The Big Buffalo Brings It To Tampa Bay: Boizao!
By Marty Martindale
 Yes. Boizao, (pronounced “Boy-ZOW,” meaning “big Buffalo”)
brings churrasca to Tampa, and those gauchos don’t serve buffalo meat on their
big, sizzling skewers.
We looked forward to our first Tampa Boizao visit, as years
earlier, we had feasted on feijoada at Impanema on a Saturday then left our Copa
Palace suite early on Sunday to take in Rio’s bizarre Hippie Fair. It wasn’t
easy avoiding the festively-dressed Bahian ladies offering of acarajes. However,
we had to save room for our first
churrascaria which turned out to be a wonderful experience!
Now it’s 2007, and churrasco comes to Tampa’s busy
Westshore business district. Centered in its immense dining room, surrounded by
private dining rooms,
 is a generous buffet of some 45 delicious offerings of
fresh vegetables, salads, cheeses and preserved meats.
Boizão Steakhouse features a “Rodizo,” or all-around style
of service from highly-charged gaucho carvers, dressed in traditional
knee-length “pantalones” with stout Brazilian-style belts. These energetic young
men come bearing slowly roasted, skewered, hot, prime meats, 14 of them, to your
table. They serve what looks best to you right onto your plate.
The most popular choice is: Picanha, cut from the rump area
of the steer, two versions, regular or garlic-infused. All are slow-roasted over
charcoal. Here’s the whole array:
-
Filet Mignon, with or without bacon
-
Costella de Cordeiro, lamb chops
-
Picanha, juicy meat from the rump served with or
without garlic
-
Lombo, a heavy favorite, thinly-sliced pork loin
encrusted with Parmesan cheese
-
Cordeiro, succulent leg of lamb
-
Fraldinha, a favorite from the bottom sirloin
-
Alcatra, tender top sirloin
-
Costela de Boi tender beef ribs
-
Costela de Porco, baby back pork ribs
-
Frango, chicken with fragrant bacon
-
Linguica, spicy sausages
-
Frango, chicken legs specially marinated
 All this fascinating food action is under your control each
time you turn your green or red, “Sim” or “No” card. Take breathers, check the
buffet table again. Then resume. Beef? Pork! Chicken! Lamb! Savory sausage! It’s
up to you, your whim. You call the shots. Enjoy!
Gaucho-clad servers at Boizao assume a sense of
responsibility for pleasing the patrons they served. Each server is in charge of
one type of meat all evening through all shades of doneness. The constants at
each table are delicious puffy cheese muffins, just-right mashed potatoes and
crispy, yet soft, deep-fried bananas, welcome palate cleansers.
After dinner, when the conversation’s usually at its best,
a waiter brings around a festive decanter of Licor 43, or Cuaranta y Tres, a
special vanilla and herb liqueur. He serves it from a decorative, frozen,
fruit-embedded decanter surrounding the bottle. Solid desserts were tempting
even for well-filled stomachs. Their simplest and most sympathetic to
over-indulgence is their Crème de Papaya, a mixture of vanilla ice cream and
papaya fruit rather, “frothed.” Tiramisu was surprisingly cake-like, made to be
eaten from a flat plate with a fork. Or, try the Key Lime Pie, Crème Brulee, a
selection of Cheesecakes or maybe the Chocolate Mousse Cake.
Boizão Steakhouse is located at 4606 Boy Scout Blvd. (East
of Westshore, and across from the International Mall) in Tampa. This new
restaurant represents the first-of-its-kind churrasco-style dining experience on
the Tampa/Westshore restaurant scene.
Prices:
Lunch, (full service, 14 cuts) $19.90
Lunch Special: (light service, five cuts) $12.90
Dinner: $41.90 Vegetarian (salad bar only) $25.00
Children 7 – 10 half price, six and under, free
Fine wines, full bar
Three private dining rooms seat 20 to 125.
Hours: Lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:340 p.m.
Dinner served Sunday through Thursday 5 – 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5
– 11 p.m.
Reservations: (813) 286-7100
Website:
BOIZAO
You can reach Marty Martindale at
mm@FoodSiteoftheDay.com. |
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