You Gotta Eat: Tucanos Brazilian Grill

You Gotta Eat: Tucanos Brazilian Grill

Arby's claims they have the meats, but that's debatable.

I know who really has the meats and it's Tucanos Brazilian Grill in St. Charles.

Tucanos is located at 1520 S. 5th St. Suite No. 100 in St. Charles,more  specifically, the southeast corner of exit 229 off of I70 and if you haven't been there you are missing out.  

An infinity of grilled meats and a buffet and salad bar filled with Brazilian dishes, this place is a glutinous heaven.

Kelly and I recently went for our friend Casey's birthday and it was definitely a celebration. There were six of us altogether in her group, but when we
left we had probably combined to gain enough weight to make a seventh.

Let me breakdown the way Tucanos works. For $22.95 a person for dinner you get what is called the churrasco. There is also a lunch version for $15.95 Monday through Friday also. The churrasco entails full access to the salad bar and buffet and an unlimited amount of grilled meats and vegetables continuously delivered on skewers by the wait staff.

It's a simple concept, at the table is a small wooden cylinder, on one end it is red and the other it is green. Green means eat, red means stop.

The stick is yellow in the middle, but I never got what that meant. I guess it's eat with caution because you're going to eat a lot.

We went on a Wednesday night and it wasn't too busy. Casey and his wife Jessica, as well as Kelly, had all been before, but I was a Tucanos rookie, as were Casey's friends from out of town. We weren't ready for what was next.

I went and got a large salad to start me off. There were options like roasted corn, mangos and
pineapples available to put on the salad which was cool. When I returned to the table I got the full offerings of Tucanos though. Casey turned the stick to the green end and we were off to the races.

Garlic parmesan chicken, sweet and spicy chicken thigh, turkey wrapped in bacon, center cut sirloin wrapped in bacon, prime rib, beef brisket, chicken hearts, pineapple, Brazilian sausage, top sirloin, beef tenderloin, parmesan encrusted vegetables, salmon, fried white fish and pork loin.

I think that about covers what was piled on my plate straight from skewers. I don't know though, after awhile I began to enter a meat coma, developed the meat sweats and was just eating unconsciously.

The grilled pineapple was one of the best. Called Abacaxi on the menu, I'd never eaten grilled pineapple like this before and boy have I been missing out. It had a sensational taste.

The bacon wrapped turkey and sirloin were outstanding, too. Even the chicken hearts were really good.

The only thing that we all agreed wasn't the best was the brisket, which was more comparable to Italian beef the way it was served.

To bring the best information to you I wasn't done yet either. I heaved my meat-logged body out of my seat and waddled to the buffet to grab a couple of other Brazilian delicacies — fried bananas and fried cheese bread.

This was my first experience with fried bananas, and again, I've been missing out. With a golden brown breading encasing the banana, I think frying it actually releases the sugars from the fruit because it became exorbitantly sweeter. It was more like a dessert in taste. 

The fried cheese bread was fantastic, too. They were small, but really had a rich, sweet taste.

Don't even ask how many calories I ingested, pounds would probably be the more appropriate food measurement when you go to Tucanos. I will admit, as good as it is, it's a special occasion place. No one would be able to eat that much food on a regular basis — even me.

It's a great place to go with a large dinner group. I believe the more people you have at your table the more likely the servers are to come to you quicker, because they can empty a whole skewer of meat at one time.

Another great aspect of Tucanos is for an additional charge you can add the seafood specials to your churrasco, getting things like grilled shrimp, grilled lobster and sea scallops wrapped in bacon. I think that's the move the next time I go.

I didn't just enjoy the food at Tucanos, I had fun. It's just a fantastic experience. The atmosphere includes a large bar and even larger dining area, with bright lights and bright colors.

And here all these years I thought Brazil just offered hot girls in bikinis, now I know more importantly they have sensational food.

To learn more about Tucanos, visit www.tucanos.com. There are other locations around the country, but the St. Charles location is the only one in Illinois or Missouri.

 Don't plan on doing much after going to Tucanos besides sprawling on the couch, which is what I did, but don't get me wrong, Tucanos is a fantastic place to visit when you gotta eat.