Brasinha de Ipanema Brazin Bar Restaurante Boteco Zona Sul — Restaurant in Região Geográfica Imediata do Rio de Janeiro

I wrote a social media post that I'm just going to copy here:

I'm in the mood to write about Picanha. If you don't know, it's a cut of steak. In terms of normal American cuts, it's the top part of a sirloin if it were separated from the rest of the sirloin. It's a very prized cut here in Brazil, and it's gaining international popularity.

If you're familiar with the YouTube channel Guga Foods, you might know that Guga (who is Brazilian) describes it as having the flavor of a ribeye combined with the tenderness of a filet mignon.

But the thing is, I've never found it to be tender like a filet mignon, despite having ordered it countless times in both Brazil and the US. I've been to most of the best known churrasqueiras (Brazilian Steakhouses) in Rio, and while it was always good, I never found it to be as tender as people said. I was starting to think that the cut is overhyped, if I'm honest.

That's until I dropped into this place tonight, called Brazin despite what it says on Google Maps. Despite being in a touristy location, I was the only gringo there. I was with a friend and we didn't want to go crazy with prices, so we ordered Picanha Simples, meaning picanha with just the standard Brazilian sides. For two people it was 99 reais, which at the current exchange rate is less than $17 US, and we got four steaks for that!!!!!!

And here's the thing - it has to be the most tender picanha that I've ever had! I can't explain it - maybe the more expensive and famous places are serving tourists crap because they know they won't know the difference? Maybe they source their beef from an especially good ranch? I don't know.

What I do know is that this is my new favorite place to get a steak in Rio. It's amazing, and it's so cheap that I got a second order of it to go, to eat during work over the...

Good food at a reasonable price. Enjoyed the food, although I found it slightly under seasoned. It serves typical Brazilian food, meat, rice, beans, farofa, rice. Addition of some vegetables eg couve, broccoli would be good. The staff were friendly. It was nice to see them all sitting down together at the end of their shift to eat a meal before...

226 GRAMAS DE PICANHA POR 47 REAIS, é muita cara de pau e falta de ética fazer isso com o cliente, sendo que fazem propaganda falando que é em média de 300 gramas. Nunca mais a gente volta, indica, ou pede qualquer coisa pelo telefone!!

Gente, não peça NUNCA NADA pelo telefone pra esse restaurante. Aqui em casa sempre pedíamos, principalmente quando estávamos com visita em casa. Quando estávamos sozinhos costumávamos pedir a picanha pura, que vem em torno de 300 grama e custa 47 reais. Até que hoje dia 09/06/2018 eu liguei para pedir a picanha e atendente disse que não ia mandar o vinagrete e a farofa, apenas se consumisse no restaurante. Além do mais, quando chegou, veio 226 gramas de picanha, a gente pesou, ligamos pro gerente e pra atendente e os dois tiveram a cara de pau de dizer que é isso mesmo.

226 GRAMAS DE PICANHA POR 47 REAIS, é muita cara de pau e falta de ética fazer isso com o cliente. Nunca mais a gente volta, indica, ou pede qualquer coisa pelo telefone!!

Detalhe: É A PRIMEIRA VEZ NA MINHA VIDA QUE EU FAÇO UM COMENTÁRIO RUIM PRA UM...