After beginning to introduce meats into my life again after being a lifelong vegetarian, one of the few places that I began frequenting on a regular basis, was Brazil Grill in Hartford. Growing up, my father always tried to entice me with hot dogs, hamburgers, and other grilled meats. Besides the occasional slice of kielbasa on Russian Easter, the rest turned my stomach.
So what was it about churrascaria? First, some background. Brazil is known as a rancher country, so obviously meat is a big deal. Churrasco style is essentially a South American rotisserie style of roasting meat skewers. It originated with the cattle ranching gauchos in the 16th and 17th centuries beginning in the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil and spread around the rest of the country after the 1940's. Traditionally, the cooking technique involved coating the meats in coarse salt, resting for 30 minutes and then set atop the fire. A saltwater basting method was used to ensure the meat stayed moist during cooking. The skewers are strategically placed on racks over the flames wherein the items with more fat are placed on top of the other cuts thus infusing them with flavor as the juices drip down.
Brazil Grill isn't exactly noticeable from the street. On your first visit, you might drive right past the tan building with dark windows which makes it hard to tell if it's actually open, except for the fact that the small parking lot is always chock full of cars which might then cause you to look up and see the detached sign at the edge of the lot. Continuing inside, turn immediately to your left and enter the side room where there is a salad station and cooked food buffet.
Grab a plate and load up on items from a rotating menu that include items such as fried fish, yucca with pork, and bacalhau (codfish stew). Making sure to leave some space on your plate for the main attraction, head back out and visit the grill where you can pick from a list of skewers. There you can load your plate up with slices of chicken heart, sirloin, lamb, ribs and more. Lastly, your items get weighed at the register, where you pay by the pound ($6.00-$12.99). Personally I have a mild addiction to maracuya "passion fruit", so I usually order a glass of juice at this point, and maybe a custard to accompany my meal.
More often than not, I have noticed that there has been a soccer game playing on the television in the background. This of course, started me thinking about this years World Cup being held in Brazil.
As the government is posed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on security and cleaning up the city in preparation, other issues have arisen. Riots across the country have led to violent protests on the streets of Belo, Rio de Janeiro, San Paulo and other regions. The police, in cooperation with the army started a "pacification" campaign in 2008 which is expected to continue long after the world cup, which is aimed at eradicating drug gangs in the countries many favelas.
The government also signed a $350M deal with Israel in 2009 to supply drones for the event as well as the 2015 Olympics. The focal point of the protesters stems from residents questioning how this money is being spent, when they would prefer seeing the funds being used to build necessary hospitals and schools. These protests are no small affair, as you can see from this video:
More information on opportunities for activism surrounding Brazil and the FIFA World Cup check out this excellent website about the indigenous peoples and struggles: http://www.survivalinternational.org/worldcup
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