A desert oasis

Economic hardship can only keep a foodie down for so long.

Wednesday night found me in Durham, so kind of squint at the page header and you might read "The Durham foodie." I was meeting a longlost friend who is temporarily living in the wilds of Burlington, so our halfway point was The Federal, on West Main in Durham. Well, even the thunderstorms couldn't keep the people away, so there was nowhere to sit. Alas.

Across the street in Brightleaf Square was Chamas, a Brazilian steakhouse. It was new to both of us -- and the entire concept was new to my friend -- so in we plunged.

The buffet was great; in fact, it was at least twice the size of the buffet at Rio Churrascaria, Chamas' North Raleigh equivalent. And it didn't sacrifice quality. Everything was fresh and flavorful. I particularly liked the sun-dried tomato canapes, though I kept wandering back to the cheeses, which were abundant and varied. The little brie buffet at the end of the line was a fun touch, with honey, fig jam and nuts to go with the pre-sliced bits of cheese. Also, I'm not generally a salmon-eater, but the smoked salmon with capers was both visually appealing and delicious. There was also a short hot line, with a black-bean-and-rice offering containing morsels of smoky pork and the most excellent basmati-type rice.

The meat, brought out to the table on long swords by a steady stream of servers in possibly the most dramatic maneuver most restaurants outside of TGIF see, was decent. Probably not as good as Rio's, and definitely not quite as fresh. The bacon-wrapped filet, usually a favorite of mine, was dry and lukewarm. I was told the chicken was excellent, but the initial glimpse didn't prompt me to try it. The pork was surprisingly good, though, and the lamb was perfection: steaming hot and tender, with a subtle marinadey-glaze hinted with thyme and citrus.

The whole enchilada also included dishes of mashed potatoes and fried bananas served family-style at the table -- a slightly convoluted step to an already discombobulated dining process. The potatoes were fine -- nothing to write home about. The bananas were new to me -- small rolls of the fried fruit, crusty and sweet and unrecognizable until I took a bite. The server said they were palate-cleansing. For me, they doubled as dessert.

Our server was excellent, but the steady stream of personnel coming by with meat seemed to keep her away slightly more than I would have preferred. She was, however, friendly and knowledgeable. The dining room was spacious and attractive -- and offered the quiet that can be valuable to the friends-catchin'-up process. Catch up we did, until we were so stuffed we could hardly move.

When in Rome

Going out for breakfast: the pros

+ Fabulous farm mural at the Farmers Market Restaurant
+ Good coffee
+ Hot omelet with noticeably fresh mushrooms
+ Beautiful, fluffy biscuits
+ The pleasure of companionably reading a newspaper amid the holiday din.


Going out for breakfast: the cons
- The wait
- The crowds
- The mediocre home fries. Yes, should've ordered grits.
- The waitress nearly delivered our food to the wrong table
- The silly parking/pedestrian situation