Xapuri

Xapuri is the restaurant where Belo Horizonte's residents take visitors when they want to demonstrate what Minas Gerais food actually is. The rustic-style building in Pampulha, with its wooden tables, open kitchen and garden setting, creates an atmosphere of deliberate simplicity that serves as the correct backdrop for food that has nothing to prove and everything to offer.

The tutu à mineira here — the smooth bean puree prepared with torresmo, couve and pork that is the foundation of Mineiro cuisine — is considered by many knowledgeable BH diners to be the definitive version in a city where everyone has an opinion on the subject. The frango ao molho pardo, the slow-cooked pork preparations and the dessert of doce de leite with queijo Minas are equally authoritative.

Sunday lunch at Xapuri is an institution: families, professionals and food-aware visitors all occupying the same space in the multi-course, unhurried ritual that defines how Minas Gerais celebrates the week's best meal.

The Sunday lunch institution and generous Mineiro cooking format make Xapuri the natural birthday celebration venue — the food is abundant, the atmosphere is celebratory and the cultural authenticity adds meaning beyond the meal.