Brazil conjures up images of beautiful, vibrant & voluptuous women in the sun shaking what their mamma gave them at carnivale. So you would expect the food at cabana to tantalise the taste buds with as much vibrancy as what greets the eyes i.e. moist meat and an explosion of flavours. To continue to use the analogy of women if I may, what we were served on a plate however was akin to a British tourist who had spent far far far too long basking in the Brazilian sun. The ribs we expected to be plump chunks of meat falling off the bone that were moist and full of flavour. Instead we got dry, chewy meat that had to be torn off with your gnashers (false teeth need not apply) and had clearly not been cooked slow and low as ribs should be. The industrial knife we were given struggled to see saw through the unfortunate piggies ribs. Good ribs take time, love and attention, unfortunately all three were lacking from the chef. The hanger steak (I think the cow did hang itself) ordered medium rare was tough, minuscule and by no means the butchers choice (as described on the menu) by any stretch of the imagination. The flavour of the meat to be fair was the only redeeming quality. Kudos needs to be given for the biro biro rice and homeslaw (tasty with a nice crunch of nuts throughout), however these two simple sides were the best part of the meal. The beirut described in great detail....is a cheese toastie! So if you are looking for a place to eat that epitomises the food of Brazil, this is one to avoid. It has the flamboyant and loud part of carnivale covered but completely misses the heart of what makes Brazil great.... love, care and passion. Flying to Brazil is expensive, so is eating out at Cabana, my advice my samba loving friends...jump on a plane and go for the real experience, that way you won't be disappointed. Mike
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