New Years Eve at Fogo De Chao

Let me introduce you to the best Brazilian steakhouse in Atlanta. In this case, Dunwoody, Georgia. There are a lot of copy cats in town but NOTHING compares to this place. Be careful if you’re brave enough to try it out. There are side effects of never paying regular price for “just one steak” at any other steak house, ever again. I’m suffering from that, myself. It doesn’t help that I’m already a bargain shopper and crave the most for my buck but this place is legit a King’s gourmet.

As Christmas was approaching, everyone (clients at work) would ask me what my plans were for the holidays and the main thing I told every.single.person were my plans of our annual trip to Fogo De Chao. There were many people who didn’t know what I was talking about and my explanation didn’t do any justice and for that I’m sorry to the people who came up with this dining style. For the clients, at work, who handed me their phone, I’d pull up the youtube video so they could see for themselves. I spoke with one client who has eaten there and she came back with a gift card so I could enjoy my dinner a little more and let me tell you I enjoyed every bite. It’s always a happier experience knowing you’re getting a “discount” or you’re getting your money’s worth. This place is definately worth the money but not cheap. If you’re like me and rely on gift card to help save for the occasion, you can find gift cards for Fogo De Chao at Kroger. You’re welcome. Here’s a peak into my experience this New Years Eve. Be easy on me, these are pics from my phone.

Normally, we go to the Atlanta location but this one in Dunwoody was closer for everyone attending. The atmosphere is somewhat the same at both locations but the lighting in Atlanta is a little darker inside the dining area. The seating is a little tighter as well. Once you walk in, you’re greeted by a beautiful Christmas tree in a spacious waiting area, in case you have kids joining you and they need to hop around before or during your meal.

As soon as you open the double glass doors from the foyer, you’re greeted by this wall of wine. At the Atlanta location, two of five times I’ve eaten there, I’ve been placed at a table in front of a wall of wine just like this. You’d think because it’s behind glass, the bottles are safe but “safety” doesn’t exist when I’m around. No ma’am. Once I stood up out of my chair to leave and somehow managed to trip. Now I couldn’t have had a gracious, lady like fall, no , I was on my way down like Melissa McCarthy to where I was halfway down, almost body slamming, face first into the glass. I gave out one of those complimentary “arghhhhhhhh” yells, as one of my hands hit a glass on the table which fell on a plate and commanded everyone’s attention. At the time my daughter was two years old, so when I recovered and had all eyes on me, I calmly told my husband, “see, this is why we don’t bring the kids here.” I tell you what….I don’t know how to be a lady but I can make people laugh.

Anyway, another thing I can do, is get off topic. So, once you pass the wine, this is the dining area. You see how spacious it is. The brightness here is mainly because of the windows. I’m so happy I was able to get all of these pictures. I was scared people would get upset but I just acted like a tourist and never made eye contact. Yes, I humiliate myself for photos at any occasion, so no worries if you want a photographer who will go all out to capture any photo you want. I’m the girl.

Look at this bar! It’s so pretty. It craved my attention and was clean in every spot I saw. As a previous server, that’s something in a bar area. Unless it may have been too early and not during the rush. I guess I should mention, our New Year’s Eve dinner was at 4 p.m. LMBO! We were home by 7:30 p.m. Holla!!!

I didn’t get a photo of our table because we were the last to arrive. However, this is what the setting looks like.

Have you ever been to a restaurant where you can start eating before you know who your server is? Well, here you can. Every seat has a colored coaster for the purpose of letting the staff know when you’re ready to eat. There are several employees who walk around with racks of meat looking for green coasters. Oh before I forget, you don’t put your glass on these coasters. They need to be visible. It’s your calling card for the meat. Now these men walk around with several different cuts of meat. If they see green, they approach you and ask “would you like top sirloin” and you say yes, or no. If you don’t want that kind, no worries, someone else will come by with rack of lamb, chicken, sausage, filet mignon and several other cuts of meat. We all noticed that the Atlanta location had more meat and salad options than the Dunwoody location.

Here’s a view of the kitchen. Ninety percent of the meat has blood, lots of it but they will come back to you with medium and medium well if you ask. I was someone who only ate well done meat before I started to eat here. So if the “juice” makes you squirmy, try the Atlanta location first (since the lighting is darker.) Trust me, juicier meat tastes better. And if you have a mind like I do, get it out of the gutter, lol.

Before you eat, you need to notice the meat grabbers (is what I call them) so when the guys slice the meat for you, you can grab your food with the utensils and not your hand. These guys are like vulchers looking out for you. We had three guys at this table at one time. My plate was full of meat before we had even had a chance to get our drink order. Remember we were late, everyone else already had drinks. Oh, one more thing, everyone has a glass of water but we wanted to order tea so the water went untouched. Just want to mention that because I know it’s a faux pas for anyone to go two minutes without a drink order. Also, if you order a soft drink, it comes out in the bottle and you are charged for every refill. Tea has complimentary refills and baby formula is cheaper than the alcohol here. So beware.

I never miss the opportunity for selfies. This has to be noted that this is the first time my father in law (top right) hasn’t crossed his eyes or made a face to mess up the photo. I know he enjoys these moments because he never moves away when he sees me whip out my phone. And he hates camera phones. He’s a photographer himself, so don’t get him started on the quality of a good phone photo. I love yanking his chain. You should’ve heard him back in the day when I showed him how to edit photos in instagram.

We always have to get a cousin selfie. Or at least I tell them it’s a selfie so they’ll both cooperate.

Here are my baby daddies. Chuck on the left is my ex husband. You’ll see him around from time to time. John, my husband is on the right. More times than not, John is referee between Chuck and I when we’ve hit our max time around each other. John has to separate us

Here you see Chuck entertaining the kids by playing rock, paper, scissors. No worries, they were quiet. The music was thumping and all were entertained.

After two plates of meat, I made my way to the salad bar. I’m not sure what most of this is but there are descriptions of each option, inside the glass. Yes, everyone stared at me, as I took a picture of everything on the salad bar and no I didn’t care. I was on a mission. I need y’all to see what a great place this is.

The plate on the left is what I start with, while I eat my steak. I love topping it with mushrooms and garlic. The plate on the right was dessert. If you’re not a meat lover, you can fill up on salad for half price. Don’t forget, if you go during the lunch hours, you only pay half the normal price. So two people eat for the price of one dinner plate. You’re welcome.

Chuck brought a surprise for the kids. They got their own hat, necklace and other stuff. This is the only photo I got of Jenna wearing it. I couldn’t get her cousin still or willing to join us.

I have never been able to order dessert here. It should be against the law to have enough room in your tummy at this point. But if you like to order dessert this is roughly $14.

Chuck spoiled the kids with their own dessert. Of course they had to share and Jenna was bouncing off the walls by 10 p.m. I think he does this so I can deal with her sugar highs but she went home with Nana so it wasn’t my problem. hahaha. Next time, Chuck *wink wink.* In all seriousness, though, I did use to buy our son a jolt and a king size candy bag on the drive to drop him off with Chuck. So I guess it’s fair game at this point.