A well-rounded meal at Amor de Brazil Steakhouse will include picanha and caipirinha. The first is rotisserie-grilled top sirloin, skewered and carved at your table. The second is Brazil's national cocktail: crushed ice, lime, sugar, and sugar-cane rum. The servers at the restaurant—known as "gauchos," or ranchers—will happily teach newcomers how to pronounce these signature items, as well as the rest of the meats that they slow-cook in traditional churrasco style.

There's linguica, or cured pork sausage, lightly seasoned; cordeiro, or lamb, flavored by a mint marinade; and filet mignon, which, like the best camp care-packages, can arrive wrapped in bacon. Chicken, pork ribs, and rib eyes also make an appearance on the rodizio menu, and side dishes at the salad bar range from imported cheeses to roasted red peppers. Just feasting on the food is an experience in itself, with gauchos reporting to your table whenever you'd like to replenish your plate. But Creative Loafing Charlotte attests that the ambiance is also a draw—the room "positively oozes a fun spirit" and hosts Brazilian dancers in elaborate headdresses on certain weekends.