous-like dish, a potato/carrot mix; hot rice, black beans, a Brazilian version of shepherd's pie).

Returning to our table, we discovered our drinks still had not arrived. Pete got up to flag down the server, who finally returned minutes later, beverages in hand and apologetic. We downed our salads and went back for clean plates, returning to finally flip those cards to go. Immediately, the parade o' meat began.

We tried to keep count of the varieties presented to us, but got sidetracked after about 10. Lamb. Bacon-wrapped chicken. Top sirloin. Skirt steak. Pork tenderloin. A variety of sausages. We sampled them all. Seafood is advertised on the Web site, but none made its way to us before we flipped our cards back to red.

Of everything we tried, we all voted the skirt steak as our favorite. The tender meat had been grilled with a slightly sweet marinade for a satisfying taste that I would happily have ordered as a single entrée. Pete and I also found the sausage offerings to be especially savory. Mary gave a thumbs-up to the pork, although my slice was too dry for my taste. We were also in agreement on our least favorite, the chicken, which seemed a tad underdone, along with the bacon wrapped around it.

Cocktail specialty

Overall, though, a meat lover would be hard pressed to walk away unsatisfied. Once you flip that card to green, the passadors are attentive, the meat arrives hot and the variety practically guarantees overindulgence.

Speaking of which, we noticed the bar serving up quite a few caipirinhas, a tasty little cocktail made with cachaca (a sugar-cane-based distilled alcohol), lime and sugar. A Brazilian classic, it rivals the mojito in looks and taste and appeared to be quite popular with restaurant regulars.

Dessert is not included with the meal service, and although we saw others enjoying luscious-looking slices of cake, we were not offered the opportunity to order any. We most likely couldn't have found stomach space, anyway, but it would have been nice to be presented with the option. Likewise, after the tables around us filled, Pete noticed the occupants were enjoying the crusty contents of bread baskets. We're not sure if this was supposed to be included with the meals or was an add-on, but again, it was never offered.

Granted, our server apologized again at the end of our dinner, saying she was inexperienced. However, since we were first-time diners not knowing what to expect, the lapses did affect us more than they would have on a return visit.