Omira Grill

Omira Grill: voluminous salad bar with great variety, endless grill treats and sparkling belgian beer on tap.

Earlier this summer, I experienced my first ever “Rodízio – Brazilian-style BBQ” restaurant – a totally overwhelming, awkward, and thoroughly unappetizing monster meat emporium called “Fogo de Chao” in Indiannapolis, where quantity trumps quality but you still pay a an outrageous per-mouth price.

When I heard that Sally and Ziggy of the mediterranean Pyramid Cafe were opening a new “Rodízio-style” restaurant in the same space where their beloved international grocery “Ziggy’s” had recently cleared its shelves and closed doors, I was intrigued, but wary. Given the good meals I’ve had at the Pyramid, I should have known better than to worry. And in fact, on my first visit to Omira Grill, I was charmed. The salad bar exceeds every expectation you may have for that phrase. I could easily have many a meal there alone. But of course, the key to “Rodízio” is the grilled meat, presented “on steel”, or brazilian “Churrasqueira” at the table.

According to Ziggy, the aim was not to emulate the Brazilian style too closely, but to use it as a point of reference for serving a truly international approach to grilling.

The most surprising and fun discovery. however, poured on tap behind the bar. Ziggy has pursued what might be his own obsession, but is certainly a shared one: incredible belgian beers, rare and unusual to find on tap, especially in the high altitudes of El Norteño.

Writer Erin Brooks and I partnered again on this story for Local Flavor magazine. Be sure to read her article in full on her blog, “Brooks on Wine”: Omira.