We had our 7th Meet-up event in New York. This time we picked Churrascaria Plataforma (Uptown) as our venue. It just so happens to be one of our favorite places in town. The service is superb and the food is fresh, delicious and plentiful. The restaurant has a great reputation for cleanliness, it has won the Golden Apple award 4 years in a row for “maintaining excellent food safety practices”.
We started off the night with caipirinhas, it’s Brazil’s national drink. It’s similar to a Mojito, but in this case it is made with Cachaca (sugar cane liquor), limes, sugar and ice. They are refreshing and dangerous. Take it easy on this cocktail.
We also had some Brahmas, it’s a very popular beer in Brazil and just like the country, it is gorgeous. The bottle is curvaceous like the women of Brazil and fits great in the hand. It’s light, refreshing and tasty. It is a great summer beer (Brahma was just recently aqcuired by InBev).
The basic premise behind a Churrascaria is Brazil’s version of a steakhouse. Plataforma features a huge salad bar serving everything from sushi, feijoada, russian salad, hearts of palm, tons of vegetables, shrimp, the selection is incredible. We recommend to anyone going to Plataforma to take it easy on the salad bar and leave room for the main course.
Once you have had your fill of the salad bar, you are presented with a little disk, red on one side and green on the other. This means the second course is about to start. Typical Brazilian dishes are brought to the table. First, farofa: it is manioc (yuca) flour with bits of bacon inside. This is sprinkled over your meat to cut through the fat and add a little texture (highly recommended). Brazilian Vinegar, another topping for your meats, the acid will enhance the flavor of the meats. Fried Bananas, mashed potatoes, broccoli, fried white cheese, white rice and Pao de queijo (these amazing cheese breads that are almost impossible to resist).
Then the feast begins. The premise is pretty simple. If you want meat, flip to green. If you need a break, flip to red. You can do this as many times as you want. The meats include suckling pig, beef, pork, chicken and the one everyone fell in love with lamb.
We enjoyed two lovely Chilean wines from Vina Santa Carolina, their 2007 Reserva Chardonnay and their 2006 Reserva Carmenere. The wines perfectly complimented our meals. The chardonnay was lighter than most with a citrusy beginning and a pear finish. The carmenere was very good with all the assortments of meats.
Incredible as it is, some of us still had room for dessert. Creme Brulees, Flans and Fruit Tarts came out on the table. Needless to say, the plates ended up empty.
We’d like to thank everyone that attended and look forward to seeing everyone again at the next event.