We Tried Fogo De Chão's Fall Seasonal Menu Items And Two Favorites Stand Out

When one thinks of Fogo de Chão, a wide array of endless, succulent meats springs to mind. Yet the Brazilian churrascaria chain has plenty more to offer from its a la carte menu, Bar Fogo, Market Table, and Feijoada Bar. As the winds of fall start to pick up, a new set of items are breezing into the restaurant's menu. They include a Whole Branzino, a Roasted Bone Marrow dish, a Caviar Brioche item, a Roasted Apple & Butternut Squash Salad, a Seasonal Fall Hummus, and a Carrot Ginger Soup.

So, are Fogo de Chão's new fall offerings something worth warming up to, or should we give it the cold shoulder and stick to the meat? I sat down and pulled up a spoon, a fork, and even a pair of tongs to see where the truth lies. This chew and review is based on taste, originality, value, and overall lovability.

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

All these fall menu items are available now at participating Fogo de Chão locations (for a limited time only and while supplies last). A majority of the dishes can be ordered anytime Fogo de Chão is open — which includes lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Some of these items may be ordered to-go. However, the Whole Branzino dish is only available Wednesday through Sunday.

The Whole Branzino and Roasted Bone Marrow are listed on the menu under the "Indulgent Cuts" section, and are priced at $90 and $28, respectively. The Caviar Brioche is a part of the Bar Fogo menu, under the "Shareable Plates" section. However, this item can also be ordered in the main dining room. It retails for $11. The Roasted Apple & Butternut Squash Salad, Seasonal Fall Hummus, and Carrot Ginger Soup are a part of the "Market Table" menu section, which is included in the Churrasco Experience, or can be purchased by itself for $20. There is no limit to the number of cups, bowls, and plates one can have from the Market Table and Feijoada Bar. But prices and availability may vary per location.

I started my meal off with a bowl of the new Carrot Ginger Soup. As I lifted the heavy blue lid off of the Le Creuset pot — the brand of which is one of the best Dutch ovens around – my eyes lit up at the sight of this beautifully warm and welcoming yellow soup before me.

After I poured my bowl, I brought it to my nose for a whiff. It had an air of coconut to it. While its appearance made it out to look rather thick, and perhaps taste like butternut squash soup, neither turned out to be true. While I didn't really taste any notes of carrots, the ginger's presence was evident, with bits of pulp hitting my tongue on most spoonfuls. It was ultimately a peppery, coconut-flavored soup that felt more at home in a Thai restaurant than a Brazilian one.

While it may have been heavy on flavor, this vegan-friendly soup thankfully wasn't too filling. That makes it a good starter for any Fogo de Chão dinner, before the meaty main courses commence.

On the menu, it's simply listed as the "Seasonal Fall Hummus," but when one finally spots this item at the Market Table, it's called the "Beet Hummus." This hummus didn't have the color of the typical dip, as the purple beet juice turned it into something more appealing and vibrant. To make this dish, beets are blended with typical hummus ingredients like chickpeas and tahini. Then, the dish is topped with herbs, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, orange zest, salt, and olive oil.

Instead of bothering to dip something into this hummus, I ate it by the spoonful. Its cooled silkiness immediately made my mouth happy to receive it, and that was before its excellent flavor even had a chance to shine through. The beets helped to cut into the usual dryness of the tahini, creating a novel dip that almost seemed un-hummus-like. The herbs and seeds added a nice bonus mixture of textures, which helped to seal this vegan dish's great appeal. Simply put, this Beet Hummus cannot be beaten.

Out of all the new menu items I tried, the Roasted Apple & Butternut Squash Salad is the one that nailed the look and feel of fall, with its faded oranges and browns. At the Market Table, the pieces of apples and squash were laid out one after the other on the large serving platter. This attractive display almost had me wanting to reach for a light jacket and scarf to cozy up with.

The roasted Fuji apples and butternut squash pieces, with their baked char marks, gave off a sense that they were firm in stature. In reality, they had a mushiness to them my taste buds couldn't fully overcome. While honey and lime zest were added to punch up this salad, their combined sweetness almost added an unwelcome bitterness. I was also thrown off a bit by the apple's skin, which wasn't easy to bite and break apart from the fruit. This dish was served cold, but perhaps could have been improved upon if it were served warm, with several dashes of cinnamon.

Before I moved on to my main entrees, my palate cleanser turned out to be the Caviar Brioche. Four of these bites come in one order. With each bite, tobiko black roe, egg salad, and parsley were neatly stacked atop a rounded brioche puff.

I approached this one by nibbling each element on its own. The black roe that sat on the top was fishy-tasting and lacked the comely saltiness that makes real caviar so scrumptious. Still, it contained the fun bubbly crunch that comes with each bite of fish eggs. Admittedly, I am not a big fan of egg salad, but I was not offended by this decent heaping, which wasn't too stuffed with mayonnaise. But the real draw of this dish was at the bottom, where the brioche kept it all together. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, this little piece of breading tasted like a soft Ritz cracker.

The sum of these parts added up to a delightful little appetizer. It would work as a nifty nibble while sitting at the bar, or, for a change of pace, the dining room table. It's not only a refreshing bite, but one that seems rather affordable, too.

If you ever wanted to feel like living it up like "The Flintstones," then one has to order the nearly dinosaur-sized Roasted Bone Marrow dish from Fogo de Chão. When it arrived at my table, my eyes almost dropped to the floor, just peering at the sight of the mammoth bone split in two. With the juicy tissue dressed in shimmering chimichurri sauce, just looking at it made my mouth water. The split bones were laid on one another on the wooden serving platter, accompanied by crostini-like bread pieces and a small cup of additional chimichurri sauce.

The marrow, which ranged from well done to medium rare, was easily scooped up with a miniature pair of provided tongs. Before I bothered with the elongated toast, I dove right into the marrow. It was a little fatty, but I didn't mind, as the flavor of garlic kept me coming back for more. Since Fogo de Chão is a bit of a respectable dining establishment, I had to resist picking up the bone and gnawing out the remaining bits of marrow with my teeth.

While fresh meat skewers are a common sight at Fogo de Chão, the table-side preparation of entrees is not. When one orders up the fire-roasted 2-pound Whole Branzino, a server arrives with it in a cart, and then proceeds to remove its head, tail, collarbone, and finally its spine. While the long fish had its size shrunk in that deboning process, there was still plenty of fish to gobble up — and there better be, since the fish comes with a $90 price tag.

Looking at the skin side, it had an interesting combination of colors that shifted from silver to brown. The other side simply consisted of white pieces of fish. The fish wasn't that seasoned, and a squeeze of lemon didn't really add much to help. A bite was made best with the crispiness of the skin in tow. Overall, it's a nice piece of fish. However, I wanted to spice things up a bit and ended up borrowing numerous spoonfuls of my leftover chimichurri sauce from my Roasted Bone Marrow to do so.

I had plenty of fish left over to take home. The next day I ate it and it actually tasted better. Still, it was in need of a dash of flavor.

Whenever I hit up a Fogo de Chão, it's usually for a celebration that calls for tackling its grand churrascaria experience and leaving with little room left in my stomach. I always try to take a smart approach, by hitting up its salad bar before moving onto the meat. If I return this fall to do so, I would immediately get things started with a generous scoop of that awesome Beet Hummus, and perhaps have a small cup of the Carrot Ginger Soup as a palate cleanser. But I'm not sure that I'd grab the Caviar Brioche, as I didn't favor that item as much. It could be perhaps improved by swapping in some flavorful wasabi roe.

The Whole Branzino is a decent option for those who crave fish or maybe want something lighter than the many meats found within this Brazilian steakhouse. However, at its high price tag, a diner may be better off ordering both the Chilean Sea Bass and the Pan-Seared Salmon for more flavor, variety, and a bang for your buck.

On the other hand, the Roasted Bone Marrow ended up being an affordable and indulgent table-side treat. While its large appearance didn't provide a lot to eat, what one gets to taste is something to totally fall for. Don't skip this or the hummus when dining at the chain this fall.