Brazilian Grill
Brazilian gauchos have taken over downtown Burbank. OK, they’re really waiters from places like Po^rto Alegre and Bahia who wear blue vests and speak in lilting Portuguese accents. And all they want is to feed you masses of excellent grilled meat at Picanha, a spiffy new churrascaria, or Brazilian barbecue.
But before the meat comes, you navigate an abundantly stocked salad bar with quite a few unexpected dishes. One is tabbouleh, heavy on the bulgur wheat but fresh and delicious (managing partner Atef Taher is an Egyptian who’s spent a lot of time in Brazil). Another is Brazilian chicken salad mayones, which paradoxically uses less mayo than American chicken salad. You can also find pasta, sugar-glazed bananas and farofa (toasted manioc), which adds crunch and dimension to your black beans and rice.
This is diabolically clever--you’re tempted to fill up on salads before the waiters come to the table with the grilled meats. But they do come, and here’s the drill: You get a plastic decal that’s green on one side, red on the other. Green side up tells the waiters to keep bringing meat; red says stop.
That’s hard to do, though. Picanha, whose very name refers to a cut of marinated skirt steak, may be the best churrascaria I’ve ever been to. Taher used to be a manager at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, and he still uses the same top-notch meat purveyors. The meats (e.g., filet mignon and skirt steak) are beautifully marinated and nicely blackened around the edges. What’s more, they stay perfectly medium rare in the center, something not every churrascaria can boast.
The best meat, for my money, is lamb, juicy and fragrant with spices, carved right off a whole leg at your table. (I brought a Greek-American friend here and he almost started to cry when he tasted it.) I’m also fond of the Parmesan-crusted pork tenderloin, though the cheese crust puts this already well-salted meat a bit over the top.
Also delicious are juicy grilled chicken drumsticks and chunks of chicken breast wrapped in bacon. (Real gauchos never had it so good.) The one misstep is the fatty Hillshire Farms kielbasa, which stands in for Brazilian linguica; OK in itself, it just doesn’t go with the other meats.
Picanha has a nice small wine list filled with inexpensive reds, such as Caliterra Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) from Chile. You could also start with Caipirinha, a sort of Brazilian margarita made from rum and fresh limes.
At the finish, there are frothy, ultralight mousses, passion fruit or lime. This may be the one feminine touch to Picanha.
BE THERE
Picanha, 269 E. Palm Ave., Burbank. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily; dinner 5-10 p.m. daily. Full bar. Parking in lot. American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa. Dinner for two, $40-$65. Suggested dishes: salad bar, $13.95; churrasco (includes salad bar), $23.95; passion fruit mousse, $4.75. Call (818) 972-2100.