Rio Sabor Brazil

An evening at Rio Sabor Brazil in Scottsdale, AZ, is sure to delight your senses and satisfy your adventurous spirit.  Sit down and enjoy the food of the Brazilian Gaucho, who roamed the ranges tending cattle, and who cooked his meat over open-flame hearths.  Rio Sabor exchanges a cowboy cooksite for linen-covered tables and a quiet Brazilian atmosphere; but the skewers of meats brought to tables are barbequed over open flames in the Gaucho tradition. One fixed price provides a buffet and an all-you-can-eat Brazilian Steakhouse Barbecue.

While Rio Sabor Brazil has been on the same site for many years, owner and executive Chef Solange Guerrra took over the restaurant in November 2004.  A native of Brazil, Ms. Guerra has continued the restaurant as a testament to her roots.  While other Rodizio-style steakhouses in Scottsdale have come and gone, Ms. Guerra’s homemade recipes and the restaurant's authenticity have kept it a popular local destination.

A small walkthrough bar provided the entry point into a spacious main dining room, where we were immediately greeted by the wait staff. Though the dining room was not elaborate, the homey interior was spotless and the white linen tablecloths added a slightly elegant touch. Arched doorways provided an ethnic feel and opened onto a second smaller dining area and a third back room for smaller groups or private parties.  Having been seated in the main dining room, my eye was drawn to the must-see glass enclosure, where enormous skewers of meat and poultry were slowly sizzling over open flames.

A great way to begin your South American experience is with the trendy alcoholic drink of Brazil, the caipirinha.  The caipirinha is a cocktail made with cacha (distilled from sugar cane), sugar, and fresh lime.  It is tart and sweet at the same time and is a little bit like a mojito without the mint.  I knew my meal was starting out exceptionally well when I tasted the homemade Sangria.  The huge serving of wine was sweet, light and flavored with bits of seasonal fruits.  It is difficult to find in-house sangria and I was delighted to discover it was offered by the glass.  Rio Sabor Brazil offers twenty-two wines by the glass and the two-page wine list is packed with an eclectic mix of bottled wines, including Brazilian, Portuguese, and Argentinean selections.

The complimentary first course of traditional appetizers arrived promptly at our table. The tiny cheese puffs were light, airy, and cheesy, and had I not known better I would have begun to fill up on the tempting morsels. The crispy polenta squares were outstanding with a nice delicate texture, and the fried bananas (plantains) were not at all greasy as I might have expected but instead were sweet with a subtle outer coating.  Our wonderful waiter Kyle continued to offer more of these pleasing tidbits, but I summoned up my willpower to resist his offers for I knew how much more was yet to come.

The salad course consisted of chef’s choice from a variety of cold marinated dishes and salads. The Marinated Squash was my favorite. It was grilled then served cold and had a nice meaty texture.  The Artichokes were a close second, perfectly moist and plumb. The Hearts of Palm Salad with tomato and tiny balls of fresh mozzarella was so beautifully presented on the buffet table it looked almost too pretty to dive into, but I plunged in anyway and was not disappointed.

If self-discipline is a problem then you may wish to avoid the next course of hot entree dishes.  Keep in mind (as I tried not-too-successfully to do), that the mesquite-grilled meats are still yet to come.  Despite my resolve, I could not resist the Raviolis in Cream Sauce.  As with every other dish in the restaurant, the raviolis were homemade. The pillows of fresh dough were feather light and the cream sauce a perfect accompaniment.  Some of the other entrées included a Fresh Tilapia (white fish) in coconut milk sauce and a traditional Brazilian Black Beans with Pork.

It was time to summon the servers for the main attraction.  We had been given a bi-colored block of wood, red-side up, and were told to turn it over to show green when we were ready.  As soon as we turned the block, servers began arriving.  Rodizio-style meats are skewered on long swords, with the large slabs of meat cut tableside.  The server described the meat and asked how much I would like, then cut a slice from the slab as I grabbed it with a small pair of tongs to place it on my plate.  The variety of mesquite-grilled meats kept arriving for as long as my block was green, bringing as much as my pleased stomach could hold.  The flame-broiled meats were all marinated and seasoned with a wonderful mix of salt, onion flavors, and plenty of garlic.

The hands-down favorite for me proved to be the Flank Steak.  The crispy outside crust was a perfect counterpoint to the moist tender steak.  The Tri Tip Steak and the Top Sirloin were close seconds with the wonderfully flavored marinade.  A sampling of the Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon and the Picanha (Brazilian cut sirloin) were flavorful. Turkey cooked Brazilian style proved a pleasant surprise. The nicely charred crust was crispy while the white meat was still moist and tender.  Comparatively speaking, the Mint Marinated Lamb and the Pork Ribs were well done and not as tender as the other choices.  The final grilled specialty was Pineapple.  The fruit is rolled twice in cinnamon, sugar and juice and grilled to perfection.  It was so perfectly sweet and juicy that no dessert should have been needed.

All the Rodizio waiters were eager to please. They continued to offer meat selections from the skewers until we finally surrendered and flipped our colored block to red, signaling that we had had enough.  One server even came to our table at the end of the meal to verify that we had been offered every one of the twelve grilled choices.  He counted on his fingers while clicking off all of the selections to make sure we had not missed a single offering.  Our own waiter was knowledgeable in describing the dining experience, pleasant and attentive to our needs.  Busboys quickly whisked away dishes we set aside.

Despite full stomachs, we could not resist trying the Coconut Flan.  With two spoons, we dove into the light dessert.  The coconut topping tasted as if it had been scraped fresh from the shell and the texture of the flan was airy and a perfect ending to the meal. Other dessert choices included Chocolate Mousse, Caramel Flan and Passion Fruit Cheesecake.

This restaurant works equally well for business diners, special date nights, or for families with children. The night I dined at Rio Sabor Brazil, I saw representatives of all three groups happily eating Brazilian barbecue to their hearts content.

Note that while the address is on Scottsdale Road, the entrance is from a back lot where parking is free.

The dinner price is $38.99, vegetarians and children dine at half-off the prix-fixe price. Lunch is $27.99 and includes five selected meat choices from the grill.