UPDATE: eat like a KING for R25-ish! I am writing this update primarily to comment on the por quilo…read morebuffet that we just tried. The selection is somewhat small compared to your average Brazilian lunch buffet, but the quality more than makes up for it. Man it's good. The different meats (ribs, slow cooked beef & torresmo in our case) and tropeiro were excellent. Veggies and salads no dealbreakers. Add a nice cold beer.
Was 5 stars, remains 5 stars!
Great Buteco in the NE corner of Mercado Central (2nd floor). This place is popular and nearly always busy, so unless you show up before 11:30 you can expect a line. Service is quick and friendly. The food is very, very good. Worth the wait.
Mineirinho Valente (winning entry of the Comida di Buteco festival 2005) is a cute little hot pot with canjiquinha (staple), cheese, smoked pork, ribs, sausage & spinach. It sounds great and tastes even better. Simply delicious!
Fígado Acebolado com Jiló is a favorite on the menu and was recommended to us by friends and random co-diners. It has excellent strips of beef liver, onion & jiló (scarlet eggplant, originally from Africa but popular in Brazil), which is a bit bitter vegetable that pairs very well with the liver. Delicious also.
We have tried a few other dishes in years past and nearly all are good. Feijão Mexicana looks excellent but might be our least favorite.
Drinks include the typical beers, a range of specialty beers and various spirits, including a good collection of cachaças.
