Chama Gaucha
Posted on September 15, 2025 by Ching under Food and Drink.
When we were in Grapevine (DFW area) last month celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary, I found a nice restaurant for us to have dinner on Saturday night. I wanted to go somewhere somewhat special that neither of us had been to before. That’s how I found Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse.
We had been to other Brazilian steakhouses before so we kind of knew what to expect but we had never been to this particular one so it was new and exciting.
Here’s a picture of us in the lobby.
And another one from our table.
We arrived a tad early for our dinner reservation (because we are always early to EVERYTHING) so we had to wait a short while. The nice thing is, if you do have to wait, they give freshly baked Brazilian cheese bread to munch on while waiting.
It honestly sounds like a nice and generous touch until you realize that they’re probably hoping that you fill up on bread and are too full to actually eat the meats, which is the more expensive part of the dining experience. LOL.
Besides the bread, they’re probably also hoping you’ll fill up on the salad bar. This is probably one of the best Brazilian steakhouse salad bars we’ve experienced. They’re never out of anything because the staff promptly replenishing anything that’s even remotely low and they also keep everything super tidy, wiping up spills or drips after guests.
Here’s what Brian took from the salad bar. I can tell this is his plate because it has olives and he loves olives.
This is what I grabbed. In hindsight, I probably should have skipped the lobster bisque because it really filled me up.
Brian did not have a drink but I decided to try the coconut caipirinha. Caipirinha is Brazil’s national cocktail so I had to try it, naturally. As they say, when in Rome… Or in this case, a Brazilian steakhouse.
After the salad course, your steady stream of meet dishes begin. However, they also give you some mashed potatoes, polenta, and fried plantains. Brian had zero interest in mashed potatoes because he is so over it. That’s pretty much all he could eat during his cancer treatment (at least until he couldn’t eat anymore). He is still very traumatized. The fried plantains were delicious and had the perfect consistency. And the polenta! That was our favorite. I’d never had polenta before and they way they serve it at Chama is perfection. It’s almost like a hashbrown patty with the perfect crunch on the outside.
I had to try the lamb chop while we were there and decided it wasn’t for me.
For dessert we had an amazing chocolate mousse cake. We were so full that we couldn’t finish it. We ended up taking the rest back to the hotel and eating it on the drive back to Wichita the next day.
Between the Brazilian cheese bread and the salad bar, we got full pretty quick so we didn’t even get a chance to try all the different meats available. But we also couldn’t eat anymore food so we both agreed we would just have to go back. Luckily, we had another trip to the DFW area planned for September so it really was feasible to make a return visit to the restaurant. But, just in case we didn’t return, I made a short video of our visit to remember it by.
Fast forward to this weekend when we were in Allen, TX for the Chicken N Pickle ambassador event. The restaurant, which is on the other side of DFW, was actually a 40-minute drive from our hotel but we liked it enough that we really wanted to go back. Besides that, they gave us a $30 OFF coupon on our last visit that we wanted to use and we had all those meats still that we didn’t get to try.
I still got 2 of the deviled eggs but went easy on the lobster bisque this time to make sure I had room for all the meat dishes.
The coconut caipirnha, while delicious, was a bit too rich for me so I opted for something light and refreshing. I got an aperol spritz this time.
We always try to go easy on the salad bar but it’s so hard to resist all of the delicious options. Everything looks and tastes amazing. For instance, their chicken salad is seriously the best chicken salad I have ever had. I could totally make a meal of it. But you don’t pay $60 per person to eat chicken salad so I have to remind myself to only have a little bit.
Same mashed potatoes, fried plantain, and polenta as last time. These are the basic three things that they bring to your table by default; however, you can request rice and beans and other things. There’s a whole list of things you can ask for from your server. So now, we are planning to return again to try all the various side dishes.
But, you don’t really go for the side dishes or the salad bar. The meat is the main event. In the words of Rihanna, this is what you came for. Here are some pictures of what we had…
We skipped all the things we didn’t care for (like the lamb chop) and focused on our favorites and also the meats we didn’t get to try. Brian absolutely loved the chicken drumstick. I think we would probably get at least two of those next visit. He had it near the end and barely had room in his very full belly for the one he had. He said he was too full but it was so worth it. I was to full to try it and he told me I missed out. I guess I’ll have to add it to my list for next visit.
As with our previous visit, I made a short video. When they asked if we were celebrating anything (last month it was our wedding anniversary), we told them I was celebrating my birthday a month early because we didn’t have any plans to be in the DFW in October — my actual birthday month. They ended up comping our dessert again which was super nice of them. I didn’t get a picture but it is in the short video I made. We got the fireball cheesecake this time because the presentation is something else. And the cheesecake is something that Brian and I could both enjoy. Brian was not a fan of the cinnamon flavor though. However, the crunch on the outer shell of the cheesecake reminded me of the caramelized crust on a creme brulee. It was excellent.
Before we left, they gave us a $30 OFF coupon so now we’re trying to figure out when we are able to return to use it. There’s quite a few things we still want to try and a long list of dessert options we’ve yet to savor. Who wants to go with us on the next visit?
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The Real Unreal
Posted on September 8, 2025 by Ching under Travel.
Here’s a short highlight video I made of our recent trip to the Real Unreal, the Meow Wolf in Grapevine, TX.
Our mission was to find this missing boy and we failed miserably. Moral of the story? Don’t ask for our help in these situations because are apparently no good at finding missing people. LOL. We gave up before we could complete the mission.
I think part of it was that we were overwhelmed with all the kids there. Firstly, unlike Convergence Station in Denver, this Meow Wolf is attached to the Grapevine Mills Mall which I think adds to the traffic. Secondly, we went during the summer before school started so I’m guessing a lot of people were doing one last activity with their kiddos before school started again.
While this wasn’t our favorite Meow Wolf exhibit, we still had a great time and are looking forward to visiting all the other Meow Wolf locations. Of the existing locations, we have three more to check out:
- The House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe, NM
- Omega Mart in Las Vegas, NV
- Radio Tave in Houston, TX
I hope we get to see them before the new ones in LA and NY are added. What about you? Have you been a Meow Wolf? What did you think of it?
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Cheers to 23 Years!
Posted on September 6, 2025 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Here are some highlights from our 23rd wedding anniversary roadtrip last month.
We’d been feeling bad for leaving Saki behind on recent trips so, for our wedding anniversary last month, we decided to go somewhere we could drive to and bring Saki with us. It was just a quick weekend getaway. We left on Friday, August 8, and returned home on Sunday, August 10.
For dinner on Friday night, we went to Lazy Dog. It’s a pet-friendly restaurant that we found a couple of years ago. We loved it and vowed to bring Saki when we returned and so we did.
We ordered Saki one of the pup dinners on the menu while we enjoyed our own dinner. Here’s a close up of her food.
Here are the pics of our food and drinks.
We mostly had appetizers. Everything was delicious. We absolutely love this place. It’s definitely one of our favorite restaurants in the area.
We continued to celebrate the rest of the weekend by going to Meow Wolf and having a nice dinner at Chama Gaucha. More on that next time.
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The Wild at Public at the Brickyard
Posted on September 5, 2025 by Ching under Things to Do.
Public at the Brickyard not only has the best food but they have the best seasonal pop-ups! I went to the Wild pop-up for the first time early in summer with some coworkers and I had to return several times because the they had the best tropical vibe. Here are some pics:
Naturally, I had to return and bring Brian (and our friend Chris). The three of us went there for lunch one day over the summer. I’m so glad Public is open at lunch.
And then I had to check it out in the evening; so we returned again with some friends (Egans and Terneses) on a live music night. Susie picked the date and she couldn’t have picked a better night because Latin band Tumbao was there on the night we went.
Brian fit right in with his orange Wicked Brew Tour shirt.
Anyway, now that it is Fall, they’re probably getting ready to switch out the decor. I highly recommend going before the Wild is gone for good (at least until next season).
Location: Public at the Brickyard
Address: 129 N Rock Island Ave, Wichita, KS 67202
Phone: (316) 263-4044
Website: publicbrickyard.com
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What Else Happened in July?
Posted on August 25, 2025 by Ching under Events, Life, Pickleball, Things to Do.
What else happened last month? Let’s see.
We made several trips to the ballpark, formerly Riverfront Stadium but now known as Equity Bank Park. Free tickets are the best! You can use the money you saved on their expensive drinks. LOL.
BTW, this awesome “Pickle Baller” ball cap is from my friend Carrie Soto. She gifted ball caps to several of us on her one year pickleversary. Isn’t that sweet?
Our friend, and fellow Chicken N Pickle ambassador, Laurie Adams came to visit and we took her to one of our most favorite restaurants, the Belmont. You’ll recognize this place from our social media because we’re here almost every week.
We had dinner with the Egans and Terneses at Public at the Brickyard and enjoyed the lovely tropical ambiance and decor of the Wild, their summer pop-up experience. Public does the best pop-ups!
We got a much-needed couples massage. Hit me up if you need the contact info of our massage therapists. They said they are open to taking new clients by referral.
We loved the Glass in Flight 2 exhibit at Botanica so much, we returned with our friend Chris Townley. I hope you all got a chance to see the traveling exhibit while it was in Wichita. If not, I created a video so you can at least see the awesome installations. Enjoy!
The Sobeks — father Rosti (left) and son William (right) — made another pit stop in Wichita during their summer pickleball academy and tournament road trip. A few local players were fortunate enough to meet and play with them at TapNPaddles.
I think that pretty much sums up our July. Come back next time for the August recap. Until then, I hope you’ve all had a great summer (despite the sweltering heat). Here’s to cooler days ahead!
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