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Fri, 08 Oct 2004

Espetus

This is all about meat. Meat, meat, and more meat. So much meat that the restaurant has an Atkins Diet logo on its menu page. That makes me very, very happy.

The first person to tell me about churrascaria was one of my doctors. Like me, he's a food guy (and like me, he tends toward the low-carb end of things). He was in New York a few months back and was taken to a place called Plataforma, in midtown Manhattan, and was highly impressed. Basically, a churrascaria is a type of Brazilian steakhouse, and the key feature is that there's a lot of meat, and it is cooked in particular cuts on skewers over a fire and serving them sliced at the table, a style known as rodidzio. (There's a lot of historial background on that, involving gauchos, grasslands, cattle ranching brought over from Europe, and rustic yet filling meals on the free ranges of southern Brazil, but I'm sure you get the idea.) So, while I made a note to obtain a reservation at Plataforma (since then they have added a second location in TriBeCa), it occurred to me that there might be a churrascaria in the Bay Area. And in the magical way these things happen, it turns out that San Francisco Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer had published a review of such a place -- Espetus -- that very week.

That was good news and bad news: good news, of course, that there was such a place in town; but also bad news in that a favorable Chronicle review probably meant there would not be a table to be had there for some weeks. (Espetus, unlike Plataforma, is not a large place, and on my two visits so far, it's been packed.)

One of the knocks on all-you-can-eat buffets is that the food is mass-produced, and then sits out on steam tables or chafing dishes deteriorating until a patron scoops it up for consumption. There are a few ways to avoid that problem, which, sadly, only a small number of buffets bother to do (more on this in a future Berch on Food). But Espetus eliminates the problem by bringing the main course directly from kitchen to your table, occasionally on the run!

The system goes like this: after you are seated and drinks orders are taken, you make your way to a small (but densely packed) buffet alcove in the corner of the dining room. That's the home of salads, appetizers, and side dishes -- and they're not just generic salad bar fixings! There are some lovely salads, including an excellent hearts of palm salad, and in the corner, a lavish paella with prawns, fish, mussels, and sausage. Then a feijoada, the classic Brazilian black bean stew with smoked pork hocks and sausage. And a fish dish in a casserole. It is exceptionally important not to fill up on these treats. Yes, a salad, some paella, and a bowl of feijoada is, in itself, more than enough for a satisfying dinner, but that would be contrary to the central organizing principle of Espetus, which is the relentless onslaught of gaucho-clad waiters striding out from the kitchen with great sizzling skewers of grilled meat.

Each table is supplied with a small device which consists of a disc, half-red and half-green, mounted vertically in a holder, which is placed at the corner of the table. The rule is simple: displaying the green half causes the waiters to come by with each meat as it comes from the kitchen. Showing the red half will (in theory) get them to show mercy and leave you alone. You are, of course, permitted to switch colors repeatedly at your whim during the meal, and may feel free to change your mind at the last moment, in either direction. Did I mention that the waiters are (good-naturedly) pretty aggressive with those skewered meats?

And now to the meats. "Espetus" means skewer (think "spit", as in roasted on a), and the meats have been cut into either squarish chunks, or in the case of flat cuts, curved into a 'C' or 'S' shape and then spitted. Espetus's menu page illustrates this for several of the offerings -- picanha (sirloin steak), linguica (sausages), lombinho (pork loin), chicken breast, costela (pork ribs), alcatra (top sirloin), and a specialty, coracao de frango (chicken hearts). But this is just a start -- I have also seen at least two cuts of lamb, another cut or two of beef, giant prawns, and a beef sausage. With chunked meats, the waiter simply pulls it off the skewer onto your plate; sliced meats require a bit of finesse, so you are supplied with a small pair of tongs to assist. (First-timers will be graciously coached.)

Needless to say, this is not a place for a vegetarian or anyone on a strict quantity-controlled or low-fat diet. But it's one of my current favorites and I'm glad the churrascaria concept has caught on here. If you can find one in your area, and it's even half as good as Espetus (or as Plataforma was described to me), you're in for a treat.

There's a full bar, a decent but not outlandish wine list, service is exceptionally friendly and good-humored, and if I remember correctly dinner will run about $30/person exclusive of tax, tip, and beverages, on weekdays, and a bit more on weekends.

Espetus Churrascaria, 1686 Market St. (at Gough/Haight), San Francisco. (415) 552-8792. Reservations pretty much required.

Posted at 19:44 | permanent link

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