The Mercado Central of Goiânia is the best single place to experience the food culture of Goiás. The covered market has stalls selling dried pequi fruit (the pungent, yellow-fleshed fruit that is essentially mandatory in local cooking), guariroba palm hearts, regional cheeses, smoked meats, and an extraordinary variety of dried beans and grains from the cerrado region.
The food court section serves full meals: empadão goiano (the rich savoury pie with chicken, palm hearts, and olives), arroz com pequi (rice cooked with the contentious fruit), and frango caipira (free-range chicken stewed with local vegetables). The market is busy from early morning through to early afternoon and quiets significantly after 3pm. It is the right place to eat before a city exploration and to buy provisions for a day trip to Goiás Velho.