Santa Picanha Brings Southern Brazil to Lafayette

Lafayette chef and restaureteur Gustavo Rosenstengel has a passion that was born in southern Brazil. The pull of wood, fire, smoke and meat drove him to open Santa Picanha in Lafayette’s downtown in January. The restaurant’s menu is Rosenstengel’s homage to foods he grew up cooking with family and friends in Porto Alegre, which is the capital and biggest city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.

“Where I am from, we have a gaucho culture. It started with cattle drivers who live a semi-nomadic lifestyle,” he said.

Gauchos are the cowboys of South America. Their chosen cooking style incorporates wood, fire, salt and meat.

Rosenstengel, learned to cook from his grandmother. He eventually left Brazil for San Diego, California. There, he worked in a Brazilian restaurant.

“I met a woman from Louisiana, and ended up in Lafayette,” he explained.

While in the Hub City, Roesntengel, 42, started cooking Brazilian food.

“There was no Brazilian restaurant here. I felt like my community was underrepresented. So, I started hosting friends at my house. Then I started doing pop-ups and catered events. I also started going around cooking for backyard parties. These were all moments that were very representative of the cooking moments I grew up around,” he said.

At Santa Picanha food lovers can enjoy beef croquettes served with house aioli, garlic bread and provolone cheese with tomato confit and crostini.

Those dishes are the type served during a traditional churrasco. They are eaten as the showstoppers are prepared.

Rosenstengel skewers top sirloin cap, sausage, chicken thighs, pork loin skirt steak and cauliflower steak on his grill. Patrons get to see and smell the hunks of meat cooking.

“I use charcoal and wood to cook. No gas. No fake smoke,” he said.

Everything is cooked with attention to detail.

Rosenstengel, who speaks in a thoughtful and measured tone, adheres to a culinary philosophy that is best described by Chef Michael Pollan who said, “Cooking over a fire is one of the most stirring of those ritual acts, usually performed outdoors, on special occasions, in public and by men.”

“The response of patrons has been positive. Everyone has been loving the food and uniqueness of what it is … especially the open kitchen concept because people feel like they are participating in the cooking process,” Rosenstengel said.

He has been in Lafayette for over a decade and regards Louisiana as home.

During that time Rosenstengel has noticed similarities between Brazil and Louisiana in cooking meat with fire, along with the shared passion for food among the people.

Santa Picanha is ground central for cultural exchange with a fire and meat focus.

TRY THIS

Picadinho

A Brazilian-style appetizer consisting of chopped pork sausage, chicken hearts and frango (chicken), served with farofa (toasted cassava flour) and chimichurri.

Saturday Special: Feijoada

Black beans stewed with smoked meats and served with rice, collard greens, farofa and vinagrete. Sounds like Louisiana beans and rice? It is delicious!

Sunday Special: Bacon Tri-Tip

Nothing in the world is wrong about pork and beef. This dish proves that point. Bacon-wrapped tri-tip served with beans and rice. Amazing!

Santa Picanha
406 Garfield St., Lafayette
337-534-0636
santapicanha.com
@santapicanha337