When Patrick Hughes stocks his kitchen, not just any meat will do. The executive chef and owner of Rio Grill only selects USDA Prime Grade beef, working with steaks that rank within the top 1-2% of quality. Hughes also hand-cuts and trims all of his steaks in house, ensuring that each piece of meat is optimized for its trip to the grill. Speaking of which: the Brazilian steakhouse's churrasco grill rotates skewers of picanha, tri tip steak, top sirloin steak, Australian lamb, and other meats over open flames, making a full rotation precisely three times per minute. This allows the meats to be basted in their natural juices as they're fire roasted to succulent perfection.

In addition to its signature meats, Rio Grill also pursues high quality standards for the rest of its Brazilian and South American dishes. Certified organic ingredients including spinach and spring mix frequently make their way into the menu's inventive dishes, which range from a chimmichuri chicken sandwich to salads accented with hearts of palm and pineapple. Rio Grill also understands that tastiness often increases as the price drops; their $5 appetizers include perennial favorites such as ceviche and empanadas as well as new favorites such as bacon-wrapped chicken bites.