Admit it. We all have our guilty pleasures when it comes to food. Those crave-worthy foods you find hard to resist.

But it is the Fogo de Chão “All You Can Eat” Salad Bar and tableside Churrascaria carved meat experience that is my guilty pleasure. And I am proud to admit it.

The Grand Opening party and ribbon cutting on Thursday, April 21st at the new Fogo de Chão in Coral Gables provided me with not only an evening surpassing my wildest guilty pleasure, but elevated Fogo into a new realm of dining experience.

As an invited guest, I joined a well-heeled crowd to explore all that Fogo had to offer. Upon check in, we were issued mini Passports to record our journey through Southern Brazil, Fogo-style. Passed appetizers and cocktails were abundant as we circulated with the other guests.

In a gorgeous dining room with high ceilings, gold accents, warm lighting and comfortable seating, the Coral Gables location is very special. At a side entrance, The Butchery, is a new addition to the Fogo concept, offering cut to order butcher quality meats to go while you nibble on some charcuterie or enjoy a glass of South American wine.

The Next Level Lounge upstairs with a glass window to gaze down into the dining room is a quiet oasis with hand-rolled cigars and premier cocktails and aperitifs.

If you have never been to a Fogo de Chāo, you are missing out on an experience that started in 1975 when two brothers traveled to Sāo Paolo for formal churrasqueiro training on the technique of grilling meat on an open flame. By 1979, they opened their first restaurant in the countryside of Porto Alegre, followed by a second in Sāo Paulo in 1987. ( Little known fact: While in the shoe business, I actually traveled to Sāo Paulo and Porto Alegre and dined at one of the original Fogo de Chão’s!)

Now numbering over 60+ locations worldwide, the new flagship location is located on Ponce de Leon Blvd in the heart of Coral Gables.

The Brazilian Churrasco Dinner experience is priced at $59.95 and includes the Market Table, “all you can eat” salad, cheese, and sides bar, and an amazing array of meat sliced tableside by chef Gauchos (Brazilian Cowboys), who stroll throughout the elegant restaurant brandishing a skewer of meat and a sharp sword.

Every diner has a special card at their place that is turned to either red( No Thanks) or green( Yes Please) depending on whether or not you want the gaucho to stop and offer you their cut of meat. Orders of polenta fries, mashed potatoes and sweet plantains are delivered frequently along with warm and light cheesy bread.

The meats are the main event here, with tender and perfectly grilled cuts of Filet Mignon, Rib-eye, Top Sirloin, bacon wrapped chicken and steak, Pork ribs, and my favorite, Picahna, the prime part of the top sirloin, coarse salted and grilled.

If you are feeling extremely decadent, for a supplement, you can add an indulgent cut of Wagyu or Dry- Aged Tomahawk or even spring for the Seafood Tower which includes lobster, shrimp, mussels and crab legs.

This newest elegant Fogo de Chāo has elevated their dining experience to rival the top steak houses in Miami at a more affordable price. Go hungry.

Fogo de Chão

2801 Ponce De Leon Blvd.

Coral Gables, FL. 33134

786 297 8788

Photo Credit: MIAbites and Fogo de Chāo