This is one of Rio's better-known churrascarias, that is, restaurants specializing in churrasco (pronounced shoo-RAS-koo) or Brazilian Barbecue. Estrela do Sul is festive place to bring a group for a celebration and gorge on the traditional staple food of the South Brazilian cowboys. Just don't plan on going dancing later--you won't want to move!
Expect to have numerous waiters circling around your table deftly slicing off strips of roasted meat from a skewer with enormous knives--a very impressive performance! The process is interactive. You have a pair of tongs with which you grab the end of the piece the waiter is slicing to assist the meat's journey to your plate.
The range of meats includes chicken, pork, sausages, and several different cuts of beef. The filet mignon sprinkled with cheese was interesting, if strange to my American palate. I much preferred the juicy sirloin steak, not as well-done as some of the other cuts. On your table you'll find several things to accompany the meat, including french fries, onion rings, fried mantioc, and polenta sticks (tasting for all the world like southern cornbread--salty and crisp.) There's also a cold buffet for salad and a hot buffet with more side items in case several rounds of meat weren't enough to fill you up.