YEE: Elites Gone Gaucho @ Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse

300^th review… I didn’t even know! How cool is that? This experience was so deserving of the honor… anywhoooo
I swear these events have just been getting better and better…
I never complain about any OYE because hey, it’s complimentary. It would have to be down right awful for me to complain and we know that is never going to be the case.
A Unilocaler who didn’t make the cut asked how this event compared to the TdB event earlier this year (I think… I’m bad with dates). And the answer is there is no comparison. As much as I love TdB, that event was not an accurate portrayal of the true dining, paying experience.
Fogo de Chao on the other hand, showed OWT!!! Sat down at the table and was greeted by colossal shrimp on ice. If I wasn’t in public… I would have munched on way more than I did. When it was time to start, we had a very short presentation that also included a video of the history of FdC. I really enjoyed knowing the background story. Then it was on to the appetizer bar and then the gauchos brought the lovely morsels of meats around.
It was the exact experience as when I was a paying customer… actually it was better b/​c no way in hell I’d order those shrimp or get as many drinks. Nor the dessert that finished off the wonderful food. Initially we were told cheesecake was an option but it wasn’t when I went to order… some people lucked out so womp womp. I went with the chocolate mousse cake.
The service was great as well, of course they were really on it. An unwanted fly was found in my drink (good thing I saw it) and it was taken away and replaced before I could even miss taking a sip.
s/​o to the entire team that assisted at FdC and Farrah for coordinating the affair…
pass the meat, I’m hungry again :)

The was my first YEE! I hear you always remeber your first. I sure don’t think I will forget this one.
Meat, oh how I love thee let me count the ways! One for al the tenderness you give me. Two for savory way… well you get the picture.
This event was absolutely spectacular! The staff was awesome, made you feel like a paying customer! We started out with a few a appetizers. I was trying not to fill up to save my appetite for the main course. untill I saw these Incredible Hulk sized shrimp. Needless to say Hulk smash! So very tender and juicy. The salad bar had a great selection but that’s not my thing… bring on the meat! I attempted to give everything a try to get the full experience but was unable to live up to my own standards. The filet was awesome and melt in your tender, seasoned to perfection. The bacon wrapped chicken was oh so good! The chicken was juicy juicy! I am just naming a few to be lady like.
Now time for the battle my… my minds telling me NOOO but my belly, my belly say yeeeessss. I don’t see nothing wrong with a little dessert! My choice was the tres leches… bottom line sensational!

Have to say I really enjoyed the Elite only event, in that I finally got to log more faces to Unilocal friends that I have for quite some time never had the pleasure of meeting.
I’d not dabbled much in the Brazilian Steakhouses, and David N nailed it with regards to Texas de Brazil, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Needless to say to go in with no expectations I was beyond satisfied & stuffed on departure. Loved that this was a full sit down meal, emulating an actual dining experience, tailored to give you the same exact atmosphere had we not come for a Unilocal event.
It was such a treat to be given the chance to try the full menu, along with dessert that followed. Though by the time that hit the table I was done for, in fact I had long thrown in the towel. The papaya cream dessert, well I am torn on that dessert, it tasted off to me, maybe I just was overly stuffed and could not find pleasure in eating any more food, though tres leches (while its not El Bolillo) it still was a favorite out of the four. Also the salad bar, I’ll probably get some flack for saying this, I’d be in trouble eating here because I’d be one of those that would fill up on the salad bar and never give the green light for meat, sucker for veggies, roasted tomatoes, overgrown asparagus, strawberry endive salad, smoked salmon… I could keep going!
Thank you Farrah for an amazing event & to all the staff of Fogo de Chao for their hard work and excellent service.

You’re asking me if I want to come to a free dinner at Fogo de Chao?
Do bears sh*t in the woods?
Is water wet?
Does Justine H love cheese? (refer to profile picture)
I dropped everything I had to do (i.e. pick my nose and play Candy Crush), squeezed into the only dress that fit me, and sped 80 mph down Westheimer for this free meat bonanza. Best. Event. Ever.
I loved the private room. It made me feel like the best of the best in a restaurant full of suits and Black Card holders. It was nice that they staggered the release of the tables for the salad bar… not that I ate any salad… Who wastes stomach space by eating lettuce at a meat buffet? The food was incredible. Free caipirinhas made it easier to talk to other Unilocalers. This also helped me forget that I was in an upscale establishment. Oops. The desserts were crap as usual, but that was expected. Staff was just as swift, attentive, kind and courteous as they would be on any other night. My only comment is that the short film was impossible to hear at the opposite side of the room, rendering it useless.
Can we please make this a yearly event? Just find a way to mash this and the CMH Super Hero party together, and we can totally eliminate all the other Elite events. Genius.

I am glad my first Fogo de Chao experience was with the Unilocal family. Everything was great. From the complimentary valet service to the warm greeting as I entered the restaurant was a WIN for me. The presentation and the level of service provided made me feel like a million bucks. As always, I was stuffed way before I actually stopped eating. I just didn’t have the will power to tell them no as they kept bringing all of the different meats to me. Hey, remember to «waste not»??

This was such a fantastic event! I was thrilled when I got the email that I had been added as I was on the wait list. Nothing will get me more excited than eating a LOT of high quality delicious food. Fogo is 100% right up my alley!
I have dined here before, and was absolutely impressed with everything, and this time was no different. Everything was exceptional!
The appetizer shrimp cocktail was a wonderful start– light but still with tons of flavor. The rolls, which are some type of warm cheese rolls, were literally to die for. Somehow I had only one, which took major self control on my part. The salad bar was amazing, its really hard not to go overboard! The taboulli salad was excellent, as well as the smoked salmon! The main event– which of course is the meat– was nothing short of fantastic! Everything I tried was delicious, my favorite being the filet and the bottom sirloin. The chicken and rack of lamb were also very good! For desert, the tres leches cake really stole the show, it was amazing. Although at this point I am not sure how I even ate one bite of desert!
The service was amazing, all the servers were attentive, patient, and so friendly.
What a great Elite event! Thank you to everyone involved!

:Meat dreams are made of these. Who am I to dis a brie?: Sing it with me now!
This was my first Unilocal Elite event, and I can think of no better initiation than Fogo De Chao. I was a tad nervous to meet new people and was totally terrified of the inevitable food-​hazing that was to follow, but I was up for the challenge. I threw on my best heels, strategized a dining game plan and headed for Fogo.
Boiled shrimp appetizer — fabulous! I could make a meal out of these jumbo babies alone. They paired nicely with my lemon-​limey caipirinha. The cheesey rolls were akin to crack — super poppable and addictive. I need to browse the Google machine and see if I can find a recipe for these. I managed to eat just one. Okay, two. Just two.
Since I am no FdC newbie, I know that the Market Table (a rich man’s salad bar) is all too enticing, and it’s easy to fill up on these foods before meat-​eating time. So, I limited myself to a healthy amount of green stuff, including a surprisingly tasty kale salad, a quinoa succotash and some chilled asparagus (it’s a diuretic, you know!), as well as marinated ‘shrooms, smoked salmon and a couple of the most gorgeous hearts of palm mine eyes have ever seen! Despite my attempts to pace myself I absolutely could not leave the salad bar without a small handful of cheeses and a single piece of super-​crisp bacon. Swoon.
And now, bring on the meats! Admittedly, I am not a huge meat eater. I am mainly a seafood/​fish lover, but I don’t particularly dislike anything. It’s just that my meat stomach is pretty small compared with my seafood stomach and my sides/​veggie stomach, which are both infinitely smaller than my dessert stomach, so I knew I had to plan my meat ingestion accordingly. So, I waited patiently until the gauchos had cycled through one-​by-​one with the lamb chops, the bacon-​wrapped chicken, the sausages, the beef ribs, the pork ribs, the top sirloin, the bottom sirloin, and a medium-​well filet, until they brought out the coveted skewer of medium-​rare filet. When I saw the last gaucho approach, I turned my card from red to green with lightning speed.
It was so beautiful! Perfect warm, pink center and salt-​crusted exterior — I couldn’t get enough! Except I could, because those four ounces was all it took for my meat stomach to reach full capacity. BUT, my sides/​veggie tummy still had some room available so I stuffed it with no less than half a dozen sweet, caramelized plantains, which happen to be my all-​time favorite side dish. YUM. The fact that the handsome waiter continually refilled my red wine didn’t suck either.
Finally — dessert time! I chose the papaya cream which is papaya fruit and vanilla ice cream blended into a creamy milkshake, served in a Big-​O glass and topped with crème de cassis. It was tasty, but I probably would have enjoyed it more with a straw and a shot of schnapps. Good thing there were plenty of Fogo de chocolates lying around. I snagged a handful on my way out and continued to nosh and reminisce the whole drive home.
In all, I had a great time and I’m looking forward to more Elite squad events! And I owe a big shout out to everyone for being so friendly to this Unilocalie newbie — Farrah, Lisa, Michelle M., Mike M., Leticia, Jamie, et al. See y’all again soon!

I agree 100% with Alan S.‘s review. Not just because he was a neighboring diner, but because this event really gave me more to say about churrascarias other than «Man eat meat. Man want more cheesy bread.» I enjoyed the video that put in to perspective how these traditions were started. I think a condensed 30 second spot for TV advertising would be well received.
I was overjoyed that this was a full service meal (not just because of the generous value provided) but because that’s the only way to fully enjoy this type of restaurant and caliber of service. The waiters and gauchos were all polite and efficient as is expected in a churrascaria.
The highlight of the evening for me was the meat, which should come at no surprise. My favorite cut was the parmesan pork (which the waiters so kindly brought out to me by request and doesn’t seem to be anyone else’s favorite). My second favorite was the lamb chop. I thoroughly enjoyed the kale salad, proscuitto, salmon and mozzarella from the salad bar. And of course, cheesy breadddddd. It was exceedingly generous of the restaurant to offer us dessert in addition to our meal. Daniel L., David N., Jamie M. and myself each ordered a dessert and shared family style. The best 2 were chocolate mousse cake and the tres leches. The papaya pudding (?) was different and not a flavor I enjoyed.
Frankly, with 50 others on the waiting list, I was stunned and honored to be included in this Elite bunch. I’m always happy to make new Unilocal friends in our wonderful community.

Best breakfast ever!
I had literally landed the morning of the event from traveling to Vietnam, so I was extremely jet lagged. I slept from 10 am until 6 pm, woke up and rushed over. That would normally be 6 am in the morning so I was still a bit out of it. I walked in and saw so many familiar faces! It was great to have my first meal back in America with great friends and lots of red meat!
Fogo has always been one of those places a visit at least twice a year. And for Unilocal to be able to pull off a partnership for an elite event, well I was simple ecstatic. I had limited email access overseas, but when I saw this invite I made sure to sign up asap.
These guys brought their A game. We were fortunate enough in the past to get another event with Texas de Brazil, but at that event, it was odd dining and a limited selection of meats. This event was a official sit down dinner with the real deal experience.
You had to slowly roll me out at the end of the night, thus me being one of the last ones to leave. I was so full! The lamb chops are always my fav!
Farrah, you simple continue to outdo yourself!

Another great YEE in the bag! Farrah continues to provide us with top notch events that are full of fun, food, and friends, for free!
I’m quite familiar with Fogo and its capacity for hosting large groups, so I had no doubt that we would be taken care of in grand fashion. The short video we watched about Fogo’s history was well shot and gave us some nice insight. There isn’t much more to say about the plethora of food offerings that hasn’t already been touched on by everyone else, but as usual, I’m still thinking about those damn cheese breads. A fantastic time had by all, familiar faces and new friends :)

Seriously, how can you top 2 alcoholic drinks, all-​you-​can-​eat salad buffet, all-​you-​can-​eat high-​quality meat served to you at your seat, decadent desserts, and even coffee/​cappuccino with your dessert, for FREE? FREE! Never have I been SO thankful and excited to be a Unilocal Elite. All that hard work really does pay off, my friend!
We were seated in a private room on the side, with three of our very own host (ess). Not only were we treated like royalty, but the food was absolutely delicious. I’ve been to Chama Gaucha (my only other Brazilian steakhouse experience), and the meat here is definitely on another level… juicy, tender, flavorful meat raining down on us from the meat heavens! And it being a free event, I secretly thought that maybe we’d get the scraps, or meat that was cooked too long. NOT the case at all: we got the same level of quality meat that the other guests were getting, and there was not a smidgeon of lack of service or attentiveness, just because we were getting a free meal.
Between the salad and meat entrees, they showed a short 3-​minute video about the origins of Fogo and interviewed the son of the founder (?), which was really cool. Not only are you enjoying the food, but appreciating the style of food and the history of where it came from.
I actually went alone; my other two Elite friends were wait-​listed, so I was a little nervous going in, TBH. But being in great company, the other Elites were nice and talkative, and I left with a few more friends than before. I mean, why wouldn’t we get along? We’re all foodies with great taste! :)
It is definitely the most meat I’ve consumed on a Monday night. I think I still have meat-​coma. But I think it’s going to be seriously difficult to top this event. Well done to Farrah for coordinating, and for FDC for an excellent night!

I have a grave travesty to admit to. I survived off granola bars and fruits the entire day prior to heading over to Fogo de Chao. This wasn’t my first rodeo so I knew to make sure that I came with a hearty appetite and stretchy pants to hide the damage done.
As usual, drink tickets were abound but I wasn’t able to partake in liquor festivities because a) I’m a light weight and b) I’m on a mild alcohol ban. So I «sipped» on the picanha while stealthily taking cheesy balls hoping that the other Elites wouldn’t catch me stuffing my face with them. Alas, my attempts were futile and once I was caught, I gave up the act and stuffed myself silly with cheesy balls.
The staff at Fogo did a great job explaining how Fogo works and the short 3 minute video they showed was a great presentation to personalize the experience of it all. After the video, I scurried over from the buffet area back to the table to prepare myself for the out pour of meat that was to come. Flipping over my coaster to the green side, I braced myself for the flurry of gauchos carrying giant stakes of meat.
Brace yourself, Brazilian beef is coming.
Oh man… this girl was a very happy girl. From delicious food and great company (hi other Unilocalers I sat with!), I had a grand olé’ time. I saw some familiar faces and chatted with some new Unilocalers that I had already been acquainted with prior (hi fellow Longhorns!)
Farrah and everyone at Fogo made sure that everyone was tended to and all the gauchos were quick to fill your plate with meat as long as your coaster was right side up and said, «feed me.» It was a great event and I had so much fun. Can’t wait for the next YEE. See all of y’all at the distillery!

50 of the elite elites and I was invited, damn now I feel 6 feet tall!!! Thanks to the beautiful Farrah and the staff of Fogo de Chao this was an exceptional event. The staff maintained their service and quality as you always recieve from FdC.
We enjoyed a 3 minute video informing us on the Brazilian culture and how FdC began. Even though this time I didn’t eat the cuts of meat, all the cuts looked amazing and properly cooked. The salad bar was amazing as usually with all the fresh and beautifully arranged veggies. This was a sit down event so it was hard to mingle with other Unilocalers who I weren’t fimilar with, but hey I’ll catch them at the next one tho! It was coo catching up with my fellow Unilocalers and chatting it up, definitely made for a nice night.
Good looking out Farrah and see you guys at the next one!

Unilocal should have an award for the best organizer (maybe call it a Unilocalie) and Farrah deserves to win it. I’m really not sure how Farrah can top herself after this event. Everything was great about it. The staff were wonderful and well prepared, the food was great from the salad bar, endless parade of meats, to the desert. I’ve been to restaurants with more than 20 people and have seen how things can turn into chaos, but Fogo De Chao’s staff handled 50 people as if it was second nature and nobody was left waiting for anything. Great Unilocal event.

So excited that I was able to make the list for this event! It has been a while since I’ve been to a Unilocal elite event and I must say that this was probably one of the best ones I’ve been to.
Service and food was great! I really enjoyed the Cabernet that they served us. I was completely stuffed by the end of the meal but forced myself to make room for the delicious chocolate mousse cake. I feel like I am still in a food coma right now.
Thanks Farrah for planning such a great event!

I can’t add too much to what has already been written. The atmosphere was excellent, the food superb and the company outstanding. I hadn’t eaten here in about 3 years and had forgotten just how good the food is. All of my meat servings were great and their served temperature really added to the enjoyment. Hot meat tastes so much better than at warm or room temperature. Also, those mini rolls were hot and tasty too. Ditto on the plantains.
Our service was very good. I was impressed with the number of people in attendance. I wasn’t expecting over 40 Unilocalers dining but it added to the enjoyable experience. I was fortunate to sit with a fun group of Unilocalers that provided interesting conversation. Along with a very good meal, I am thankful for being invited. It was a pleasurable evening!!!
Kudos to Farrah for organizing a well executed event.

I’m going to keep this review tailored to the event itself and not the food/​restaurant in general.
It was great to meet some Elites who were newer to the club or that I just hadn’t run into before, but even better to get to try a place that I’ve heard so much about but never really had the money to go to. Much like Farrah mentioned, I quite enjoy having these Elite only events from time to time to force us to get to know each other better.
I really liked that we got to try the whole menu and get the full experience rather than an abbreviated tasting, this made me realize exactly what I would get for my money if I went back and allows me to be able to relate my experience to other people.
Being able to try a two different drinks, the caipirinha as well as the non-​alcoholic lemon-​aid drink was nice. Then the desert was the icing on the cake (pun intended) as I’d never had desert at place like this due to normally being way to stuffed to order it. I also enjoyed the little video to add a touch of culture and a better understanding of what the experience is suppose to be all about.
This was a great experience at a place that I had never been to, and now I can talk about it with others in a more meaningful way than «it’s one of those places where they bring different meats around.»

How do I like my steak? Next to my other steak.
This was an epic elite event to behold. I am thankful the chair I was sitting on did not buckle under all of the meat I ate tonight. For anyone on the fence about doing what it takes to get on the elite squad, this event right here should let you know that being elite carries with it some excellent privileges.
If you’re not familiar with Fogo in Houston or any of their other locations, then pull up a chair and let Uncle Daniel tell you about them. They are amazing in every possible way. Their servers (non-​steak people) and gauchos (steak people) are all exceedingly polite and care about you having a good experience. They are actually invested in your time here as being a positive all-​around experience. That’s the service. Now the food — they take the attention to detail offered in the service realm and then double-​down with food quality. As a paying customer you actually get what you pay for here — it is not like one of the $ 5 all you can eat Indian buffets off of the highway where the food grade is questionable at best considering your meal was only $ 5 for as much food as you could stuff down your gullet. Fogo is relatively expensive/​special night out kind of place. But for some of my more special nights, my family has always trusted Fogo around the country to bring it — and for a special elite event tonight, they continued to bring it and indeed it has already been broughten.
The salad bar island in the middle of the restaurant is constantly being restocked like clockwork. The greens (hehe) like asparagus, broccoli, spinach, and whatnot are actually bright green and fresh. My one gripe is the asparagus spears are huge honcho kinds that are so thick you need to cut through them with a steak knife — I prefer the smaller, daintier kinds that you can more ladylike. The cheese selection is impressive. The fishes smell nice and fresh. Even the tabbouleh is pretty impressive for a place that does not also offer hookah — they went international into my people’s territory and they did fine. The potato salad is creamy and provides a nice palate cleanser from the healthier vegetable options. But my favorite thing are the mushrooms. This was the best side helping of mushrooms I have ever legally obtained — impressive son to spend this many words on mushrooms that were (and were not) magic.
We had two drink tickets. Every time I have been to Fogo I have never had an alcoholic beverage because it takes up room that steak could properly occupy. However, when in Rome. I ended up only using one ticket for the caipirinha. I was expecting it to be strong in the mouth like a heavy slug of Sailor Jerry cleverly disguised behind a brown paper sack. Instead it was pretty fruity and not that strong. It reminded me of the kind of thing I would sip on the beach if it had a sweet parasol decked out on the rim of the glass. Ron Swanson might not approve of this in a steak place but it was a refreshing beverage.
I felt like I was in time-​out a bit, since several of the gauchos carrying things I wanted seemed to avoid me, specifically only me. As a result I didn’t get to flirt with the one cute gaucho. However with the aid of the server we ended up getting the other gauchos to double back at the end of the meat session so I got to sample everything on the menu. But it had started becoming a bit of a running joke with my neighborinos at the table about how I was getting skipped by some of the gauchos. It is hard to pick a favorite of all of the meats because they were all so good — each one added something new, so it wasn’t necessarily better than the last bite of the other thing, it was more like all of the cuts worked in concert to make your stomach happy.
Like the caipirinha, I also had never had dessert at a Fogo before all the times I had been here. So we got some dessert. We went family style on it which was smart to get to try a taste of all four desserts. The tres leches was the clear winner and it made me happy. The papaya fruity thing was surprisingly good, though I did not get a full explanation of exactly what was in it besides papaya. That was good enough for me, papaya is a fun word to say.
Thanks mucho to Farrah for putting together such an awesome event, like she always does. Also thanks to Fogo for hosting us and putting up with our shenanigans (while still keeping a smile) this evening — it is always satisfying when a place continues to provide the excellent service I have come to expect over the years, and they still did everything in the book possible to keep me satisfied that I had not improvidently granted Fogo’s Houston location a five star Unilocal review back in 2010.
Thanks Farrah, thanks Unilocal,and thanks Fogo!

The best elite event I have been so far! I have only been to fogo de chao but I have very good opinion toward it. I am not a big meat eater (ok maybe that’s not entirely true) but from time to time I would turn into a carnivore and want some good meat and fogo de chao is the right place for it! I was so happy to be able to go here for the elite event.
After I sat down I was offered drinks. I got the picanha that everybody was drinking. I had to drive I I just tried a little bit of it. Not bad but I had to say that I like sweeter drink to cover the alcohol.
We started with short speeches from Farrah and the staff and then everybody headed to the buffet bar. Everybody knew that the meat was the main attraction tonight so most plates weren’t full after people returned to the table. I am not a big salad fan (this is completely true) so I only filled up my plate with some grilled veggies and I was even bold enough to try the kale salad and found it surprisingly edible.
After we sat down again the gaucho guys came out with meat. Meanwhile we watched a fun video introducing the story of fogo de chao and it showed a beautiful farm where the idea started I guess (sorry I just got too focused on my food). The meat was as good as I had remembered. I don’t rare meat so I always asked for well-​done and the gaucho guys remembered my preference. How sweet!
After we were done with meat we had desserts. I had the chocolate mouse cake. Though a little too sweet to my taste but still good. I finished 90 percent of it (sorry for the waste! The meat really filled up my stomach!).
Overall this was a great event and I can totally use another one! I guess I just have to stay super active to be able to go to these events!

Fogo de Wow or Fogo de Ow-​I-​ate-​too-​much?
Unilocalers, this is why you write reviews: so you can get invited to Unilocal Elite events where you have a full Fogo de Chau meal AND drinks comped. It was amaze-​balls – a full 5 star event.
I’m in a world of yummy hurt right now, and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. Tonight was a really fun, intimate night of 50 of your best Unilocal Eliters of Houston enjoying Fogo de Chau’s full gaucha (gow-​oo-​cha) experience. From caipirinha’s to wine to meat-​meat-​meat, it was all here.
I’m a broke grad school student who goes to work full time and who just walked/​jogged 20 miles this last weekend. A free meal could not have been better timed.
The bites were delicious – particularly the filet and the sirloin. I’m so guilty as charged. I wore my stretchy pants and loose fitting shirt tonight to have all the room to grow this food baby. I’m in luck. Literally. I’m Asian, and my stomach now resembles Buddha’s. I’m rubbing it for luck.
A big thank you to Farrah, MineralBlu, and especially to Fogo (yay Jonas!) for a wonderful Monday night on the town. And hello to my new Unilocal Elite friends Tammy T., Lisa, Victoria, Hayley, Latisha, and James for keeping me company tonight. It was truly a treat and a blast for this homebody.