Dando La Brasa
| Category | Gerardo | Diana |
|---|---|---|
| atmosphere (they disagreed) | 8 | 7.5 |
| service | 6.5 | no score |
| food | 8 | no score |
| price | 4 | no score |
In mustard, the category where Diana and Gerardo disagreed.
This is the second place in the Cheat Day for Fitness series, and we got there the way everyone gets there: searching on the phone. We were in the area, we filtered for the best-reviewed places and ended up at Dando La Brasa. One thing to watch, because we get it wrong in the video: it is not Downtown, it is Brickell. And that matters, because in Brickell the prices play in another league.
The first thing to hit the table is the bowl of chicharrones with guasacaca. We did the crunch test on camera and it did not sound as loud as we expected, but the flavor was there. The guasacaca was the discovery of the day: neither of us had ever tried it and it ended up being the sauce we used most. Now, a warning for Diana and for everyone like her: the chicharrón comes with its share of pure fat. She leaves it on the plate. I eat it. Everyone with their own conscience.
Off the grill, the picanha was the first thing to disappear. The seasoning they put on the meats is genuinely good, and the garlic sauce and the ají sauce come along without covering it up. This is where we have to be honest about something: the place is called Dando La Brasa and the chicken is fine, but it is not what blew our minds. What blew our minds came later.
The cheesecake. That cheesecake is the reason this place is approved. If the food in general gets an eight, the cheesecake alone gets a flat ten. It is on another level from the rest of the menu, and if you go and do not order it, you made the trip for nothing.
The coffee, on the other hand, is another story and we are not going to soften it: it does not work. After a dessert like that you want a decent cortadito and what arrives does not get there. Have your coffee somewhere else.
Now the uncomfortable part. The final bill was $182.21 for two people, tax and tip included. That is why price gets a four, the lowest score we have given anything in this series. You eat well, the seasoning is there, the dessert is spectacular — but you are paying Brickell prices and somebody has to say it before you get there.
So, approved or not? Approved. But approved with a condition: this is an occasion place. If you are going to spend your cheat day and your money here, go knowing you will walk out paying over $180 for two, go straight for the picanha, and do not leave without the cheesecake.
And remember that the chubby ones are always right.
What we would order again and what we would not
We would repeat
- The cheesecake, no argument
- The chicharrones with guasacaca
- The picanha
We would not repeat
- The coffee
- The pure fat part of the chicharrón (Diana leaves it, Gerardo eats it)
Quick questions
Is there enough to share?
Yes. With one starter and two mains the two of us ate and there was still room for dessert.
Is it expensive?
Yes. It is the lowest score we gave it: a 4 on price. We paid $182.21 between two, tax and tip included. It is an occasion place, not an every-week one.
What should I order if I only go once?
Chicharrones to start, picanha for the main and cheesecake for dessert. Have your coffee somewhere else.
Where is it exactly?
At 1836 SW 3rd Ave. In the video we say Downtown and that is wrong. The restaurant advertises itself as Brickell and that is how it shows up in directories; the line with The Roads runs right along that block.