Picanha Na Brasa

Certainly not authentic brazilian fare of any kind, but their buffet is pretty solid across the board. My favorite of their buffet items is the breaded chicken breast, my least favorite being the fried fish that is REALLY greasy. Overall if I’m hungry and looking for something quick and easy I’ll hit up this spot. Their EMPANADAS however, are fantastic and delicious. At $ 1 each they’re a ridiculously good deal if you want some super-​cheap eats heavy on the tasty side.

For an authentic slice of brazil, I am afraid you will have to go elsewhere. Picanha Na Brasa, fits the bill as a downtown hole-​in-​the-​wall establishment, running the usual downtown hours of 10−3pm M-​F. The word, picanha, conjures up «C-​shaped» images of tender suculuent sirloin, seared on the outside, and containing a smalls strip of flavorful fat on the edge. The actualality of this place falls short of the real brazilian picanha. The name of the restaurant, and the small brazilian flag sticker they have on the window are the most brazilian things about this place. The food is served by a central american staff, and noticably absent are Brazilian staples like farofa and guarana soda. The side dishes are laid out buffet style on warming trays, and are not horrible. The rice was typical salty brazilian rice, the feijao (black beans) was flavorful, the mashed potatos were tasty and the fries were stale and soggy as you would expect them to be in a buffet tray. The disappointment was the meat, which is inexcusable as it serves as the namesake of the restaurant. What they called «picanha» was a round chunk of meat (not the typical marbled «kidney-​shape» you usually see), well done on the inside, soaking in a wet pool of juice, without any sear. It may be from the top sirloin cut of the cow, but it was not the typical preperation and presentation of this cut, which is vitally important. The appeal of picanha lies in the fact that you have marbling, seared meat on one side, and tender, juicy meat on the other side, all sharing the same real estate and each contributing to each bite of the meat. All these were lacking, and adversely affected the taste. Was the meat bad? No. But it was not picanha. The price was roughly $ 8 with a soda. The row of central and south american flags on the wall should’ve served as a warning sign, that this restaurant aims to appeal to the Miami crowd and not the Brazilian crowd, which explains why no staff or customers spoke Portugueuse. For a real taste of picanha I’ll have to venture a few blocks north to Carioca Botequim, or a few blocks south to Grimpa. And with that dies the dream of having cheap picanha at my doorstep.