Cafe Belo, Boston

For around $4 a pound, you get to eat Brazillian food cafeteria-style. Regardless of what you think of the food itself, Cafe Belo offers a great deal. Personally, I love the food too. You can get assorted meats right off the skewer, and a number of side dishes at the buffet. They even carry Brazillian soda (tasty). Maybe someday I will get to enjoy this food in Brazil, but for now, I'm happy eating it in Boston.

It helps to have some knowledge of Portugese when you go here because the staff usually has poor English (check out www.cafebelo.com for a sample). But this adds to the atmosphere, along with the Brazillian calling cards and Portugese advertisements. Their website (in Portugese) seems very in depth, with recipes and maps to their several locations.

Favorite Dish: My favorite is bacon-wrapped chicken off the churrascaria (Brazillian barbeque as I understand), as I am crazy for meat. Best bets are rice, beans, potatoes and plantains. But it's a buffet, so you can try little bits of stuff you're not sure on and then go back for more if you like it.