11401 NW Twelfth Street

West Miami-Dade

305-599-7729

www.texasdebrazil.com What do Texas and Brazil have in common? Cowboys of course! But in Brazil's southernmost province, an important cattle-producing region called Rio Grande do Sul, they're known as gauchos. Their rodizio style of cooking, in which meats are slow-roasted over an open pit, is the central motif of this over-the-top steak house. Since opening its first location in Addison, Texas, in 1998, Texas de Brazil has expanded to eight cities. Here's the winning formula: Skilled servers roam the restaurant wielding enormous skewers of seasoned beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and Brazilian sausage taken directly from the open-fire grill, stopping at each table to carve slices for diners as they enjoy selections from a 40-item salad bar and side dishes such as housemade cheese bread, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet fried bananas, and specialty sauces for the meat. Top this off with a dessert, which may include Brazilian flan or banana pie, a couple of caipirinhas, and a fine cigar, and it's easy to see why the way of the gaucho is winning over North America.