Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
COMIDA MINEIRA
Minas Gerais' tasty
regional food
,
comida mineira
, is one of Brazil's most distinctive - based
mainly on pork, the imaginative use of vegetables,
couve
(a green vegetable somewhat like
kale), and the famous
tutu
, a thick bean sauce made by grinding uncooked beans with manioc
flour and cooking the mixture. Many of the dishes originate from the early mule trains and
bandeirante
expeditions of the eighteenth century, when food had to keep for long periods
(hence the use of salted pork, now usually replaced by fresh). There are also small stores
everywhere serving Minas Gerais'
doces
(cakes and sweetmeats), local cheeses, made both
from goats' and cows' milk, and, of course,
cachaça
. Typical dishes include:
Carne picadinha
A straightforward, rich stew of either beef or pork, cooked for hours
until tender.
Costelinha
Stewed ribs of ham.
Dobradinha
Tripe stew cooked with sweet potatoes; stews (including the two above) often
include the excellent Minas sausages, smoked and peppery.
Doce de leite
A rich caramel sludge.
Feijão tropeiro
(“Mule driver's beans”). A close relative to
tutu a mineira
(see below), with a
name that betrays its eighteenth-century origins; it features everything that is in a
tutu
but also
has beans fried with
farinha
(manioc flour), egg and onion thrown into the mix.
Frango ao molho pardo
Definitely one for hardened carnivores only: essentially chicken
cooked in its own blood. It's better than it sounds, but rather bitter in taste.
Frango com quiabo
Chicken roasted with okra and served sizzling with a side plate of
anju
, a
corn porridge that
mineiros
eat with almost anything.
Tutu a mineira
Roasted pork served with lashings of
tutu
, garnished with steamed
couve
and
torresmo
(an excellent salted-pork crackling) - most common of all dishes, found on
every menu.
2
to stay in Savassi, with all the facilities you would expect of
one of the city's top hotels (pool, business centre and
decent restaurant). Many of the rooms on the sixth floor
and above
have p
anoramic views and all feature plush
furnishings.
R$290
Max Savassi Apart Service
Rua Antônio de
Albuquerque 335, Savassi
T
31 3225 6466,
W
maxsavassi.com.br.
All of the units at this good-value
apartment hotel with a pool, located on a pleasant tree-
lined street, have a
bedroo
m, a living room and a
kitchenette. Free wi-fi.
R$317
Othon Palace
Av Afonso Pena 1050, Centro
T
31 3247
0000,
W
othon.com.br.
A huge, refurbished 1970s
skyscraper with friendly and highly professional staff, well-
equipped, stylish rooms and a fine rooftop pool. Be sure to
request a room on one of the upper floors facing out from
the front of the building - the views across the Parque
Municipal and onwards to the Serra do Curral are
spectacular. Rooms have wired internet for R$6/hr, and
wi-fi in the business centre is R$6/30min.
R$190
★
Royal Savassi Boutique Hotel
Rua Alagoas 699,
Savassi
T
31 2138 0000,
W
royalsavassi.com.br.
Overall
the best luxury choice in the city, with elegant
contem
porary
rooms, cable TV, free wi-fi, gym and a sauna
on site.
R$330
Sol Belo Horizonte
Rua Bahia 1040, Centro
T
31 3274
1344,
W
hotelsolbh.com.br.
This four-star downtown
hotel skyscraper has pleasant rooms, e
cient though
somewhat impersonal service, a pool and a sauna. Popular
with busin
ess exe
cutives, the place empties at weekends.
Free wi-fi.
R$280
Wimbledon
Av Afonso Pena 772, Centro
T
31 3222
6160,
W
wimbledon.com.br.
Solid mid-range hotel in the
heart of downtown. The rooms are fairly small and simply
furnished, but all have cable TV, a/c and a rather ageing
frigobar
, plus there's a very small pool. Ask for one of the
rooms overlooking
Av Afo
nso Pena, as these are much
brighter. Free wi-fi.
R$205
EATING
You can eat well in Belo Horizonte and prices are generally quite reasonable, though outside the immediate
downtown
area, where o
ce workers pack the cheaper places noon to 1.30pm, restaurants and bars tend to be more upmarket.
Savassi
is the hip place to hang out - Praça Savassi in particular is ringed by cool cafés and bars, and Pátio Savassi, Av do
Contorno 6061 (
W
patiosavassi.com), is a smart shopping mall with a huge food court.
Badejo
Rua Rio Grande do Norte 836, Savassi
T
31
3261 2023,
W
restaurantebadejo.com.br.
Lots of fish
and other seafood choices are available at this restaurant,
which specializes in the food of Espírito Santo. If you won't
