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Last night Chris and I went out to an early Mother’s Day dinner with my mom and Michelle. After some discussion this afternoon, we had decided on Zed451 in Schaumburg. It turned out to be a very good decision.

The first bit of goodness came when I reserved a table using OpenTable.com. Normally, reservations are just 100 points each; however, with the relative newness of Zed451, the reservation was 1,000 points. This reservation pushed me over the 2,000 point mark, the lowest number of points required to get a gift cheque from OpenTable.com.

Chris and I arrived considerable early for the reservation, which meant a great parking spot without needing to use the complimentary valet. I didn’t want to use the valet because I still don’t know all of the features of the new remote starter and alarm for the car. So, we sat out in the car reading (Chris was reading the latest issue of Chicago Magazine, and I was reading about the newly installed components for the car), waiting for my mom and sister to arrive. They managed to arrive minutes before our reservation time, leaving me in a good mood as we entered the gigantic double doors of the restaurant.

The hostesses all greeted us with a smile, and one even complimented Michelle on her hair. That hostess was fun and easy-going, joking with my mom about various things as she showed us to our table. At the table, we found a drink menu with each place setting. The hostess explained to us that the new restaurant is in the same all-you-can-eat style as the former, Sal & Carvao, but with a more international feel, rather than just Brazilian. There was a buffet island in the middle where you could pick up soup, salad, bread, and all of the other "stuffers" to go with dinner. I heard that the island was smaller than the one at Texas de Brazil, but they looked to be about the same size.

Soon, a waitress in a white jacket stopped by the table to pour us some water that is bottled on site. We had a choice of sparkling water or flat water. She said the water was triple-filtered, but it still sounded like it was just tap water. That was fine with me, as it was cold and it tasted like water. She gave us a few minutes to look over the drink menu, and then came back to take our drink orders. I was happy to find a Domaine Ste. Michelle Frizzante. Domaine Ste. Michelle is the line of sparkling wines from Chateau Ste. Michelle, the winery I recently visited in Washington.

Another member of the friendly staff stopped by to explain the stones we found in the middle of the table. The stones sit in a small metal dish, and when you want more meat, you take your stone out and place it next to the dish. When you’re full, you put the stone back in the dish. While this seems nicer than the cardboard coaster you get at TdB, I hope the stones are cleaned when the tables are to ensure that they are sanitized between guests.

Throughout dinner, we had a variety of meats, including prime rib, lemon-marinated chicken, mango tilapia, lamb chops, and garlic-roasted steak. We also had complimentary mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and biscuits. The food was delicious, and it was not over-salted like the food at TdB can oftentimes be served.

The desserts were fantastic. We had a skillet cookie topped with ice cream, a chocolate hazelnut mousse covered in a chocolate ganache, and an apple tarte topped with ice cream. They were just the right size to get finished at the end of such a filling meal without leaving you feeling like you’ll burst as you walk out of the restaurant.

Overall, it was a great balance between the salad bar, the sides, the meats and the desserts. I worry that Zed451 may not last too much longer, as Chris and I observed that the restaurant never filled up on a Saturday evening during prime dining hours. If you’re looking to visit a Brazilian steakhouse in the northwest suburbs, give Zed451 a try. If you use Yelp, mind the bias given by the reviewers and forum posters. It appears that many of the negative posts in the forums come from people who have personal issues with the restaurant owners and/or have not visited the restaurant recently. As of Saturday, May 10, 2008, the food and the service was great.