I took a lunch meating with a Hollywood pal in May, 2005.
We talked movies, and we talked meat. Meat, meat and more meat.
Tri-tip. Pepper steak. Garlic steak. Beef kabob. Top sirloin.
It’s (almost) all about meat when you’re at Amazon Churrascaria in Fullerton (in Orange County, Calif.). Churrascaria are a particularly Brazilian mix of barbecue and steakhouse, featuring waiters who roam the room bearing sword-length skewers, each loaded with a chunk of meat, still steaming hot from the open-flame grill tucked into the kitchen.
Brazilian touches extend to the decor. A waterfall cascades down a wall facing the front door. Faux jungle plants, and crypto jungle-ruin panels cover the walls. It made me think of the kid-favorite Rainforest Cafe chain, sans roaring animatronics, flashing lights and corporate-restaurant mega-merchandising.
A curious touch of the American Midwest dominates the middle of the large restaurant, which has served in former lives as a Chinese buffet and a Country Inn buffet. A salad bar of sorts, the kind popular in Peoria in the ’80s, harbors mayo-based salads, three-bean salads, cheesy breads, some soups....