WHY When you’re starving, celebrating and have $55 to blow on a single dinner, not counting drinks, tax and tip (or dessert, but you won’t have room for it anyway).

WHAT Of Southern California’s several churrascarias, none has been more successful than this grand temple of meat, where spits of lamb, beef, pork and chicken turn day and night on a massive, mesquite-fed rotisserie grill. It costs a bundle but is worth it for a splurge, thanks to the most spectacular salad bar in L.A. and the quality of the meat, carved tableside by swashbuckling gauchos.

WHO Lots of upscale family groups celebrating birthdays and graduations with vast quantities of gorgeous meat.