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Restaurants in coastal towns tend to be of the rustic beach-café sort, and predictably serve lots of seafood. For a change of taste, visit Ubatuba and these three neighborhoods in or near São Sebastião—Maresias, Boiçucanga, and Camburi—where you can find good pizzerias and Japanese restaurants. In Campos do Jordão, a popular paulistano mountain retreat, you can find a Brazilian version of Swiss fondue (both the chocolate and the cheese varieties are delicious). In Serra Negra, you'll find typical countryside food, including lots of fresh meat and farm produce, as well as a vast range of local sweets, artisanal beers, and wine.
Located by João Zelante Square in what was once a department store, Café Boteco incorporates elements of the traditional Brazilian boteco (dive bar) in some of its recipes and decor, but the comparisons end there: smartly dressed, friendly waiters serve excellent picanha (rump steak) and costelinha com polenta (pork ribs with polenta chips), as well as salad and pasta dishes with a local twist. The owners also run a small shop next door selling souvenirs, fine wines, and cold cuts.
In a 1905 house, this restaurant serves regional specialties like feijoada and picadinho (steak stew served with rice and beans, farofa, fried banana, and fried egg). Salmon and boar ribs are some additional choices.
A great variety of dishes is served at this downtown restaurant next to an art gallery and at the center of the weekend hustle and bustle of the artisan fair. The picanha brasileira (barbecued steak) with fries and farofa is recommended.
Located at the heart of Serra Negra, Serrana is a bakery that serves breakfast, light snacks, and also meals, as well as sharing platters. Grab a pao na chapa com saida de requeijão (grilled bread with Brazilian cream cheese) and coffee for breakfast here on a Sunday morning and sit at one of the tables outside to watch the hordes of motorcycling aficionados—they flock to Serra Negra on weekends from other cities on their amazing touring bikes.
In a century-old ranch-style house, a hearty buffet lunch is served with dishes such as feijão tropeiro (beans with bacon, calabresa sausage, eggs, and farofa), dobradinha com feijão branco (intestines and white-bean stew), or galinha atolada (rural-style hen stew).
