Sambarific

Chimichurri part deux: Samba Brazilian Grill. Ole! And then some. As referenced in my Cabana Room review, the remodeled Avol's is stunning. Samba is far more impressive than the Cabana Room (as distinguished as that is), with even more polished wood, colorful draperies and glass accents, a stage with live music, gauchos shaving meat and more magnificently presented sides, salads, cheeses and cured meats than a person can dream up.

I sampled octopus salad (wow!, I wish I had eaten more of that), a marinated shitake salad, seaweed salad with a sesame paste, pasta with cubed meat, heart of palm, delicious cheeses, fresh fruit, olives, and on and on. Too much really. And mashed potatoes. And saffron rice. And Cuban style beans. And cheesy biscuits that I would have compared to a gougère (I ate between 4 and 6; I stopped counting after 3). And meat. As long as your color coated table tower is showing green, the meat just keeps coming. Bacon wrapped sirloin. Parmesan crusted pork. Honey glazed pork. Duck. Lamb. Rack of lamb. More beef. Changes nightly. I may have to go again tomorrow! And the chimichurri. It tastes so divine with the beef. With everything. My mouth waters just thinking about it. I may have to wander down to Gotham to get a bagel with chimichurri cream cheese, for a quick fix. I wonder if there are medicinal uses for chimichurri? If I consumed a tbsp daily, would I ward off any ailments? I would be willing to give it a go...

For an easy chimichurri recipe, please visit Recipezaar. To learn about my new favorite drink, the caipirinha, and cachaça, a national product of Brazil, visit the appropriately named Cocktail Times.