Brazil Comes to Edgebrook [Al Primo Canto]

I've been wathcing a storefront with a cryptic banner readin something like "Brazilian Family Restaurant Coming Soon" in downtown Edgerook for several months now. Finally, vie Chicago Magazine Dish, some news to report.

Georges Elbekai, a Lebanon-born veteran restaurateur (Caliterra, Bob Chinn’s Crab House), plans to open Al Primo Canto (5414 W. Devon Ave.; 773-631-0100), a Brazilian barbecued chicken spot, in mid-May in Edgebrook. “Everything comes to the table in small portions and is refreshed as often as you want,” says Elbekai. “If you have four people, we are going to bring a chicken and a half, cut up in quarters. It keeps coming until you say, Please stop.” (It’s $29 per person.) The chicken, naturally raised and from small farmers, is cooked on a Brazilian woodburning charcoal grill—as are the leg of lamb, filet mignon, roasted eggplant, pita, and everything else. Even the origin of the restaurant’s name is tantalizing: “When you go to a restaurant in Brazil, you would ask for galeto al primo canto: ‘Give me a chicken at first sing.’ That means it’s a young chicken. When the chicken first sings, they cook it.”

Al Primo Canto Galeteria
5414 W. Devon Ave.
Chicago, IL
773-631-0100

Frango (chicken) places are great fast food in Rio, though much cheaper than that. It sounds like a rodizio, but with a focus on fowl. It'll be interesting to see how they do at 30 bucks per person.

$29 per person is about as high a price point as I could see in that location. This makes a little more sense as I thought they were opening one of those super-expensive places and this seemed like a really strange choice.

I would expect they would have valet parking since Devon right there is not the friendliest place to park.

Are roasted eggplant and pita something that would be served in Brazil? (I'm not being snarky--I don't know anything about Brazilian food.) Or does it sound like he is going to have some Lebanese dishes in the mix?

grits wrote:
Are roasted eggplant and pita something that would be served in Brazil? (I'm not being snarky--I don't know anything about Brazilian food.) Or does it sound like he is going to have some Lebanese dishes in the mix?

There are more Lebanese in Brazil than in Lebanon:

http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/1877/49/

David "My Google is Strong" Hammond

David Hammond wrote:

grits wrote:
Are roasted eggplant and pita something that would be served in Brazil?

There are more Lebanese in Brazil than in Lebanon.

Interesting link, thanks. Hey you are good at this internets thing. I hope they will have some a la carte/vegetarian options and it is just not $29 across the board. Takeout baba ghanoush in walking distance would be a very good thing. Either way I think this will do well though. Still not open as of Saturday....

I my self heard about this new Brazilian restaurant in edgebrook. I live close by and I cant wait to try it. the price sounds very reasonable. I peek't in other day walking by and from what I saw it looked very warm and inviting. It had a big open kitchen looked really cool. Pretty big place.[/b]

chikenking wrote:I peek't in other day walking by and from what I saw it looked very warm and inviting. It had a big open kitchen looked really cool. Pretty big place.[/b]

I'm looking forward to the opening as well, but am curious as to how you peeked in when the windows are papered over?

The Chiken King sees beyond vision.

all I did was open the door and poked my head inside. nice and simple

Al Primo Canto Galeteria is finally open. Last night, the Chow Poodle and I, accompanied by Gwiv and MsWiv went for dinner. First of all, the place is very charming and beautifully decorated. They did an excellent job in that regard. There is only one choice for dinner, the $29.95 "endless feast". The meal begins with some house made baba ganoush, served with thin style pita and "cheesy poofs" (not as light and flaky as the ones at Fogo de Chão, but quite good nonetheless). That is followed by a nicely composed salad consisting of mesculin lettuce, small grape tomatoes and a light vinaigrette. Next up is some pasta, served from a roll around steam table. There are a choice of three styles; oil & garlic, (over)smoked tomato sauce and a wild mushroom sauce. The pasta was vastly overcooked, probably due to the fact that it had been sitting in the ready to serve steam table for some time.

Main courses consist of chicken, lamb and beef tenderloin, all cooked over natural lump charcoal in a unique Brazilian rotisserie/BBQ apparatus that was flown up from Brazil*. The chicken was outstanding, while the other two meats were tasty as well but were served overcooked and dry, obviously having been held for a while. When asked if the meat can be ordered rare or medium rare, our very friendly waiter, George, put in a special order for a few slices of both the lamb and beef and what he brought out the 2nd time was both cooked to the proper temperature, but also served hot off the grill. This was a vast improvement! Accompaniments include green beans and potatoes that are first boiled, then fried; served with a bleu cheese sauce.

Deserts are made in house. We tried some flan, which I thought was workmanlike, but didn't hold a candle to that which is served at Dorado or Sol de Mexico and a small guava cake, called Romeo & Juliet (but in Portuguese) that fared slightly better IMO.

Service overall was friendly, polished and very good, quite an accomplishment considering that they had only been open for 2 days. APCG is open for dinner 7 days a week and will soon be opening for Sunday brunch and lunch. I'd give this place a few weeks to let the kitchen work out some of the kinks and catch up to the stellar service, then it will be well worth the visit. Considering the low (compared to its competition) price point, this is a great addition to the neighborhood.

* Gary took pictures of the cooking apparatus and our dinner as well as extensive notes. I'm sure he will be posting lots of pictures.

Al Primo Canto Galeteria
5414 W. Devon Ave.
Chicago, IL
773-631-0100

stevez wrote:Al Primo Canto Galeteria is finally open.

You got that right! I actually was wondering if something had fallen through and they weren't opening. I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned in the Edgebrook paper this weekend. Thanks for the detailed review.

stevez wrote: Deserts are made in house.

Were the desserts included in the dinner price?

grits wrote:Were the desserts included in the dinner price?

No. Desserts are extra and only marginally worth it.

stevez wrote:Considering the low (compared to its competition) price point, this is a great addition to the neighborhood.

Steve,

Service was surprisingly smooth for a restaurant opened only a few days, staff friendly and professional, room, which they must have spent a 'brazillion' dollars on, very attractive.

Key to the operation is bran spanking new imported from Brazil charcoal grill which George, part owner and chef, seems to love equally to his attractive Brazilian born bride.

George w/grill




One of the better Baba ganoush about town coupled with thin pita, reflecting Georges Lebanese heritage, makes for a tasty start to Al Primo Canto's "Endless Feast."

Baba Ganoush


Nicely proportioned composed salad, three nondescript pastas, with the exception of the Funghi, and starch sides that had particular appeal as both the twice cooked potatoes and polenta stick were quite crunchy.

Yes, I know, it's silly to load up on starch when offered and "Endless Feast" of meat, but I'm a sucker for crisp, crunchy polenta sticks.

Al Primo Canto Polenta Frita


Al Primo Canto offers three meats, chicken, lamb and beef with, at least on first pass, juicy full flavored chicken the clear favorite.

Galeto Al Primo Canto (Chicken)


All but the ChowPoodle found our first round of lamb and beef too well done, good flavor and quality, but I'm simply not a fan of well done lamb.

Lamb, Beef


Jorge, a friendly and adept waiter, brought out a second round of lamb/beef, dead rare and delicious.

Lamb, Beef rare


Just fine flan and an appealing guava filled cake (Romeo e Julieta), served warm rounded out our meal.


Romeo e Julieta


Pudin de Leite (Vanilla Flan)


Overall a nice experience, especially in light of the fact they had only been in operation a couple of days. As Steve mentioned Al Primo Canto will soon be open for lunch, my hope is they offer the terrific chicken grilled chicken as a stand alone special.

Al Primo Canto, a nice addition to the neighborhood indeed.

Enjoy,
Gary

Al Primo Canto
5414 W. Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60646
773-631-0100

No pictures of the attractive Brazilian-born bride?

Gary, you're letting me down

Cookie and I had a nice dinner at Al Primo Canto this weekend.

The meats were the clear highlights: flavorful chicken, perfectly-cooked beef tenderloin, and flavorful lamb with a nice outer crust. I particularly enjoyed eating the green beans and the peal onions that had been sitting in the drippings on the plate the meat was served on.

The sides are good and really serve to round the meal out, especially the polenta and salad.

I would say that the only course that needs some work is the pasta course. The spaghetti is sauced properly, with restraint, but I find service from a rolling steam table to be a bit too cafeteria-like. I would say that they should vary the noodle types among the three different sauces, and bring the plate out from the kitchen, like the rest of the courses.

As far as cost, I think they're right on at $29.95 per person. Any more expensive and I'd call it overpriced, any cheaper and I'd call it a bargain.

Service was excellent and the space is really attractive. We probably won't be back if it's just the two of us, but for a group of couples or a family (the in-laws will love it) it's certainly a nice place to celebrate with a feast.

Best,
Michael

I just received the following note from Al Primo Canto:

Al Primo Canto wrote:We would like to thank every one of you for being our guest at our restaurant.

After reviewing all of our comment cards we discovered that many of you would like to have more options on the menu.

We decided to expand by adding an A LA CARTE menu along with our regular All YOU CAN EAT menu.

As you will notice in the attached A LA CARTE menu we have added authentic Brazilian dishes that go well with our concept and we think you will enjoy.

We are also happy to announce our launch of our new Brazilian Sunday brunch buffet starting Sunday September 16th.

Hours for the Brunch will be 11:00am to 2:30pm. And we will reopen for dinner at our usual time 5:00pm.

If you are interested in having a special event with us I also attached a special menu package with some different choices to fit your needs.

Feel free to give us a call for reservations.

Thank you.

The email included a PDF of the new menu which includes some new items like a fish of the day.

(I have no affiliation with Al Primo Canto, business or personal. I just thought people not interested in all-you-can-eat might be interested in the menu change).

Best,
Michael

Michael,

That's great news! I'd gladly go back much more often if I could order the chicken ala carte and some sides. Do you know if the chicken is offered by itself on the new menu?

stevez wrote:Michael,

That's great news! I'd gladly go back much more often if I could order the chicken ala carte and some sides. Do you know if the chicken is offered by itself on the new menu?

Yes, the chicken was part of the ala carte menu. $13.95 which includes vegetables.

LTH,

This seems to be my weekend for revisiting restaurants I liked after an interlude and finding them even better than remembered, Crystal Korean yesterday, Al Primo Canto this evening.

After a stunning food centric party last evening we were not in the mood for APC's Endless Feast and opted for Al La Carte, starting with seared scallops with baby lettuce and sesame ginger vinaigrette and Baba Ghannouj. Scallops were perfectly cooked, crisp exterior soft, succulent almost translucent interior, they brought JimInLoganSq's recent ode to Keefer's scallop to mind.

Beautiful rare lamb for me, I kicked myself for not having my camera, and dead rare beef along side a roasted red pepper sauce for MsWiv. Crisp rosemary potatoes and vegetables that retained integrity accompanied both plates.

Rarely have I enjoyed a simple preparation of meat in a restaurant setting as much as I did my lamb. Quality lamb cooked with natural lump charcoal, not unlike what I would do at home.

Service was quite good, overall price with a couple of glasses of Oregon Pinot Noir reasonable given portion size and quality. An enjoyable meal.

Enjoy,
Gary

While on our way to Elephant Thai for dinner last night, we were transfixed not only by the warm glow of Al Primo Canto's dining room but also by the sight of GWiv and company, sitting at a table in the window. So, we called an audible, pulled a u-turn and headed in for dinner. We were very pleased with our meal, which offered some of the more enjoyable elements of churascarria but in a "civilized" setting. No buffet here, no strolling gauchos. Just well-prepared dishes, including delectable meats cooked over charcoal, served tableside, by a polished foh'er.

But before we could even sit down, GWiv offered us a sampling of some very special raw lamb that he was enjoying. This wasn't exactly tartare, in that it was cut into much larger pieces. Chef/owner George Elbekai explained that in the leg of lamb, there are 6 muscles, and this particular dish is made using one particular muscle, which is known for its tenderness. It was sensational. I tried to snap a pic but unfortunately, failed to get one which revealed any detail.

We sat down and opted for the "endless feast," which at $30 per person, was an exceptionally good value . . .


Eggplant Caponatto...very nice baba ganoush-like dish with judicious amounts of smoke and garlic.



Pita Bread and Pao de Queijo...the toasty pita was a nice vehicle for the caponatto and the warm cheese puffs were pungent and addictive.

After the Caponatto, we were served large portions of 3 different pastas . . .


Pesto pasta



Garlic, Herb & Oil pasta



Pasta, Alfredo-style with peas

The pastas were all terrific and I could sense that if I didn't stop myself quickly, I was going to be very, very full before the meats and sides arrived at the table. We asked our server to pack them up and he told us that chef had invited us to come tour the kitchen. We happily obliged . . .


Cooker...Chef George's pride and joy. He explained that the stainless cooker was shipped in one piece, directly from Brazil. I love the fact that he uses the Royal Oak lump charcoal as his fuel, because it's my preferred fuel, too.



Our dinner, slowly turning over the orange glow of lump charcoal



Our chicken, up close and personal



Chef/owner George Elbekai was all smiles, especially when he was proudly and passionately describing his cooking process

After our kitchen tour, we returned to our table and shortly thereafter our server arrived with a glorious platter, which contained the rest of our meal . . .


Roasted Chicken, on the plate...Chef George explained that the chicken is marinated in wine and other ingredients for never less than 24 hours. That was clear, as the bird was moist and intensely flavorful.



Succulent Beef and Lamb with Green Beans and Pearl Onions...terrific stuff which I would have normally ordered rare. Here, the kitchen obliged my family's wishes and turned it out medium/medium rare.



Fried Polenta...really satisfying starchy side dish that puts Fogo de Chao's version to shame.



Crunchy Potatoes with house-made Gorgonzola sauce...these potatoes are boiled, then fried, and the result is fantastic. They're seasoned aggressively and served with the blue cheese sauce, which while delicious, wasn't at all necessary.



Salad...a nice mix of bouncy greens that included arugula and radicchio. The light vinaigrette had a wonderful lemon note that foiled the bitterness of the greens very nicely.

We also enjoyed a great bottle of wine with our meal . . .



I can't take credit for the choice, though. We tasted the bottle that the GWiv party had ordered and really loved it. So, we ordered a bottle for our table, as well.

At any point we could have asked for more of any of the items we were served because this was, after all, the "endless feast." But we were full and extremely satisfied. In fact, we tried to pass on dessert but chef generously sent out a little nibble for us to share . . .


Coconut Flan...tender, creamy and not overly sweet, this was a very nice last bite that helped bring to a close the parade of intense flavors we'd enjoyed.

I was very pleased by how wonderful our meal was. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect but now that I know, we'll definitely be returning soon. Having burnt out on churascarria dining long ago, APC was a refreshing surprise. It's not, as one might expect, a meat-driven free for all. It's a thoughtful, well-prepared and seriously filling meal that hits many high notes on its way to distinguishing itself. And I should reiterate, as was mentioned upthread, that APC also offers an a la carte menu, too.

The Edgebrook location is startlingly convenient to the northern suburbs, too. We hopped on the Edens, exited at Touhy Ave. (west), made a left at Carpenter (aka Central) and were there in about 20 minutes. Al Primo Canto doesn't seem to get the love it deserves. I really hope that more people check it out because it's a real gem.

=R=

Al Primo Canto
5414 W. Devon
Chicago, IL 60646
773 631-0100

ronnie_suburban wrote:But before we could even sit down, GWiv offered us a sampling of some very special raw lamb that he was enjoying. This wasn't exactly tartare, in that it was cut into much larger pieces. Chef/owner George Elbekai explained that in the leg of lamb, there are 6 muscles, and this particular dish is made using one particular muscle, which is known for its tenderness.

As affable chef/owner George Elbekai was making his rounds of the restaurant, I complimented him on the rare lamb, at which point he asked if I had ever had raw lamb. Coincidentally I'd recently had raw lamb kibbe at Cedarland in Dearborn, Michigan, but George was talking small cubes of straight raw lamb and lamb fat, no bulgar wheat buffer.

Charcoal roasted lamb and beef


In two shakes of a lambs tail George approached our table with the happy smile of the true enthusiast about to share something good, a quick tutorial on proper technique (cube of lamb, bit of lamb fat, mint, red onion, sprinkle of salt/pepper, drizzle of olive oil wrapped in warm Lebanese pita) and I was pondering the surprisingly delicate flavor.

Raw lamb (bottom) lamb fat (top)


Mint, red onion, olive oil, pepper, salt, lamb fat, raw lamb


The first bite was overly minty, both the lamb and, surprisingly, lamb fat are subtle flavored, which I attribute to the absolute freshness of the lamb. Subsequently I used 1/3 the mint and red onion

Raw Lamb on pita


Just as I was thinking the evening couldn't get much better in walked Ronnie_Suburban and family. Serendipity was smiling that night.

Ron and son Lucas admiring stainless steel Churrasco


Enjoy,
Gary

Ms Snax and I enjoyed a delicious meal with her family here last week. I would love to try the raw lamb pictured above, but was more than satisfied with what we got. Several small surprises:

I found the signature chicken merely good, while both the lamb and beef were exceptional. Based on the pix, we may have gotten shortchanged on the crispiness of the skin, so I'll check it out next visit.

The pastas were absolutely outstanding, perfectly al dente and precisely sauced. I could make a meal of the pastas and salad alone (though not for $30 ). The next time we go, I am going to ask to forgo the cheese puffs, and have the polenta sticks with salad before the meat course.

Service was very personable and capable, and even when there were missteps (like forgetting to bring out the chicken with the lamb n beef), they showed grace and charm in correcting the oversight. Also, George and his wife brought us an entire extra serving of meat to take home with us after we all said we were full. They explained their largess as a demonstration of true hospitality, and they were so pleased with our satisfaction that they wanted to share more with us. Maybe they just had some extra meat they didn't want to go to waste, but it still made us feel very special

All in all, I can't wait to return.

Hi,

I was there last weekend for a brunch, which cost around $20 pp.

They had Feijoada minus some of the tradition accoutrements. For instance, there was no "farofa" (mandioca meal fried with a variety of ingredients that include bacon, garlic, onion and boiled eggs). Another side dish missing was "couve mineira" (collard or mustard greens cut in very thin strips and fried at the last minute in oil, garlic, and bacon). In addition, the presentation also features "fatias de laranja" or orange slices. However, it was still a good dish despite the missing elements, though certainly not for purists.

They had pancakes and omelettes made to order with sausage and bacon. They also had fried polenta, that on first inspection I thought was French toast. They offered grilled lamb and chicken, though maybe there was more. I pursued the grilled lamb exclusively, never bothered with anything else.

The had a cold buffet with cured salmon (which someone thought was made in-house), several salads, several types of salted ham and sausage sliced very thin.

I will admit to enjoying brunch too much, that I didn't need another bite for the balance of the day. Looking forward to taking the Moms there someday.

Regards,

How does this compare to Texas de Brazil or Fogo de Chao?

jujubee wrote:How does this compare to Texas de Brazil or Fogo de Chao?

Have you read the thread or are you simply looking for someone to provide you a synopsis?

Read the thread and sounds like it's somewhat similar yet different than the other brazilian steakhouses - so far we've only found Fogo de Chao good - hoping to hear that this place is much better than Fogo and all the chains and want to confirm my interpretation of the similarities/differences from the threads. Thanks.

It's got a much more rounded menu and isn't as meat focused as Fogo de Chao - how's that?

With traffic unbearable and the sky opening up, myself and a friend pulled over and gorged ourselves here last night. I suppose by suggesting that I have nothing to add to the previous comments that I am, in fact, adding something: George and co. seemed to be pretty consistent. Everything we ate was good--nothing I'd call particularly excellent, but this is a pretty darn good value for the money (which rarely ones says anymore). As with other churrascaria's and the like, over-salting was a problem: I liked the chicken, but the sodium hit was too much and we did not request seconds; same went with the polenta sticks. (I will add, however, that the potato cubes with gorgonzola fondly reminded me of The Silo's "Sidewalk Fries," which I happily grew up on.) I'd say the beef was the highlight of the evening, but I appreciated the respite offered by the salad, which was fresh and zippy.

We were the only occupied table for 3/4ths of our meal, and I wondered if the lack of turnover caused the unevenness in meat done-ness that we experienced. That being said, I appreciated the lack of nausea felt when exiting the restaurant: at FdC and the like, the post-meat coma hangover is not pleasant; here, I was happily able to eat a golden kiwi a mere hour later. No meat burping, either.

LTH,

Al Primo Canto opens today, Monday 4.12.10, in River North, the old Le Lan space. currently BYOB, liquor license expected in May. Same menu, delicious charcoal roasted meats, and pricing as Edgebook.

Enjoy,
Gary

Al Primo Canto
749 N Clark
Chicago, Il 60654
312-280-9090
7 days at 4pm

I got a call the other day from Georges the owner an old friend and he is extremely excited about this venture! I am excited as well since it is closer for me to get to than the old location. Hope this will work out well for them and do well in their new location! congrats and good luck to them!