Via Brasil

Since Via Brasil opened in 1978, it’s watched the number of Brazilian shops and restaurants in Little Brazil shrink to a small handful, and it’s had to put up with Argentina winning a World Cup (and another). But for how much things have changed around it, Via Brasil seems unfazed. Come on a weekend, and you’ll hear live Brazilian jazz at a grand white piano in the middle of the white-tableclothed dining room. Formal servers fill wine glasses after theatrically lifting lids off steaming mini-cauldrons of feijoada in front of you. That feijoada is rich enough to make up for the lack of space heaters (if you sit on the streetside patio), and it comes with an extra side of beans so you can adjust the liquid-solid ratio to your liking. Use some of the rice and farofa as a mop to soak up the juices from the garlicky picanha, and if anyone tells you that’s against the rules, remind them how Argentina got that second World Cup.