Minas Gerais, Brazil

@partsunknown
 on 2022.01.10
8 Places
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Bourdain explores Minas Gerais, a southeastern Brazilian state known for nurturing some of the best chefs in the world. In the lush highlands of the region, he indulges in heavy, pork-dependent rustic cuisine like slow-cooked stews. There he also gains a deeper understanding of how fundamental the African influence is to Brazil, a country that, Bourdain says, continues to be “deeply divided along racial lines.”
explorepartsunknown.com/destination/minas-gerais/

Mercado Central de Belo Horizonte

Market · Belo Horizonte

Tony met with chef Leo Paixão, who trained under Joel Robuchon and now runs Glouton. They tried all sorts of fruits and veggies only found in Brazil.

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Bar da Lora - Mercado Central

Bar · Belo Horizonte

Tony and Leon met with Ivo Faria, the “godfather” of mineiro cuisine at this restaurant inside the Mercado Central. They had beer, liver with jiló (a veggie like eggplant, only green and only edible when ripe).

Bar Do Careca

Bar · Belo Horizonte

A boteco, or neighborhood restaurant that serves beer. Tony met with Eduardo Maya, “self-taught gastronome,” and Luiz Otavio, a beverage tycoon who specializes in cachaça at Cachaça Vale Verde. They had "ox tongue cooked with basil, mint, and pepper" and "feijão tropeiro: beans, manioc flour smoked in cured meats" and fresh eggs.

Boa Vista

Belo Horizonte

Tony had a meal cooked by Zora Santos, "a practitioner of old school Afro-Mineira cuisine." They had angu (cornmeal and milk cooked for hours), ora pro nobis (a native green, filled with protein), pork ribs.

Inhotim Museum

Art museum · Brumadinho

Deep in the jungle, this contemporary art museum built by an eccentric visionary.

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Glaura

Glaura

Meal on the Galastro family farm with a collection of chefs. They had "smoked pig's head with vegetables and chilies, native green beans called andu prepared with bacon and farofa" (toasted cassava flour). Also, "chicken in brown sauce baked in a clay pot, finished with the blood of chickens fresh killed this morning, served with pequi rice, farofa, and of course, cachaca." Dinner dates: Felipe Galastro, Felipe Rameh, Fred Trindade, and Boi, chefs at the center of BH’s culinary scene.

Birosca S2

Restaurant · Belo Horizonte

Tony met with a group of women chefs to eat at this restaurant, including Bruna Martins, who owns the restaurant. Bruna only hires women to work there. They had "turkey neck, braised with butter and garlic, served with white beans, topped with kale and pork belly... ox hump pot-roast, served with mashed potatoes and farofa." While there, they had a scare when a drunk man in a stolen car was seen with a gun. The cameraman and producer dove on top of Tony to protect him, to which he said, "you know, you're NOT the secret service!"

Nono - O Rei do Caldo de Mocotó

Cocktail bar · Belo Horizonte

Open very late into the night, this place serves mocotó, "the ultimate in broke-ass, drunk-ass peasant food. Slow-cooked cow’s foot and/ or other bits, tender and tasty, and believe me, one of my favorites, especially at this hour. We opt for the elite version, served with raw quail egg."

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