Green Field, under construction for almost a year, opened in April but still often seems empty. This is in part because it’s a vast space, previously a large thrift store. But that’s part of the concept — and Green Field is actually one in a small chain of concept restaurants. Part of the concept is the somewhat-familiar rodizio (rotation) of churrasco (Brazilian barbecue): as many as 10 or 12 different roasted meats on skewers, brought to your table and carved by a specialist waiter. However, Green Field has added a truly impressive salad bar, a buffet of hot dishes, and even fruit and sushi, all at one price ($19.95/dinner; $9.95/lunch). With an additional charge for drinks (only nonalcoholic so far) and desserts, this is not a cheap buffet, but it is a very good one.

Nadeau’s Law of Buffets states that you should review all the options first, and never take more than three or four of your favorites. It’s extremely difficult to do this at Green Field, because there are so many attractive and unusual choices. At the salad bar alone, who can refuse all-you-can-eat watercress or hearts of palm? There’s also a nifty salad of artichoke hearts and jalapeño peppers. And then there are three potato salads, each a challenge to potato-salad lovers. And since you know there will be a lot of meat, it might make sense to preload a few beets, carrots, and such.

But then you notice the sushi bar. It’s not as exhaustive as that of Minado, in Natick, but there are several kinds of California rolls here, some typical nigiri, and turrets of seaweed salad and salmon eggs.

And so one is half-full even before turning the little cylinder of stoplight colors over to green, which signals the servers to start the rodizio of meats. (Each table gets one cylinder. Green means bring more meat; red means skip the table for this round. The waiter takes a skewer or two at a time off the rotisseries and goes around to all the tables with green up and serves how much they want.) You are then directed to the hot table.

Oh my.

There are three soups, including a manioc beef that would warm up any rainy day. (The other soups are pinto bean and miso. The Asian influence may be ascribed to Green Field’s owner, a Brazilian-American of Korean background.) Ordinarily, this column views a churrascaria as an easy review — one price buys the whole thing. But Green Field is a marathon, maybe even a triathlon, of buffets. How are you supposed to leave room for grilled meats when the hot table has a superb bean dish with bacon, egg, beef, pork, and greens that just demands seconds? There is white or yellow rice to put under a taste of that pinto-bean soup. It’s salted just right, and really delicious.

Also on the hot table is a dish of vegetables mixed with farofa (manioc crumbs). I know from experience that farofa expands inside you like couscous — it’s a poverty food, and it works. But it’s good. So are the plantains, if they don’t harden after sitting too long. So are the gnocchi, for that matter, although we can at least cross off the mashed potatoes — they taste powdered. But that stew of pork pieces in onions ...

Okay, up goes the green side of the cylinder. (You can stop and start again.) The general feature of Brazilian barbecue is that all the meats are brined for extra juiciness and seasoning. If you don’t like that much salt, eat more of the composed dishes and avoid those likely to be salted. Another issue is that when there aren’t a lot of customers, the barbecue is likely to be overdone; all the better for rabbit, but an issue for steak. If the restaurant is crowded, meats may be too rare. Reverse priorities.

In any event, do not miss the chicken breast with sauce, as the sauce adds a wonderful richness of flavor. Bacon-wrapped chicken or turkey (we had both) are also exceptional, with very smoky bacon. Rabbit benefits from the salt a lot more than plain chicken drumsticks do.

Our least favorites on a slow day were overdone sirloin and an unlucky piece of all-fat pork loin. A pork sausage was just like any Italian sausage, without the fennel. But a skirt steak had the extra flavor of that chewy cut, even overdone, and a chunk of lamb was likewise delightful.

Green Field is waiting on a liquor license, but a virgin caipirinha ($4.50) is a wonderful, fresh limeade all by itself. The various fruit nectars ($3.90) are also refreshing, as well as sweet and filling. Don’t mess with the stimulating guarana unless it’s early in the day or you are habituated to caffeine. As one might expect in a Brazilian restaurant, good coffee is featured. Decaf ($1.75) was excellent; decaf cappuccino ($2.75) was close.

Yes, there are desserts! On our day, they were almost all pudding. The best was chocolate mousse ($4) with bits of coconut, peanut-cream topping, and a maraschino cherry. We also enjoyed rice pudding ($4) and an enormous (if somewhat starchy) flan ($4).

Now what happens with Nadeau’s Law? Well, you have to decide. It’s a meat restaurant, so you have to save room. You could have a cup of soup to warm up. You could have two salads and a hot dish (the bean stew!) and maybe a hot vegetable. Don’t have potato salad. Don’t have the plantains unless you see the server bring them out. Don’t eat the sushi, though you can steal some wasabi and pickled ginger as condiments. (There is also a table of hot sauce, Worcestershire, and such.) Turn your cylinder to green for as long as you can stand it. Don’t have dessert — just some of the Jell-O, maybe, and a fruit.

Vegetarians and partial vegetarians can enjoy the sushi, potato salad, and rice and beans. Insist your carnivore friends try these things so they won’t spend as much time annoying you with the meat.

Green Field is a big room with a décor that wouldn’t fit anywhere else, but works here. Apparently all the restaurants in the chain have a waterfall window at the entrance. They probably all have Brazilian pop music in the background and bilingual student servers, though I think the cheesy stained glass, moose and deer heads, and mounted cowhides may be unique to Boston. The pretty wall art made of butterfly wings could be a signature touch — but the enormous open rotisseries and barbecue grills are the real signature here.

Robert Nadeau can be reached at RobtNadeau@aol.com