Churrasco

"Elder Jones and I eat tons of food on the street. We've decided it's one of the best parts of our downtown area. Our favorite has to be the Churrasco Grego which is this sandwich with this hot sliced meat and some chopped up "greens" that we smother with hot sauce. Its cheap."

More than 400 years ago cattle ranching was introduced to the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil. Gauchos herded these cattle and created a new style of cooking. They called it Churrasco, which is Brazilian Barbecue. Churrasco started in the 16th and 17th centuries and spread throughout all of Brazil in the 1940's as the Gauchos spread across the country.

Churrasco is much more than a way of cooking in Rio Grande do Sul it's a way of life. The Barbecue capital of Brazil is the city of Nova Brescia which has a statue of a man cooking barbecue in the central plaza. In the 1940's this city had a population of about 150,000. Since then the population has dropped to about 30,000 due to the mass exodus of people leaving to open Barbecue restaurants across Brazil.

All meats are cooked on long skewers placed on racks over the fire with fattier items placed on top so that the juices will drip down and flavor the other cuts. When the meats are cooked waiters carry the skewers around table to table carving off pieces onto your plate. Without moving from your table you can experience virtually unlimited dishes until your stomach fails you and it's time to lumber home. This is truly a great dining experience.