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Agora Churrascaria

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stvchin
stvchin
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4 out of 5
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Agora Churrascaria

  • November 11, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by stvchin from Tustin, California
Agora Churrascaria

Agora Churrascaria is a buffet style Brazilian steakhouse, where the meats are brought out to you on skewers by Gauchos. Agora is located at the corner of Main and MacArthur in Irvine. It's the odd looking building with a river rock exterior on the SW corner. I went with a friend for lunch to Agora.

Upon entering, we were seated after a short wait. There is a small sign at the front counter that stated the dress code. One can tell Agora is a fine dining establishment. There are high ceilings, fine linens, and a large wine display on the rear wall of the restaurant. There is a buffet near the front of the restaurant.

After being seated, our waitress greeted us and explained how the restaurant worked. We were given paper discs (resembling coasters) which were green on one side and red on the other. When the green side is up, it signals the Gauchos (servers who bring the meat tableside on skewers) to come to your table. If you wish to take a break from the food, just put the red side up, that tells the Gauchos to bypass your table. Interesting.

The price of $21 per person includes use of the buffet as well. The buffet has all sorts of nice foods such as lox, all sorts of salads and condiments, ensalata al caprese, bread, and a big wheel of nicely aged Swiss cheese. There are also hot dishes, such as beef stroganoff, warm rice, mussels, crab, and soup. Directly behind the buffet is a big window to the kitchen where they roast the meat on the skewers.

The buffet food was good, but I wanted the meat, so I flipped my little disc to the green side up and the Gauchos started coming!

Alcatra: cut from top sirlon, cut was succulent and tender. This was one of my favorites.

File con Bacon: Filet mignon morsels wrapped in bacon. I really liked the filet, but the bacon made it a tad bit salty.

Lombo de Porco: Seasoned pork loin roasted in a marinade. I'm used to pork being a bit dry, but this was actually quite juicy.

Skirt Steak: this was my favorite as it was juicy and very full of flavor!

Frango: Marinated chicken legs. I tried one and it was juicy.

Linguica: Delicately seasoned pork sausage. I didn't really like this as much as I thought. The taste was a bit new to me.

Picanha: Traditional Brazilian cut of sirloin served seasoned with rock salt. This was my second favorite! Tender and juicy.

File: Filet mignon. Very, very good too.

Lomba de Porco on Queijo: Pork loin roasted with Parmesan cheese. I just wasn't used to the two tastes together.

There were many other meats which I didn't try due to time and a finite appetite.

Lunch is $21 per person. I think dinner is $33. Soft drinks are $3.50. While this may seem steep, think about the price at a regular steakhouse! Highly Recommended!

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