Thanks in part to the growing popularity in the USA of the churrascaria (choo-rah-scah-REE-ah), a Brazilian restaurant that serves primarily grilled meat, cachaca is gaining even more exposure.
At some of these eateries, cocktail carts displaying a selection of cachaca and other spirits are rolled around to diners, while others just offer caipirinhas on the bar menu.
Fogo de Chao churrascaria started in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1979, but now has outposts in Beverly Hills, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., with one in Minneapolis opening in April.
Porcao, which opened in Brazil in 1975 and has grown into one of the country's most fashionable churrascarias with seven branches, also boasts locations in Miami and New York, with plans for U.S. expansion.
And the first Texas de Brazil Churrascaria opened in Addison, a suburb of Dallas, in 1998. Since then, outlets have been added in eight U.S. cities, including Richmond, Va., and Memphis. One in Fairfax, Va., opens today, followed by others in Las Vegas, Miami Beach and Chicago later this year.