FOOD

Rioz is a churrascaria first, and the food makes the most sense when the market table is treated as an opening act rather than the whole show. The Full Rodizio brings more than fifteen fire-roasted selections through the room, cooked over wood charcoal and carved tableside. The lineup reaches across beef, pork, poultry and lamb, with enough variation in richness and texture that the meal can change direction several times without ever leaving the meat course.

The lamb chops deserve disproportionate attention. They remain in the Myrtle Beach rodizio alongside leg of lamb, and they are exactly the sort of compact cut that can hijack a well-intentioned plan to sample everything. A chop or two becomes four; four becomes a meal organized around watching the room for the next skewer. Rioz also sells a six-chop platter separately, which says something about how central the cut has become to the restaurant’s identity.

Beef supplies the traditional churrascaria backbone. Picanha, the Brazilian steakhouse essential, is served simply with sea salt, while a garlic version pushes the same sirloin in a more aromatic direction. Flank steak, top-round sirloin, filet mignon, bacon-wrapped filet and slow-cooked beef ribs add progressively richer passes. The point is not one enormous steak but repetition: a few slices now, another cut later, then a return to whatever deserves a second round.

Pork and poultry keep the rotation from becoming a parade of beef. Parmesan-coated pork loin brings a salty, savory edge; pork sausage is more robust and direct; pork ribs, chicken leg and bacon-wrapped chicken round out the heavier side of the service. Grilled pineapple with cinnamon moves through the same universe as the meats and works as a reset, sweet, warm and juicy enough to clear the palate before another pass.

Then there is the grilled cheese with honey, a Rioz detail worth remembering because it sounds almost comically simple until it arrives. Rioz calls it sweet mozzarella with honey rather than queijo coalho: grilled cheese with a milky, savory center and a glossy sweet finish. For a child, or anyone who understands that abundance should include a little surprise, it can become as memorable as the steak.

The Fresh Market gives the table a second food system entirely. Rioz keeps the spread broad with greens, cheeses, prepared salads, seafood and sushi, while Brazilian cheese bread, mashed potatoes, fried bananas and polenta bring the familiar churrascaria comforts. Black beans and rice, shrimp, salmon and other hot-and-cold items have long been part of the market-table vocabulary, though the exact seasonal mix can move around. It is easy to build a complete meal there, which is why Rioz sells the Fresh Market separately.

The trick is leaving room for repetition. This is one of those unlimited meals where the best plate may be the least democratic one: a little picanha, a lamb chop, another lamb chop, grilled mozzarella with honey, pineapple, then back to the lamb when it circles again. Rioz rewards curiosity, but it rewards favorites even more.