|
Don't ask chef Jorge DaSilva what seasoning goes into the Portuguese cuisine at J&J Rodizio.
"I won't even tell my mother. I tell that, I lose my job," says DaSilva, who is from Sesimbra, Portugal, a small fishing village close to Lisbon.
J&J Rodizio, 4375 S. Buffalo Drive, is owned by Americans John and Teri Fritz, with DaSilva providing the authentic cuisine. He came to Las Vegas from Long Island, N.Y., where he worked for five years in a French restaurant, spent two years at the Portuguese consulate and five years in a barbecue restaurant similar to J&J Rodizio.
The dishes are cooked with wood charcoal briquettes, instead of on a gas or electric grill.
Open three months, J&J Rodizio goes beyond just Portuguese cuisine, DaSilva says, thanks to his wife, Fatima, a chef who brings a Brazilian touch to the dishes.
For instance, the camarao salsa verde ($14.95), a shrimp dish, features a green sauce that's a puree of mixed vegetables and "a touch of malaguera," a spice, DaSilva explains. "It's very spicy, only from Brazil."
Fatima is mainly responsible for the side dishes, which have Brazilian flavorings -- vegetais (vegetables), feijao preto (black beans), couve (collard greens), batata frita (homemade potato chips), vinaigrette (salsa), farofa (baked flour) and banana frita (fried banana). All side dishes are $2.50 each.
She also is the restaurant's pastry chef, whipping up pudin flan (flan), mousse de chocolate, arroz doce (rice pudding), ice cream and natas do ce'u (heavenly whites, cookies featuring egg whites and whipped cream, among the ingredients). Desserts are $3.50 each.
Soups start off the menu, including caldo verde (green soup) and sopa vegetais (vegetable soup), both $2.50 each. DaSilva also serves an assortment of Brazilian appetizers for $5.50.
Meat dishes, which include a salad and side dishes, feature frango no churrasco (whole grilled chicken), $12.95; 1/2 grilled chicken, $7.95; febras na brasa (grilled pork loin), $13.95; costelas de porco grelhadas (grilled spare ribs), $12.95; espetada mista (mixed skewer), $14.95; espetada picanha (skewer of picanha, which is a special Brazilian cut of steak), $17.95; and costela de vaca (steak), $16.95.
There's also the Rodizio, which includes a variety of barbecue meats, for $19.95.
Among the fish dishes are the popular paelha Lisboeta (mixed seafood with rice), $18.95; salmao (salmon), $15.95; espetada camarao lulas (skewer of shrimp, onion, pepper and scallops), $14.95; and camarao grelhado (grilled shrimp), $14.95.
The wine list features Portuguese sangria and sparkling, white, blush and red wines. None are from Portugal, DaSilva says, because "I don't find enough Portuguese wines to put on the list -- yet."
J&J Rodizio, which seats 120, is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.
"Appetizers" is a weekly informational column about new developments on the Las Vegas dining scene. Items should not be considered reviews or recommendations and none is a paid advertisement.
E-mail this story to a friend:
Give us your FEEDBACK on this or any story.
BEST OF LAS VEGAS
Fill out our Online Readers' Poll
|
