Dining out: Braza Grill

At one time, churrasco, or Brazilian barbecue, was a rare and exotic change of pace for most Utahns.

All right, it's still a change of pace for most of us. But churrasco restaurants, or churrascaria de rodzio, have flourished in Utah and elsewhere recently. If I were a trend-watcher, I'd call churrasco the new Thai — partially because it's enjoying a wave of popularity, and partially because there's real quality underpinning the fashionable flourishes.

Such is the case with Braza Grill. It lacks the cavernous eating space of other churrascarias I've visited. Instead, Braza's dining room is more intimate, with a warm, natural ambience well-designed to show off this down-to-earth cuisine.

The many Brazilians working and eating there give it the feel of a family dining room. Our server and the waiters who offered us meat were uniformly friendly, attentive and businesslike.

We started with the Brazilian sampler, a great introduction to Brazilian food, especially when paired with one of Braza's frothy, fruity limeades. I especially liked the sampler's kibe, beefy meatballs firmed up with wheat, and the esfiha, bread pockets stuffed with ground beef.

But the rest of the appetizer was good, too. The coxhina is moist chicken in a soft batter, and the cheese risolis wrap the same batter around a filling somewhat reminiscent of a Christmas cheese ball.

There's a fine salad bar at Braza Grill. One side has hot dishes such as meaty rice casserole, creamy au gratin potatoes, chicken stroganoff and fried bananas, while the other has cold salads.

The ingredients and combinations make the cold side fun: I made myself a green salad of crisp-leaf lettuce, mozzarella cheese, hearts of palm, marinated mushrooms and roasted red pepper, with a raspberry dressing. There are also prepared cold salads, all of them unusual and enticing.

My husband liked the salad bar, but he was there for the churrasco: big hunks of meat sliced at your table from huge, sizzling hot slabs on enormous skewers.

On a typical night, Braza offers two types of top sirloin, beef tenderloin, lamb, pork sausage, chicken, pork loin, ham, grilled vegetables, bacon-wrapped turkey and pineapple. They'll also make chicken hearts upon request.