Joinville eats in two registers at once. The everyday food is straightforward southern Brazilian — beef, rice, beans, mandioca, and the inevitable barbecue. But there is also a strong line of German-Brazilian cooking, descended from the 19th-century settlers and not really found outside Santa Catarina: marreco recheado (duck stuffed with red cabbage, apple, and farinha), Eisbein, sauerkraut, and dense rye breads.
The best of both can be found around the Centro and along the Estrada Bonita rural road.