Seabra's Armory is an excellent restaurant, save for two dings, sitting at the Perth Amboy waterfront. January is not the time of year to appreciate this location fully, but the restaurant interior is a large space with the front desk to the right of the entrance and the bar located behind the desk. The kitchen is on the left as you walk the length of the bar and it's large window allowing patrons to see its operations is confidence inspiring.
Making my reservation was easy with a simple phone call and I arrived on time for my 5PM reservation. I asked for a seat with a good view, which was accomplished, but was of little utility at this time of the year when one is inside and daylight is short. I was immediately seated and poured a glass of ice water and my server, Gerculano, left the pitcher of ice water on my table. Nice touch. The bread he left was even better. I don't know the name of this Portuguese bread, but Portuguese restaurants serve this sourdough type bread and it is always a hit for my palate. It was served warm and the butter spread and melted into the bread nicely.
I also ordered a great Portuguese brandy, CR&F Reserva, made from grapes. It has a nice mouthfeel, with some oils to accompany the smooth finish as it moves to the back of the palate. The notes did not stand out until later. We will come back to this brandy and why I recommend it.
I ordered the Rodizio all you can eat, which, at $53, is a good value. I ordered medium rare, which was followed to a certain degree. Many of the cuts were coming out medium, but none overcooked for my tastes and preferences. They were all juicy and tender for the most part. They started bringing it out as you would find at Brazilian steakhouses, minus the green and red coun or whatever the Brazilians typically display on the table. The first marinated chicken chunks were actually very good. If you're working this to get to the steak, I would not skip the marinated chicken chunks, but I would skip the wings (had 2) and the sausage, the latter I did not have owing to the steak mission.
Skirt and flank were better than the bacon wrapped filet minion and garlic steak. The sirloin is where it gets good. Even the cheese steak, steak with cheese cubes melted into the steak was very good. When you see the C shaped pinwheel steak come out, pay attention. That is really good. So is the short rib. Yeah, the short rib is very tender and the fat and marbling lend lots of flavor.
The prime rib was the absolute best and it was served fairly close to the end of the meat servings. I only asked for a few slices of the spit, thinking I was near the end of my capacity and I could ask for more if I wanted. Well I was mistaken and this is where the first of two dings of the rating emerges. I was told there was no more prime rib and it was very early in the Saturday evening service. I asked twice. That is dishonest to me and it would ask that I set aside rationale and reasoning to accept they were out so early on a Saturday. The bottom line is when they serve you the prime rib, ask for as much as you can within your capacity at that moment. They will not come by with it again. This is one item that is not AYCE, but it is part of the Rodizio AYCE offering.
Now I forgot to mention they serve a healthy amount of fries and fried onion rings with this meal. There is also shredded garlic greens, which may be collards, with the fries and onion rings. You also receive white rice and black beans. So this is a very high value meal and would make an ideal choice for many patrons. Many people around me, couples and large parties, were ordering the same.
Now on top of it all, there are flambeed pineapples served in a sweet liquor sauce with cinnamon that sparkles when shaken onto the flaming pineapple slices on the plate. Not only does the acidic pineapple cut through the savory feast you just had, but its flavors bring out the flavor notes of the CR&F Reserva brandy. Brandy often has cinnamon notes as well as tropical fruit and oranges. All that comes to life in the brandy with the flaming pineapple, which is included in the Rodizio price. The brandy was necessary as a digestif, whether or not it actually helps.
I waddled out of Seabra's Armory to my next destination after this lavish feast and it was a necessary half hour walk in the cold air. Just what the doctor ordered. I would have otherwise been in bad shape. My bill came to a reasonable $86, but here comes the second ding: they put the 20 percent gratuity on the check already. I really do not like this practice. It leaves a bad taste for the patron and it detracts from my evaluation of the experience at restaurants. I gave Herculano an additional cash tip for his work, but that does not excuse this practice. Leave the tipping to patron discretion please.
Three and a half stars... read more