Fogo de Chao ("Fire of the Earth") restaurant is a churrascaria (shu-HAS-ka-REE-ah) which is what Brazilians call "barbecue."  However, it is not barbecue with a spicy tomato sauce that Americans are used to.  The 14 types of meat (chicken, sausage, pork and several different cuts of beef) are steeped in a mild marinade. The "gauchos" (in great costumes) bring the meat around on spits and slice it at your table. As they slice it, they ask you to grab your slice with a pair of tongs.  Each place setting has a little disk with a red side and a green side.  Keep the red side up when you don't want meat and turn it over to green when you want the gauchos to come around and offer more.  

There is a large, fresh salad bar but items are not labeled and it may not always be clear what is what.  They also bring hot side dishes to the table:  fried bananas (sweet with a brown sugar flavor), polenta (a type of crisp, sweet cornbread) and a mashed potato type dish.

The decor is not fancy and it is on the loud side.  Dress is casual.  The atmosphere is very lively with many waiters, gauchos, bussers, and others walking very quickly serving meat, drinks, etc.  There is no single waiter per table but anyone walking by will stop and refill cups, take empty plates, etc.  It is enjoyable to watch the almost ballet-like movements of the staff racing past each other and around the tables.  The ratio of staff per table is probably close to 1 person per table.   The staff are extremely personable and respectful.

This is a great restaurant for a special occasion when you want to try something different, or when on vacation in Baltimore and you've already have some of the famous Maryland crabcakes at another restaurant.  Everything is fresh and the meat is juicy and tasty without being overly seasoned.  It is pricey ($46.50, soft drinks $3.00 and desert about $8.00), but you pay for the quality and the great service. They also have a bar.

This restaurant is at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, right across from the National Aquarium.  It offers valet parking.  There is a parking garage at the opposite end of the block at the corner of Paca and Gay Street (enter from Gay street ).