CyberEater Review
Rei De Gado --- Party Time
by David Rottenberg

Goblins roamed the streets last night and skeletons danced eerily in the deepening darkness.

Mad howls filled the air. Strange creatures floated overhead. It was another typical Halloween. Groups of kids moved from house to house, sometimes collecting candy, sometimes doing a “trick”, like throwing toilet paper rolls into the trees.

Halloween has become one of America’s favorite holidays. Young and old love to dress up in funny costumes, sometimes bob for apples and dance the night away. My daughter sent me photos of her costume, a blond Vampira with a flowing blond wig. I would not have recognized her.

Halloween is a Christian holiday, with roots that trace back to the Celts and Romans. It was called “All Hallows Day” to celebrate all the saints in the pantheon on November 1. But the Celtic summer ended October 31 and they believed that on that date the souls of people who died in the previous year would come back looking for new bodies to possess. To discourage possession, Celtic people darkened their homes, dressed up in ghoulish costumes and made lots of noise to frighten away these spirits.

The Romans adopted the celebration and added a celebration to honor Pomona, goddess of apples. Hence the custom of bobbing for apples.

The origin of “trick or treating” is in early Christian Europe. People would wander on “All Souls Day”, November 2, from village to village begging for “soul cakes”, small square pieces of bread with currants, in return for saying prayers for the dead.

So Halloween is a semi-religious holiday to which several cultures contributed, a real ecumenical celebration. And, it is always a lot of fun.

Another culture that loves to dress up and party is the Brazilian culture. I love watching video of the Mardi Gras festivities in Rio, with the lavish costumes and wonderful Samba dancing by the competing Samba clubs. I’ve always loved the way they party down there.

Rei Do Gado is a Brazilian restaurant that brings some of the spirit and tradition of Brazil to the Gaslamp and certainly brings the country’s flavors. The restaurant is a “Charruscaria”, offering a mixed grill of Brazil’s famous meat. White meats are marinated overnight in a mixture of garlic, salt and lime juice. Red meats are seasoned with sea salt. The meat is traditionally cooked on a spit over coals in a pit in the ground.

The restaurant serves a variety of meats “rodizio” style. That is, there is no set menu. Servers walk around the restaurant carrying slabs of meat on skewers, from which they carve slices right onto guest plates. At the beginning of the meal, a chip is placed on the table, green on one side and red on the other. When absolutely stuffed, guests turn over the chip from green to red to signal servers not to stop by anymore.

During lunch, guests may choose carvings from as many as 13 different types of meat. The list expands at dinner to 16 types of meat. Some of the selections come wrapped in bacon, a traditional way of serving it. Others are just cut from the bone. Meat selections include tenderloin, top sirloin, new york steak, tri-tip, beef ribs, chicken drumsticks, turkey, and lamb leg. Not all meats may be available at any one particular time. The meats are well seasoned, well prepared and delicious.

Rei Do Gado is “carnivore heaven”! Guests can eat as much meat as they wish. They may begin with a trip to the extensive salad bar and finish with a good selection of desserts. But why take up the precious room? Guests mostly come for the tasty meat choices.

Rei Do Gado is a fun place to dine. The experience of servers cutting chunks of meat off the skewers tableside is different. The variety of meat choices can be overwhelming. The sheer volume of food one may eat is staggering. There is live Brazilian music nightly, to add to the fun. Often, a live Samba show entertains. Call 619-702-8464 for information and reservations.

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