Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
Churrasco (slow-grilled and -roasted meat), one of the most famous foods of Brazil, originated in Rio Grande do Sul. But the cuisine is eclectic here in cowboy country, and rice and beans sit on southern tables beside Italian and German dishes, thanks to the South's many European immigrants. Look for barreado, a dish from coastal Paraná made by stewing beef, bacon, potatoes, and spices for hours in a clay pot made airtight with moistened manioc flour. Café colonial is the elaborate 5 pm tea—with breads, pies, and German kuchen—popular among the Germans in the South.
Recommended for those on a budget, Baviera is essentially a pizzeria, but the menu also includes Brazilian-style steak (thin-cut fillet, usually rare), grilled chicken, and hamburgers, with most dishes serving two. The restaurant, in the basement of an imposing house on a hillside, has an Italian cantina look, with wine barrels at the entrance, rustic wood furniture, and candlelighted tables.
