A dozen meats, all-day happy hour, and Brazilian cheese balls... if your mouth is already watering, then it's time to head over to Chama Gaúcha steakhouse.
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00:00A dozen meats, all-day happy hour, and Brazilian cheese balls. If your mouth is already watering,
00:06then it's time to head over to Chama Gaúcha Steakhouse.
00:09The word chama means flame in Portuguese, a nod to how Brazilian barbecue is typically
00:14cooked over an open fire. It also alludes to the spirit and cultural heart of the gauchos.
00:20The word gaucho refers to the cowboys of South America. With a lasso and a knife, they roamed
00:25the countryside and rounded up cattle to gather meat for communal barbecues. They became
00:29legendary for their love of the high life, including culinary delights like drinks and
00:34delicious rustic meals.
00:36The spirit of the gaucho has since been passed down for generations. Today, the word is often
00:40used in concert with the specially trained chefs in Brazilian steakhouses, who cook and
00:44serve all of those succulent fire-roasted meats that churrascarias are known for.
00:49You know what a churrascaria is?
00:52Yeah, it's a Brazilian steakhouse.
00:54Brazil's national cocktail is the caipirinha, a mix of lime juice, sugar, and a spirit made
01:00from fermented sugarcane juice called cachaça. Cachaça is somewhat similar to rum, as both
01:05come from sugar, but rum is made from sugarcane byproducts like molasses, while cachaça is
01:11made straight from sugarcane. This slight deviation tends to make rum sweeter than cachaça
01:16and gives cachaça an earthier and more herbaceous flavor profile.
01:20As a testament to its Brazilian roots, Chamagaúcha selected the caipirinha as its signature drink.
01:27Their version is made with fresh lime juice, sugar, and two ounces of velobejara cachaça.
01:32If you're looking for something special with a tropical, fruity twist, Chamagaúcha also
01:37offers some flavored caipirinhas, such as strawberry, pineapple, passion fruit, and
01:41tropical.
01:43After working at the churrascaria Fogo de Chão for over two decades, native Brazilian
01:47Joao Carlos Ongarado opened the doors to the first Chamagaúcha in 2008. What sets Chamagaúcha
01:55apart from Fogo de Chão? For one thing, it's the atmosphere. Chamagaúcha puts a lot of
02:00emphasis on carefully creating an exceptionally warm and inviting environment. As they put
02:05it on their website,
02:06"...each customer comes in a guest and leaves feeling just like family."
02:10Since the first spot opened in San Antonio, Chamagaúcha has gone on to establish two
02:14more locations in Houston and Chicago. By honing his craft in the Brazilian steakhouse
02:19business for over 20 years, Ongarado was not only honoring the rich traditions of his homeland,
02:24but also paving the way for a future business plan of his own.
02:28Brazilian steakhouses are well-known not just for their flame-broiled meat, but also for
02:32their frequently enormous and delicious salad bars. Chamagaúcha boasts a particularly high-quality
02:38one with a wide array of different items, making it a highly desirable destination for
02:42carnivores and vegetarians alike.
02:44"...two salads. Never heard of it. I gotta stay hip."
02:50Some of the diverse salad bar items at Chamagaúcha include specialty cheeses, cured meats, fresh
02:55vegetables, olives, asparagus, peppers, and more. All told, Chamagaúcha's salad bars
03:00are downright lush. That's pretty impressive, especially considering how much steakhouses
03:05are known for, you know, the steaks.
03:08Good news for everyone with a certain food intolerance — all of Chamagaúcha's marinades
03:12are now gluten-free. They used to add beer, which typically contains gluten, to some of
03:16its marinades, but they've since removed any gluten-containing ingredients to accommodate
03:21a wider range of diners. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, some of the
03:26key ingredients in alcohol production, especially beer.
03:29For diners who are sensitive to gluten, ingesting these ingredients can trigger an autoimmune
03:33response that damages the small intestine, leading to a wide range of health complications.
03:38So, Chamagaúcha's decision to forego gluten in its marinades is an important one for any
03:42customers with celiac disease or gluten sensitivities.
03:47Brazilian steakhouses are rightfully famous for their glorious abundance of flame-charred
03:51meats. Chamagaúcha follows suit and honors this custom by offering 12 unique cuts of
03:56meat at its restaurants. Naturally, many of those options are focused on beef, the historic
04:01favorite of the gauchos.
04:02Picanha, a prime cut of sirloin, is Chamagaúcha's house specialty. Other beef offerings include,
04:08fraldinha, bottom sirloin, and filet mignon. Chamagaúcha offers also porco, which takes
04:14the form of a rack of pork ribs or loins lightly seasoned with parmesan. If ribs are your jam,
04:20then check out the cordiro, which comes from lamb.
04:23Bacon lovers will be delighted by the filet mignon e frango, a filet of beef or chicken
04:28wrapped in cured pork belly. And then there's the pairing called frango e linguiça, which
04:33consists of marinated drumsticks and pork sausage. By offering at least a dozen different
04:38barbecued meats, Chamagaúcha is ensuring that diners have plenty of distinctly delicious
04:43options.
04:44That's a lot of meat, son. What happened to being a vegetarian?
04:48Chamagaúcha understands the importance of maximizing the flavor of its barbecue. This
04:53dedication is especially apparent when you learn that the restaurant uses only high-quality
04:57USDA prime meats, and that it ages its cuts for a minimum of 45 days before seasoning
05:03them to perfection.
05:04Aging is a surefire way to enhance all of the meat's flavors, and the sweet spot seems
05:09to be somewhere in the range of 30 to 45 days. This is because aging slowly draws some of
05:14the interior moisture out of the meat, a process that ends up dramatically concentrating its
05:18natural flavor profile. Furthermore, the aging process breaks down the meat's natural enzymes
05:23and tenderizes it to create a juicier and more delicate bite when it finally arrives
05:28on your plate.
05:29By aging all of its meats, there's no doubt that Chamagaúcha is pleasing its diners by
05:33improving the flavor of its Brazilian barbecue beyond an already impressive baseline.
05:39Having a solid happy hour is obviously a great way to entice customers in, and Chamagaúcha
05:44offers some pretty incredible happy hour specials. This includes a well-stocked selection of
05:48beverages and special small plates. If you're looking to beat back those early workweek
05:53blues, happy hour lasts all day on Mondays and Tuesdays. Then, on Wednesdays, Thursdays,
05:58and Fridays, it starts up after lunch and ends before dinner.
06:01Chamagaúcha's happy hour menu consists of the signature drink, an authentic caipirinha,
06:06for only $7, and most of their beers will only set you back a few dollars. Mixed drinks
06:11are anywhere from $6 to $8, and there are even a couple of different glasses of wine
06:15for variety's sake.
06:17Besides the booze, Chamagaúcha offers a few light plates to nibble on during happy hour.
06:21These include otherwise pricey filet mignon, grilled shrimp, garlic beef, and house signature
06:26picanha. You could easily pull off a drink and a bite that'll end up costing you only
06:30around $20 — a great deal for such a high-quality meal.
06:34It's no stretch to say that every restaurant wants to earn the respect of the culinary
06:38community as one of the best in the business. For a relatively small operation with just
06:42three locations, Chamagaúcha has pulled off just such an accomplishment. In a 2022 article,
06:48Urban Matter selected Chamagaúcha as one of the best Brazilian restaurants in the Chicago
06:53area. That's an extraordinary feat in a city that's renowned for its vibrant food culture,
06:58with no shortage of churrosquerias. Chamagaúcha gained attention because of its stellar ingredients
07:03and excellent service — two key features that should be a part of any top-notch eatery.
07:08More accolades have come from the San Antonio Current, where Chamagaúcha came in first
07:12place among steakhouses and was listed as the best restaurant of its kind in San Antonio
07:17in 2021. And this was the third year running, no less. With distinctions like these,
07:22it's clear that Chamagaúcha is here to stay.
07:25A meal at Chamagaúcha kicks off with delicious Brazilian cheese balls called
07:31pão de queijo. If you've never tried them before, you're in for a treat. Most pão de queijo is made
07:36with simple ingredients like eggs, oil, milk, cheese, and tapioca flour. Their flavor is similar
07:41to cheese straws, and the texture inside is similar to mochi. The interesting texture of
07:46pão de queijo comes from its tapioca flour, which in turn comes from the cassava tuber root.
07:52If you have wheat or gluten sensitivities, you'll be happy to learn that even though
07:55tapioca has lots of carbs, it's gluten-free. So as long as you're not allergic to any of
08:00the other ingredients, you should find pão de queijo safe and delicious to eat.
08:06When you visit Chamagaúcha, you can expect an all-you-can-eat dining experience.
08:11Every time you want a server to return to your table with more meat, all you have to do is flip
08:15your card over from the red to the green side to indicate that you're still hungry.
08:19Customers have reported on Reddit that you can even ask for new meat if you already have some
08:23on your plate that wasn't to your liking. But you'll probably get a cut of meat you like the
08:27first time around, since the servers will always ask how well you want your meat done.
08:32With 12 different types of meat available, it may be tempting to try them all.
08:35As noted by Psychology Today, we're more likely to overeat when we're offered
08:39delicious food in an all-you-can-eat format, especially when there's a high price tag.
08:44After all, we want to get our money's worth. It's easiest to avoid overeating when you're
08:48no longer hungry if you separate the price of the meal from the food in your mind.
08:52It might help if you think about the fact that you're paying for a Brazilian steakhouse
08:56experience as much as you're paying for the food.
08:58"...give them an authentic Brazilian experience without having to take a 10-hour flight."
09:02Chamagaúcha currently has three locations, with a fourth in the works. While one is in
09:07the Chicago suburbs, all the others are in Texas, where the chain's headquarters are located.
09:12When you think of Texas, chances are that your mind conjures cowboys and cattle wrangling.
09:16It was in southern Brazil among the gaucho culture where the concept of the Brazilian
09:20steakhouse was born, after all. So it's no surprise that Brazilian
09:24steakhouses now thrive in a similar environment in the United States.
09:27Everything is bigger in Texas, and this is especially true when it comes to the
09:31newest Chamagaúcha restaurant that's opening in Dallas. The building is a whopping 1.1 million
09:37square feet. According to City Documents, the renovated dining space is big enough to
09:41accommodate 389 customers, and the parking lot has space for 160 vehicles.
09:48Chamagaúcha's servers have a tendency to be obsessively attentive to their customers.
09:52When they're not overly busy, it's not uncommon to have more than one server descend upon you
09:57the moment you switch your table's card from red to green. A 2014 review of the restaurant in
10:02Houston Press found this attention to keeping water glasses full almost became annoying,
10:07especially if intimate conversations were interrupted. However, during peak hours,
10:11the number of customers in the restaurant can cause the service and atmosphere to suffer.
10:15And with more customers to attend to, it's impossible for them to serve every customer
10:19as quickly as they're able to during the slower times. So, with that in mind,
10:23the best times to visit the Houston Chamagaúcha are at lunch and before 7 p.m. Monday through
10:28Friday, before 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and before 6 p.m. on Sundays. For the best service at the
10:33San Antonio Chamagaúcha, visit at lunchtime, Monday through Tuesday before 7 p.m., or Wednesday
10:39through Friday before 6 p.m. Saturday diners will get the best service before 4 p.m., and Sunday has
10:44two peaks, between 2 and 3 p.m., and again from 6 to 8 p.m. The Chicago restaurant in the Downers
10:50Grove suburb isn't open for lunch. However, they aren't very busy at all from Monday through
10:54Thursday, so those are the best days to visit. Business picks up on the weekends, though,
10:58so it's best to visit on Fridays and Saturdays before 7 p.m. and Sundays before 4 p.m.