Sunday, July 5, 2009

Eat Brazilian: Preto, Victoria

A lot has been said in the blogosphere about some people’s motivations, about why people blog and what benefits can be gained from it. Personally, I blog for fun. I started doing it to keep my mind active during a challenging time for me and carry it on today for my family globally to keep an eye on what I am up to. And because I love to eat. I love food and pretty much everything about it. About ingredients, about where they come from (the people, the countries) and most of all, the sensations you get from tasting it (mostly good, but sometimes bad). I blog for my friends, for my family, for myself and not forgetting, for any other random who may come across this and want to spend the time to read my thoughts. So if you read this, I hope you enjoy my ramblings. And if you do, please come back, you are more than welcome.

Now to bring it down a level, copious amounts of beverages followed by a meat feast!

Preto

It’s the end of the financial year and things haven’t gone too badly (sort of). Everyone has worked hard and generally, our customers appreciate us. So what better way to celebrate than a few beers down our local and then off to an unlimited Brazilian buffet!

I know many of you know I moan about how few good options there are for food in Victoria. Lunchtimes are either spent getting something from M&S or heading out with the rest of the team to one of the many chain restaurants around here. Options are few and far between, but on Wilton Road, there are a few semi-decent options. After debating the dodgy Mexican, a rather good Turkish (Kazan, which I need to visit in the very near future), another chain fake dim sum place (not even going to mention their real name) and a Brazilian buffet, the choice was simple and Preto it was.

Salad Bar @ Rodizio Preto

Lubricated from post work drinks at the local boozer, we arrived in good spirits and ploughed in. To get us warmed up (and probably an attempt at reducing the intake of the pricier meat), they introduced us to the “salad” bar. I have “salad” in inverted commas, as there was actually very little salad on show, but was heavy on carb based goods. However, they did have my personal favourite pão de queijo (cheese balls, although don’t quote me on that) amongst other strange things I wouldn’t expect (potato gratin, onion rings and lasagne anyone?).

Pork Loin @ Rodizio Preto

After a while, the churrascaria got fired up and a rather grumpy man started coming round with various bits of meat on a large metal skewer. These included beef, things wrapped in bacon, pork loin, lamb and chicken. All that was missing from the meat groups were duck and venison, probably a little too dear for an all you can eat. The meat was of a pretty decent quality and was cooked well, retaining its juices, with the pork loin definitely the highlight for me, whilst the beef ribs were fatty and unappetising. Shame they were also so tight, apportioning a meagre one slice per person at a time.

He kept it coming for a little while but started avoiding our table after half an hour. It could have been due to the impromptu karaoke we decided to have, but some members of our party wanted more meat and frankly, the grumpy man was being far from accommodating. After a few words with management, the grumpy man chose to brave our table and no further problems were encountered.

A fairly enjoyable if hazy evening. I believe its £20 a head, which isn’t too bad; just make sure you bring a decent appetite to get your money’s worth and try to avoid the grumpy man.

Empty Sangria @ Rodizio Preto

Preto, 72 Wilton Rd, Pimlico, SW1V 1DE

Preto on Urbanspoon

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