PlanJam!From your screen to the scene

Brazilian BBQ isn't just a meal, it’s part feast, part endurance test. You may think that last sentence was a joke, but anyone who has been to a truly great Brazilian BBQ would agree with me. When I first strolled into a Brazilian BBQ (or Churassco in Spanish) a couple of years ago, I had been warned by a friend that the whole experience may be a bit overwhelming at first. Brazilian BBQ is a completely unique experience from any other type of eating, which can intrigue some and intimidate others, so I will lay down the ground rules for the inexperienced. Take notes, because you will be tested.

Rei Do Gado has a reasonable price of $25 dollars per person for a Brazilian BBQ Lunch. The way Brazilian BBQ works is that once you sit down, you receive a placard with a green side and a red side on it. The green side is to indicate to the waiter (or Passador in espanol) that you want to be served, and the red side is to tell the waiters to stop bringing you food. "Why would I ever want to put it on the red side?" you might be asking, "I can eat a lot!". Well, I bet you can, but each Passador comes around with a skewer wrapped in meat that has been marinated and grilled fresh. The meat menu is rather large and includes top sirloin, kosher beef, ham and pineapple, lamb, filet mignon WRAPPED in bacon (Only Homer Simpson could come up with this stuff) I mean…the list of meats goes on and on.

I didn't even know that many varieties of meat existed before I stepped into Rei Do Gado. The smell of freshly grilled lamb and the concept of having a buffet come to you rather than the other way around, combined with the enthusiastic waiters who want you to try everything, can easily overwhelm a newcomer. If you get distracted by the whole experience and keep your placard on green for too long, you might look back to your plate and find a huge pile of meat that you didn't expect stacked on it. A good tactic is to keep you card on green for a couple of meats, then flip the card to red so you can relax and enjoy your meal without feeling pressured to eat too much too fast. I promise you the waiters will still be there when you flip your card back over.

Besides the freshly grilled meat, with your $25 dollar "cover charge" you also get unlimited access to the appetizer/salad bar, which has a wide variety of salads, roasted vegetables, sweets and other appetizers to choose from in case you need to balance out the 20 pounds of beef ribs on your plate. My only complaint is that some of the appetizers were empty, leading me to believe they were either really good or the wait-staff was too busy to refill them, leaving me a little disappointed.

Rei Do Gado is one of the best Brazilian BBQ places I have been to, and I was impressed by every aspect of the place, from the tranquil setting (great place to bring a date) and variety of meats offered, to the eager servers who were more than willing to load up your plate with food. The location was right near the hip gas-lamp district of San-Diego, so its centrally located in case you want to go to the mall or bar-hop after you eat (That is, if you can gather the strength to move after eating so much).The price was also fair for the lunch BBQ, however the price for the dinner BBQ is rather expensive, hovering around $45 dollars per person. The dinner menu is supposed to be have a lot more variety than the lunch menu, but honestly, whether you spend 25 or 45 dollars on your Brazilian BBQ experience, you'll be so full you wont want to move for the next 8 hours.

So that pretty much sums up Rei Do Gado and Brazilian BBQ in general. The key to Brazilian BBQ is to stay calm, be sure to come hungry and bring pants that will stretch out. Trust me, you'll need em.