Belo Horizonte is one of Brazil's best food cities. The local cuisine, comida mineira, evolved from farmhouse cooking into something genuinely special — hearty dishes built on pork, beans, couve (a green resembling collard or cabbage), and tutu, a thick bean sauce. Corn often takes the place of wheat, and Minas Gerais is one of Brazil's main cheese-producing regions.
You will find comida mineira restaurants everywhere, but particularly outside the city center, where they outnumber everything else. In town, the Savassi neighborhood has a good concentration of restaurants. For a more local experience, head to the Mercado Central off Avenida Augusto de Lima, where the food stalls serve authentic, inexpensive meals alongside the market's bustle.