BRAZILIAN FOOD
FOR THE "OC"
By Albert
Hayashi
GOOOOOOOAL!!!!! As the World Cup of Futbol approaches
in a few weeks, I thought of the five championships held by the country of
Brazil
. When we think of
Brazil
we think of Carnival,
Rio
and Soccer, but don’t forget about their native food. Walking into
Irvine
's new Brazilian-style steakhouse Agora Churrascaria, a new world appears
to unfold. With 25 foot cathedral ceilings, the restaurant gives the
guests an innate feel of being in a large hacienda lodge where gauchos
(cowboys from the southern region) returning from herding cattle come to
feast on Picauha (sirloin) or Miminha (tri-tip). We were seated in the
middle of the restaurant next to the busy food bar where people walked
passed us to and from the bar. Try
to request a seat on the edge next to the wall for improved intimacy and
privacy. Having spent some time down in
Brazil
, Agora’s modern linear décor seemed out of place but appropriate for
the planned communities of
Orange
County
. With the light smell of meat
in the air and the background conversations reflecting off the rustic
river-rocked lined walls, I began my adventure with
Brazil
's national drink, the Caipairinha. The
Caipairinha is a powerful drink consisting of cachaca, sugar & fresh
lime.
The restaurant offers a cold salad bar, to start the
meal, which features different types of salads and vegetables.
There is also a hot-food bar featuring garlic rice, potatoes,
chicken stroganoff, seafood specialties and many other delicious items.
After passing through the buffet, I dined on a tasty black bean
stew called feijoda, which is the national dish of
Brazil
. The gaucho servers
circled the guests bringing choice cuts of beef, chicken, lamb and pork,
which were prepared in the traditional "churrasco" style where
the meat is cooked over an open fire pit and seasoned with rock salt to
accent the individual tastes of each cut. To signal the food serving
gauchos I wanted to be served by, I turned over the provided paper chip to
the color green. The gauchos move around the restaurant with meat
skewer in hand carrying meats such as lambo de porco (pork lion) or frango
(marinated chicken legs), traversing the tables looking for green colored
chips. After receiving a choice cut of meat, I was given the option
to continue getting one of 12 or more meats being prepared and served by
the gauchos or turn over the paper chip to the color red, which indicates
no more meat to be served. Be
careful not to attempt to grab the meat from the skewers as many of the
gauchos are walking around with large sharpened knives cutting the meat
for you. Between "mini" meat courses, I was given fried bananas
to cleanse my palette. For dessert I tried the classic flan and a mango
sorbet. In addition, I
continued on my cultural food experience closing with another traditional
Brazilian cocktail called the Batida. This drink consisted of
passion fruit juice, sugar and cachaca. Agora literally
translates to "now" in Portuguese and "marketplace" in
Greece
, symbolizing both the immediately responsive service and elaborate
cornucopia of food.
The Thursday night respectful crowd consisted mostly
of families and a few couples. The dress code for Agora Churrascaria
Restaurant is a business casual style of clothing.
My server Herman as well as the guachos were first rate and made
the food experience very enjoyable. The meals are moderately priced
between $19 for lunch and $35 for dinner. One price includes all you
can eat salad bar, buffet side dishes and the circulating gauchos bearing
an array of meats. This is not the place to eat if you are a vegan
or vegetarian, but a place for meat lovers.
If you want to know what food fueled the Brazilian athletes to five
World Cup championships, give Agora Churrascaria a try.
Fact Sheet
Address:
1830 Main Street
,
Irvine
(Corner of MacArthur and
Main
)
Phone: 949-222-9910
Lunch: Monday through Friday from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm
Dinner: 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm for dinner
Weekends: 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Happy Hour: 5pm to 7 pm
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