I visited this churrascaria over the weekend. I was excited to check this place out since I went to this kind of steak house the past two times I've been to Brazil. I was not disappointed. Make sure you go hungry, as you will be enjoying a plethora of deliciously cooked meats. The attentive wait staff rushes to your table with a variety of seasoned steaks, chicken, sausage etc as long as your token is green. When you want a break, you flip your token over to the red side.
It's a pricey ordeal, but it is an AYCE steakhouse. They also have amazing sides (see the pictures I posted) but don't fill up too much on those. One last comment, if you want an even more authentic Brazilian experience order a caipirinha (Brazil national cocktail). It will taste sweet but that's because it is pure cachaca, sugar, and lime. Once you've become hooked on these, pick up a bottle of cachaca at The Party Source in Newport and make your own to impress your friends!
I stayed at the Westin Chicago River North on a reward booking. I contacted the hotel ahead of time and informed them that it was going to be a special occasion that I was celebrating with my girlfriend. As a Starwood Gold Preferred Guest, I was just hoping for a few perks to make the stay a bit more romantic. When I was contacted by Emily (Westin Experience Specialist), I was blown away by the level of attention and care.
I was upgraded to a corner room on a high floor with amazing river views, granted Executive Club access for the stay which gave us snacks/breakfast, and we were delivered a complimentary champagne + cheese plate with a personalized note wishing us well. I have never been treated so kindly during a hotel stay. When you consider the amazing location of this Westin and combine it with such stellar customer service, I could not imagine staying anywhere else in Chicago!
The pictures I uploaded were taken at 4 AM after a long night. Needless to say, this place was still packed but the line moved fast. Make sure to have cash on hand. There's no real place to sit or hide from the cold wind so we took this back to the hotel. Oh yeah... go easy on the red sauce.... it's brings some serious heat.
Navy Pier has its charm but overall is just "ok" in my opinion. Grab some expensive Garretts popcorn and wander around for a bit. A group of us did see a Cirque du Soleil performance here that turned out to be a fun time. Worth a visit, but don't plan to spend too long here-- there are much cooler sights in Chicago.
Gotta love the bean, one of the coolest spots in Chicago. Always packed, but nonetheless worth a visit for some creative picture taking. In this selfie era that we live in, who wouldn't want distorted photos of themselves from every angle imaginable?