To understand what Brazil really eats, skip the restaurants and go to the market. Brazil's feiras (street markets), mercados municipais (covered municipal markets), and mercadões are extraordinary places — at once grocery store, restaurant, food court, and social hub.
The Feira Livre (Weekly Street Market)
Every neighborhood in every Brazilian city has a weekly feira livre (free fair). These open-air markets follow a circuit — each neighborhood has a set day of the week when the market comes to it. Dedicated food stalls at every feira sell: Pastel, Tapioca crepes, Açaí (thick, blended, served in cups), Caldo de cana (fresh sugarcane juice), Espetinhos, and Peixe frito (fried fish) near coastal markets.
São Paulo — Mercado Municipal (Mercadão)
The Mercado Municipal de São Paulo, popularly called the Mercadão, is one of South America's great food markets. Housed in a magnificent 1930s building with stained glass windows, it is simultaneously a historic landmark and a fully functional daily market. The Mercadão is particularly famous for its mortadela sandwich — a local institution made with an absurdly generous stack of thick-sliced Italian mortadella on soft rolls.
Belém, Pará — Ver-o-Peso Market
The Ver-o-Peso in Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon River, is arguably Brazil's most extraordinary food market. Dating to the 17th century (making it one of the oldest continuously operating markets in the Americas), it occupies a sprawling riverfront complex where Amazon River boats unload directly into the market stalls. Here you'll find: fresh river fish, açaí in its rawest form served savory alongside fried fish, Amazonian fruits, and medicinal herbs from the Amazon rainforest.