Restaurant preserves 300-year-old heritage David Jeiel and his brother-in-law Alex Nunes introduced a Brazilian steakhouse to Frisco in Stonebriar Centre a little more than a year ago. Estilo Gacho Brazilian Steakhouse sheds a light on the spirit of southern Brazilian culture and provides a thematic experience for the customer. "It is not like your traditional American steakhouse with meat and potatoes where everyone just goes for something hearty," Jeiel said. "We can certainly fit the bill, but we love to encourage people to explore." The restaurant name originated from the heritage of gachos, or southern Brazilian cowboys, who traditionally gathered around a fire with family and friends to cook meats, Jeiel said. At Estilo Gacho, the tradition lives on, in a fine-dining atmosphere. Like the culture it represents, the steakhouse prioritizes relationships, Jeiel said. A Brazilian himself, he said it is customary for Brazilians to dine in large numbers, and at Estilo Gacho, big groups are welcome. "We're fickle, we're impatient," Jeiel said. "When we go out, we go out in large groups. We want to be able to satisfy everybody's taste for whatever it is they want immediately." The owners prioritize authenticity with the restaurant, and Jeiel said Estilo Gacho is not here to reinvent a 300-year-old heritage, but rather to reintroduce it. "We know it's difficult to keep the spirit alive with something that's really old but we continue to present it in a positive light and in a new way," he said. Estilo Gacho celebrates variety with 16 different cuts of meat available to choose from, including selections of chicken, lamb and pork, each served tableside in large chunks on skewers. With in-house butchering, the authenticity of the food is preserved. The signature meat, picanha, is the prime cut of beef in Brazilian culture, and Jeiel said it is shipped to the restaurant four times a week. Maintaining simplicity is also important to the owners. Jeiel said chefs use rock salt as the only seasoning on most of the meats so as to not change the taste. "It's about doing it the gacho way," he said. Jeiel said another representation of the southern Brazilian culture is the salad bar, which reflects a harvest table and is a symbol of locally grown products from farmers and ranchers. One of the main focal pieces of the entire restaurant, the salad bar serves customers an array of salads, cheeses, vegetables and other appetizers. Jeiel said many of the items found at the salad bar are local products, and others are flown in from Brazil. "I have a borderline insulting number of vegetarians that come through here based on the strength of our salad bar," Jeiel said.

• 8650 SH 121
• 214-618-6150
• www.estilogaucho.com

Hours:

• Mon.–Fri. 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
• Mon.–Thu. 5–10 p.m.
• Fri. 5–10:30 p.m.
• Sat. 4:30–10:30 p.m.
• Sun. 1–9 p.m.