Tipping the Scale

At this restaurant, you pay by the weight of your plate.

ather than waiting around for your food to get cooked, then paying for more than you can eat, try a buffet-style restaurant where you pay for your food by weight. (Its weight, not yours.) Hidden at the back of a parking lot, Café Belô serves genuine Brazilian cuisine (you can tell by the many Brazilian regulars) in typically Brazilian style: After you’ve picked up your salad, rice, and beans, make your way over to the barbecue, or churrasco, to select a tender slice of picanha rump steak. When you’re done piling your meal on your plate, have it weighed and pay for what you eat. Oh, and don’t forget to grab a guaraná soda and the delicious brigadeiro, a chocolate dessert ball covered in sprinkles. Café Belô was opened after the founder’s snack bar became a hit among Brazilians who pined for a lunch and dinner place that made them feel at home. Geiger

Shhhh! The restaurant started by Hildo Costa
as a snack bar that sold Brazilian cheese breads
and other salty favorites along with sugar-cane
juice. Costa has since opened branches in
Somerville, Framingham, and Curitiba, Brazil.

Shhhh! Brazil is known for its high-quality steaks
and sausages and all-you-can-eat churrascarias.

Shhh who knew

The Amazonian fruit guaraná has become increasingly popular in energy drinks, and for good reason: It contains about twice as much caffeine as coffee beans.