I was on an airplane yesterday and found myself leafing through American's in-flight magazine. Most of the advertising was about what I would have expected -- items that are useful when traveling and vacation destinations -- but there was a surprising quantity of advertising for churrascaria chains. Previously, Fogo de Chao had been the only churrascaria chain I was even aware of, but there turn out to be two or three other ones and they're all advertising in this one magazine. Seems odd to me. On top of that, just tons and tons of ads for dating services, which I kind of assumed didn't even exist anymore.
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Churrascariamani
01 Feb 2008 01:14 pm
Comments (40)
People who fly a lot tend to be (a) well-off, and (b) very busy. I guess you don't watch Project Runway because then you would have seen the ads for The Millionaire Matchmaker.
Steak houses have been advertising for years in these in-flight magazines, presumably targeting business and (to a lesser degree) pleasure travelers. It was probably only a matter of time before the Brazilian bbq restaurants caught up.
For me, it's always been the opposite -- I've been seeing the churrawhateveryoucallit ads in airplane mags for years, but had hardly ever seen the actual restaurants in person. In the last three or four years, though, I feel like I see them all the time, and I can report that Andy is right: they are an ideal way to get your meat on.
E Chão--"Chao" parece chinês!
Deixe de ser tão preguiçoso, moleque! Coloque o tilde!
Overpriced...just learn how to do it at home, in this web age, just as easily said as done.
As for the dating services, they are driven by women, not men, as DIY on the dating scene and internet has never appealed to the ladies, for solid and less than solid reasonings, depending on which one you're looking at (I have single female friends in their 30's, I know exactly what I'm talking about).
I'm with Randy G. It's not just the existence of the Brazilian steak houses, it's their visibility in in-flight magazines. I always assumed it had something to do with the basically middle-brow culinary tastes of the middle American business traveler, who thinks a pile of red meat is the alpha and omega of fine dining.
So I guess advertising really is about what catches your eye/ear and what you remember. I've been going to churras for years in L.A. -- so I've known what they are -- but don't recall seeing in-flight ads. Yet ads for individual steak houses (Ruths Chris, Morton's, etc.) and the so-called surveys of "Top 10 Steak Houses" seemed ubiquitous and IMO about as believable as most other advertising.
Perhaps the relative frequency of these ads varied from airline to airline.
European and Asian carriers have such classier in-flight magazines, and that includes the ads. That might reflect the nature of travel on US carriers -- more domestic business travellers, fewer people with luxury-buying power -- but it really does show up in the advertising. It's all cigars, 'premier' matchmaking, that weird negotiator guy, and other weird stuff.
I suppose if you're one of those female business travellers who never sleeps in the same room twice during the week -- be still, filthy minds -- you'll want some kind of streamlined way to meet people. But it's still weird.
Back to the DIY thing, only on the cooking at home subject, I just nearly perfected a thai red curry vindaloo turkey recipe that absolutely blew my mind last night and this morning, along with some Singha brews (yes, both last night and this morning), as well as blowing the mind of Zeus, not the Greek god but the blue pit bull in residence at my house (not my dog though, great dude though).
As I contemplate the cash I would have thrown out at some la-la fusion restaurant to duplicate this dish, I couldn't be happier, and am about to go to Amazon and order up some books, perhaps even David Orr's Ecology of Design for my Qatarian roommate and (soon to be) Berkeley student of architecture.
The mess in the kitchen right now is not something I care to contemplate...
that weird negotiator guy
Yeah, what the hell is up with that guy ("Dr. Chester L. Karrass")? Who on earth would be even vaguely tempted to give that guy money?
Uh okay Jimm...
Those are interesting tidbits. More interesting, to me, is the idea that people actually read in-flight magazines. I mean, how hard is it for people to stick one of their own magazines (or newspapers) into their carryon? Or to pickup a real magazine at the airport? Why would people read an inflight magazine when they can just as easily be reading a magazine about stuff that actually interests them?
Sometimes I just don't understand people.
As for the dating services, they are driven by women, not men, as DIY on the dating scene and internet has never appealed to the ladies, for solid and less than solid reasonings, depending on which one you're looking at (I have single female friends in their 30's, I know exactly what I'm talking about).
Both the "dating scene" and the online services have what I'd describe as "not the best 'signal-to-noise' ratio." Those individuals who are serious about finding a viable long-term partner might well prefer an alternative to the "self-selected" pool.
It's all about Sky Mall. My dog does need a ladder to get into bed!
Gustav,
Pois é. Você tem razão.
If you ever actually go to Brazil, there's a great churrascaria in Vitória, Espírito Santo, brazil. Called the Vitória Grill, it specializes in unusual meats including caiman, capybara, ostrich, etc.
I always bring my own magazines/books, but perhaps by habit I flip through the in-flights (both the airline mag and the skymall) and am usually finished before takeoff. During the shuffle of passenger loading, perusing something that doesn't require much effort seems a good fit. Occasionally there's an interesting travel article that might take longer or I might feel like doing the crossword puzzle. (Dr. Chester L. Karrass.... ha!)
I also always take a few minutes up front to read and understand the safety card, check the exits, etc. Don't knock it folks.... it's pretty easy and could come in handy some day.
Gustav...ããããããããããããã!!! Tudo bem, agora?
Anyhow, I like the churrascarias ok but you really need to go with an empty stomach to fully appreciate the experience. Forget the salad bar. Even better, in South Florida they've got samba dancers to perform while you're eating.
On the other hand, I wish there were more restaurants that focused on other Brazilian food staples like feijoada and moqueca because I think those could be really popular here, too.
Samba in a churrscaria sounds about as right as Nirvana in a McDonald's.
Does anyone know of a website dedicated to those safety cards, maybe something that shows different stylized drawings of how to jump on to that floaty ladder thing?
Good eye there. It used to be high-end steakhouses as well as those fake Top 10 Steakhouses list ads that dominated in-flight mag ads - that and Vegas ads, along with the latest Sharper Image doodad offering. The churrascaria ad may seem like a new phenom, but really it's the same ol, same ol appeal to carnivorous white men stuck in a too small seat on a plane flying between here and there.
If I tried ordering a capybara churrisciara I'm sure chupacabra would come out of my mouth.
If I tried ordering a capybara churrisciara I'm sure chupacabra would come out of my mouth.
Not if you washed it down with a caipirinha!
that weird negotiator guy
Yeah, what the hell is up with that guy ("Dr. Chester L. Karrass")? Who on earth would be even vaguely tempted to give that guy money?
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And you don't even get him for most of the locations--you get his son!
those fake Top 10 Steakhouses list ads
Those are fake?! I'm crushed. . .
Jimm, "Qatarian"? Wasn't there a song about that in Hair?
And Randy G, if you're flying over significant water, you might want to add a quick pat for a life vest underneath the seat cushion to your pre-flight habits. Every now and then you'll spot "Aloha" or "Hawaiian" logos on the tour boat emergency vests in Hawaii, and they ain't buying them on the surplus market.
There is no way you could cook a churriscaria at home. Well maybe if you had a GIANT kitchen with a fire pit in the back yard and two man sized freezers or something. You can cook A steak, but the beauty of churriscaria is the fact you get sausage wrapped in bacon, then sirloin, then ribeye, then flank steak, then garlic steak then...
cmholm: if you're flying over significant water, you might want to add a quick pat for a life vest underneath the seat cushion to your pre-flight habits.
I do. Good call.
--Samba in a churrscaria sounds about as right as Nirvana in a McDonald's--
A carioca girl dancing the samba is always right in my book, regardless of location.
But if you stick with Fogo de Chao, you might see Gilbert Arenas and Oleksiy Pecherov having lunch together.
link
My experience in a Brazilian steak house several years ago almost made me a vegetarian. A really disgusting amount of meat.
I think the American in-flight magazine is out of Dallas, which has at least one more prominent Brazilian steakhouse chain called Texas de Brazil. And I know there's at least one non-chain shop around here.
Mike,
It's called Boi na Brasa.
I knew an Argentine girl who was incensed that Brazil stole their barbecue concept: Churrascaria is Argentine!
Why would people read an inflight magazine when they can just as easily be reading a magazine about stuff that actually interests them?
Contract publishing is no longer the poor stepchild of the magazine world. And you do find some interesting stuff, especially on international flights where you want an admittedly-sanitised dose of your destination's culture. Air Canada's in-flight enRoute is decent, as is KLM's Holland Herald.
(Plus, magazines = carry-on weight.)
The US in-flights are generally not worth the effort, unless you're amused by Negotiator Guy and Matchmaker Woman as reflections of US business-travel subculture. Still, I don't fly often enough to be jaded by the experience, and I still check the safety card and the nearest emergency exit.
Churrascaria is Argentine!
Poppycock. Brazilians have been grilling meat as long as Argentines have been. Indeed the central grill on the ground is gaúcho tradition, gaúcho in this case being Rio Grande de Sul, Brazil.
Next thing you know the Argentines will start saying that they are the best in futbol.
Next thing you know the Argentines will start saying that they are the best in futbol.
Which is obviously false.
However, that said, I prefer Argentine parilla to Brasilian churrascaria. The meat is better.
Depends on where you go. I think that the beef, assuming it's free range and grass feed is pretty good in both places. I've had great picanhas in Brazil: tender and lean, one in my wife's hometown that charged us a whopping R$10 for all you can eat.
I'll give the Argentines the edge on lamb. It's not as popular in Brazil and more common in the south of the country.
BTW, Al, don't know if you use Firefox, but if you do, download the Footiefox addon. It gives you live scores and updates all day long for whatever leagues you follow around the world.
Comments closed February 15, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
As a churrascaria fiend, I must say that Fogo is a cut (badum tiss) above.
There might be chains outside of Atlanta that I'm unaware of, but that's my two cents.
Posted by Andy | February 1, 2008 1:23 PM