When Americans think about Brazil, they probably think of the lush Amazon jungle, the colorful Carnival held annually in Rio de Janeiro, or the classic bossa nova hit, “The Girl From Ipanema.” But operators of Brazilian estaurants are hoping to put the country’s cuisine in the forefront of American diners’ minds.

As more Americans visit Brazil and more Brazilians immigrate to America, Brazilian cuisine is finally beginning to establish itself on the American dining landscape. Brazilian restaurants can be found in major American cities across the nation, including New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco. And the patrons of these restaurants are not just homesick Brazilians living abroad, but Americans of non-Brazilian descent searching for new culinary experiences.

Leading the Brazilian-food boom are churrascaria rodizios, Brazilian all-you-can-eat steakhouses. Savvy American restaurateurs have adapted the churrascaria rodizio to American tastes and are enjoying strong sales across the nation because of it. Other Brazilian restaurants have been established by immigrants who saw a need for them in their small expatriate communities.

“I think it’s a growing trend in this country,” says Reuel J. Smith, an expert on Brazilian cuisine who is the San Francisco bakery manager for Pasqua Coffee of San Francisco. “As Americans travel more to Brazil, they’ll demand more of it.”

Regional rations

It’s somewhat puzzling that it took so long for Brazilian cuisine to gain a foothold in America. Brazil is only slightly smaller than the United States; it is the world’s fifth-largest nation, with more than 157 million inhabitants. Besides that, Brazil is home to many immigrant groups, including Africans, Portuguese, Spaniards, Italians, Germans, Syrians, Lebanese and Asians. It would seem that a nation so large, and with so many culinary influences, would have made its mark on these shores long ago.

But Brazil’s sheer size and cultural diversity have actually made it difficult to establish a national cuisine. For example, fish and root vegetables such as yams are staples in the north of Brazil, home of the rainforest and the Amazon River. In the industrial Southeast, where the major cities Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are located and many immigrants live, European and North African influences are evident. Arroz feijao, a rice-and-beans dish, is a traditional meal there.

The plains that border Argentina in the South are the perfect place to raise cattle. Here, where gauchos — the Brazilian equivalent of cowboys — work and live, the staple is grilled beef. Southern Brazil inhabitants’ taste for grilled beef, churrascarias, has made Brazilian steakhouses very popular.

One particular type of steakhouse that is very popular with Brazilian families is the churrascaria rodizio, a revolving barbecue. A variety of meats are cooked on three-foot swords over open-wood fires in the restaurant’s kitchen. Then the swords are brought to diners’ tables. The server puts the tip of the sword on a patron’s plate, asks the customer how many pieces of meat he or she desires, and then slides the food off the sword and onto the plate.

Meat is usually served in progression, with less-expensive meats such as sausage starting the procession, followed by chicken, pork tenderloin, top round of beef, rib eye, hump of the Brahman bull — a delicacy in Brazil — and filet mignon. The meats are accompanied by salads, marinated vegetables, rice, fried potatoes and farofa, a dish of toasted manioc grain.

Churrascaria rodizios are probably the most popular type of Brazilian restaurant in America. Why have rodizios been so successful? Maybe because the all-you-can-eat meat dishes for an all-inclusive price offered by rodizios tap into Americans’ love of buffets.

Home cooking for homesick tourists

Many new ethnic cuisines are introduced in America when an emigre opens a restaurant in order to provide fellow countrymen and-women with familiar foods.

That was the case with Cafe Brazil, which was the first Brazilian restaurant in Orlando, Florida, when it opened in 1989; there are now 10 Brazilian operations in the area. David Ferreira Sr., who immigrated to America with his family in 1988, took note of all the Brazilian tourists visiting Disney World and thought they could use a home-cooked meal. “We visited Disney World several times when we lived in Brazil, and we missed our home food so much, and we thought they would, too,” says David Ferreira Jr., who manages the 65-seat Cafe Brazil for his father. “We had no experience in the restaurant industry before, but it’s worked out for us.”

The restaurant is patronized mostly by Brazilian tourists and some adventurous American diners. Business is strongest during the months when Brazilians prefer to travel: July, August, December and January. “In July it’s crazy here,” says Ferreira. “Our restaurant is not that big, so we can’t support all of the Brazilians. But business is slower during the low season.”

Cafe Brazil’s specialty is feijoada (pronounced fay-shwah-dah), which is Brazil’s national dish of black-bean stew and smoked meats. Feijoada is served with rice, collard greens, farofa and oranges. “Feijoada is usually found more to the north of Brazil, but we try to have at least two dishes from each region on our menu,” says Ferreira. American patrons usually don’t opt for the restaurant’s more exotic dishes, such as feijoada. Instead, Ferreira says they prefer to sample the seafood and steak items. “For every three Americans, we see two seafood dishes and one steak,” he says. “In Brazil, we eat a lot of steak — so if you order one here, it’s very good.”

From Rio de Janeiro to New York

Two successful American rodizios are Green Field and Riodizio, both of which got their start in New York City. Green Field also has units in Long Island, New York; Newark, New Jersey; and Los Angeles. A fifth Green Field is scheduled to open outside of Washington DC this month.

Interestingly, the owners of the two establishments are not native Brazilians. Alan Berfas and Frank Ferraro of Riodizio are from New York, while Green Field’s co-owners/brothers Huck and Young Kim are originally from South Korea, although both lived for a time in Brazil. Those four entrepreneurs decided to open rodizios because they saw the potential of its fundamental appeal to American diners.

“Frank and I were always interested in opening a rotisserie,” says Berfas. “We originally wanted to do a French ‘wall of fire’ concept, but in our research we came across this concept. We loved the drama of rodizios — the fire and the skewers. We thought it would be really right for New York City.”

Berfas and Ferraro opened Riodizio in October 1995 in a trendy Manhattan neighborhood just north of SOHO appropriately called NOHO. Drawing on their years of experience in the restaurant industry, they modified the traditional rodizio concept for American tastes. Some hard-to-find Brazilian cuts of meat, such as the Brahman cut, were eliminated in favor of hanger steak and prime rib, and seafood was added to the menu. Also, the grilled meats are seasoned differently to appeal to American taste buds. Finally, they showcased the concept in an upscale dining room that is unlike the more family-oriented, traditional rodizios found in Brazil.

The Kims had little foodservice experience before opening Green Field, but they were able to spot a hot new trend and acted on it. Huck Kim, the vice president of Green Field, is an accountant by training, while his older brother, Young, was in the clothing business. However, the Kims, who had spent a combined 11 years in Brazil, saw the popularity of rodizios there, and thought the concept was a natural for American diners. “We saw that there wasn’t anything like this in America,” says Huck Kim. “The style of the cuisine is Brazilian, but when I look at the meat, it could be universal. That’s why we get all sorts of customers. We get a cross-section of America.”

The first Green Field opened four years ago in Corona, Queens. Like Riodizio, Green Field has modified the traditional concept. For example, turkey, lamb and quail are not served in Brazil, but they are among the 18 types of meats offered at Green Field. The Kims have even been known to serve buffalo and kangaroo on occasion.

Disks and dollars

However their menus may differ from true Brazilian rodizios, Green Field and Riodizio still adhere to the concept’s traditional serving method. At both operations, each dining party receives two disks, one red and one green, before the meal. Patrons place the green disk on the table to signal servers that they want the meats brought until further notice. When they place the red disk on the table, servers know the customers have had enough.

Also in keeping with the spirit of the traditional rodizio, the price for this all-you-can-eat feast is reasonable — by American standards. Green Field’s Corona establishment charges $17.95 for all the meat and side dishes you can eat. At Riodizio, patrons pay $24.95 for a meal.

“At other traditional steakhouses, the check easily comes to a minimum of $50 for one piece of steak, but at our restaurant you get a little bit of everything for $17.95,” says Huck Kim.

With such great prices, Huck Kim says Green Field does a strong family business. Riodizio’s value-oriented pricing appeals to special-occasion parties. “We specialize in large groups because of the concept,” says Berfas. “Instead of a choice of chicken or salmon that you order in advance, here you can get a choice of 17 or 18 items plus side dishes, which is very appealing.”

Although Americans seem to be embracing Riodizio and Green Field, Huck Kim will only say that sales are “OK.” But that has not dampened the Kims’ plans for continuing to expand their concept across the nation. Riodizio benefited from a positive restaurant review that was published in the New York Times the week it opened. “We had to stop seating people at 10 p.m. that Friday night,” says Berfas. “We couldn’t handle the demand.”

Berfas reports that business has leveled off somewhat as competing rodizios have opened in New York. But he says that Riodizio is still a destination spot because “it’s a special meal. Weekends take care of themselves,” he adds.

Bright future for Brazilian food?

As more tourists journey abroad to discover Brazil and more diners search locally for culturally diverse taste sensations, Brazilian cuisine could become more popular in America—but it may take some education, promotion and patience on the part of the owners of such concepts.

“Brazilian food is not easily transportable to the United States,” says Reuel J. Smith. “But I see no reason why it can’t be done, because the food is fabulous.”

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