Estancia Churrascaria

The Estancia Salad Bar: A Meal in Itself

For all the fans of Estancia Churrascaria that recently closed on Highway 290 South, we are here today at their new Arboretum location with good news. This is worth the drive. It’s bigger, more tastefully appointed, and the food, if anything is even better.

Estancia Churrrascaria is a Brazilian-style steakhouse that elevates the art of blending an amazing salad bar along with skewers of smoked meats brought to your table by your resident gauchos.

Let’s begin by building a salad. This is a healthy and delicious way to prime the pump, if you will, for the amazing skewers of meat to come. There are over 25 items on the salad bar, and I like to put mine together with hearts of palm, artichokes, asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, wonderfully fresh mozzarella cheese and a wide variety of mixed greens, including some of the sweetest and tastiest peppers I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy. So you build this compelling salad plate and amble over to your table and enjoy it with some of the luscious Brazilian cheese rolls. This is a really thoughtful and plentiful salad bar, and it sets the stage for the most important part of the meal.

You see this green card? It’s the Brazilian equivalent for “bring on the meats and don’t stop until I turn the green card over” (otherwise known as espeto comido). You can literally eat as much as you want and I’ll tell you, the temptation to leave that card up is great!

The meats at Estancia are done pampas style, as the cowboys did many years ago. They are roasted with sea salts and the flavors are nothing short of extraordinary. I always begin with the Picanha, the most popular cut from the top sirloin seasoned with sea salts and garlic. You want flavor? The first bite of the Pichana blows away any misconceptions you might have had about Brazialian steaks. Amazingly rich tastes here and the medium rare is the perfect cut. The Fraldinha is another great cut from the bottom sirloin. You want juicy? All I can say is my, “Oh my!” Next up would be the Costela, the eminently tender Beef ribs. And who could resist the Cordiero, the young leg of lamb sliced off the bone. I love lamb but the Brazilian style enhances the wonderful flavors to an even greater degree. The Frango is another killer: these are slow roasted chicken legs wrapped in bacon. It needs no enhancement. Perfect as it is. The Linguica is another cut that will make you a believer. This is traditional pork sausage and coupled with as bit of chimichurri sauce I could eat a bushel basket of this. The Costella de Porco or pork ribs can make a run at any of our traditional Texas BBQ ribs: there’s a tenderness here that is absolutely engaging.

This all comes at one set and very reasonable price when one considers what is provided, and you will not find a single gaucho trying to usher you out the door. Take your time and it will be time well spent.