Camila's, I Drive

I had lunch at this Brazilian buffet in the hidden corner of this strip mall across from Peter Glenn sports outlet on Wednesday. It cost $15. I thought it would be the best in this price range (by the looks of it and the crowds). It was maybe the worst (food wise). The offerings were minimal and the quality was average. I tried the mashed potatoes, soup, fried fish, rice, shrimp, steak, chicken and some sort of meat with a livery taste (it had to be pork or beef). The MP had some sort of sour cream or sour butter mixed in. Too foreign a flavor profile for this American. I would also bet that it was made from a mix. The soup was some kind of vegetable puree. I'd guess squash. Too sweet. The fried part of the fried fish was tasty. You couldn't really taste the fish which was probably for the best since a buffet probably buys frozen tilapia or swai. The rice was old. Crunchy basmati. The shrimp were a mushy mess. Obviously over boiled AND frozen. It came in some kind of cloying butter sauce that somehow took on an orange color. Talk about being thrown a curve by my lyin' eyes. I thought it would be a sweet orange sauce. Not that that would have been preferable. The chicken was baked and surprisingly white meaty. It looked like top thigh cut. I'm still not sure how I get tricked by chicken butchering. I've had about a million chickens in my life. That's on me. The "liver" meat is self explanatory. The steak was grainy. I think sliced rump or skirt. I'll never master beef butchering. This is what I mostly ate. It was fine if you cut it up against the bias. The things I wouldn't touch were: stale bread, wilted salad, ugly side dishes, some kind of hot dog stew, and A few other things so nondescript that I've forgotten already. As you can see, the competition has more. The place looks good. It is all white. Modern furniture. It looks like some kind of weird euro-cafe or Japanese hospital. I didn't love the horrible sound system. The only thing worse than listening to Portuguese gibberish on TV is listening to it coming out of a tweeter. Service was good. The check says the add a 10% tip and then the check has a tip line too. They say the buffet is $15. I'm not sure why they just don't say - tip included. They also have a "club" next door that didn't seem to be open on this day. Parking is an issue. All in all, I would recommend all the others. However, the distance between any of them is not that great. They have a place in Miami. I think they have been in this location for over a year. There are probably enough "other reviews" on line to help you make the call.