Churrascaria!!!!

Most people in the US would know this as Rodizio. In Brazil, Churrascaria (shoe-has-cahr-ee'-a: two r's together make an 'h' sound, the a's are like in "father") is the generic term for this type of restaurant and you order the Rodizio if that's what you want. "Churrasco" is barbecue. It has been too long since I've had Brazilian food and I didn't even know it. This was a surprise that Chelsea has been cooking up for some time now as my 30th birthday surprise and when we were on the way there today and she told me I was excited, but I didn't know how much I was missing it until I started eating. We went to Ipanema Brazilian Grill in downtown Seattle.

They have a way of flavoring the meat so that it is so savory. I can't understand how they make it that good. So the meat was absolutely delicious, but the thing that really put me over the edge was the rice and beans.

The rice and beans........

Mexican style rice and beans is delicious, and readily available, but Brazilian rice and beans is more delicious and as rare in North America as jaca fruit (google it). I could be biased but I think Brazilian beans are much better. One of my favorite ways to eat rice and black beans is with eggs. It make a fantastic breakfast. If I wasn't so stuffed my mouth would be watering.

Chelsea thought that this was a little ironic. There are all sorts of vegetables and delicious meats cooked up Brazil style, but the thing that really set me going was the basic rice and beans.

Here's a picture of my rice and beans with a little sausage and bacon wrapped sirloin. I'm sure we had our month's worth of sodium.
Here's me being sad because I got full and couldn't keep eating. Thanks for a great surprise, baby.