Editing Brazilian cuisine (section)

==Daily meals==
[[File:Brazilian Breakfast Buffet.jpg|thumb|A Brazilian breakfast buffet in [[Gramado]]]]
[[File:Restaurante de comida regional - Recife, Pernambuco.jpg|thumb|right|Brazilian regional food in [[Recife]]]]
[[File:Desfile do 20 de Setembro de Alegrete (15176402179).jpg|thumb|right|[[Churrasco|Costelada]] in [[Porto Alegre]]]]
* [[Breakfast]],{{efn|name=major|Breakfast, lunch and dinner are major meals, served in most restaurants and eaten daily in most households above the poverty line.}} the ''café-da-manhã'' (literally, "morning coffee"): every region has its own typical breakfast. It usually consists of a light meal, not uncommonly only a fruit or slice of bread paired with a cup of coffee. Traditional items include tropical fruits, typical cakes, crackers, bread, butter, [[Lunch meat|cold cuts]], cheese, [[requeijão]], honey, jam, [[Dulce de leche|doce de leite]], [[coffee]] (usually sweetened and with milk), juice, [[chocolate milk]], or [[tea]].
* [[Elevenses]] or [[brunch]],{{efn|name=minor|Brunch, tea and late suppers are secondary meals, not consistently had in most households, with the tea time meal being the most common, while elevenses and late suppers depend on the peculiarities of one's daily routine or diet.}} the ''lanche-da-manhã'' (literally, "morning snack"): usually had between 9 and 11&nbsp;am, consists of similar items as people have for breakfast.
* Midday [[dinner]] or [[lunch]],{{efn|name=major}} the ''almoço'': this is usually the biggest meal and the most common times range from 11&nbsp;a.m. to 2&nbsp;p.m. Traditionally, people will go back to their houses to have lunch with their families, although nowadays that is not possible for most people, in which case it is common to have lunch in groups at [[#Restaurant styles|restaurants]] or cafeterias. Rice is a staple of the Brazilian diet, albeit it is not uncommon to eat pasta instead. It is usually eaten together with beans and accompanied by salad, protein (most commonly red meat or chicken) and a side dish, such as polenta, potatoes, corn, etc.
* [[Tea (meal)|Tea]],{{efn|name=minor}} the ''lanche-da-tarde'' or ''café-da-tarde'' (literally "afternoon snack" or "afternoon coffee"): it is a meal had between lunch and dinner, and basically everything people eat in the breakfast, they also eat in the afternoon snack. Nevertheless, fruits are less common.
* Night [[dinner]] or [[supper]],{{efn|name=major}} the ''jantar'': for most Brazilians, ''jantar'' is a light affair, while others dine at night. Sandwiches, soups, salads, pasta, hamburgers or hot-dogs, pizza or repeating lunchtime foods are the most common dishes.
* Late supper,{{efn|name=minor}} the ''ceia'': Brazilians eat soups, salads, pasta and what would be eaten at the elevenses if their ''jantar'' was a light one early at the evening and it is late at night or dawn. It is associated with [[Christmas]] and [[New Year's Eve]].

===Restaurant styles===
A simple and usually inexpensive option, which is also advisable for [[Vegetarianism|vegetarians]], is ''comida a quilo'' or ''comida por quilo'' restaurants (literally "food by kilo value"), a [[buffet]] where food is paid for by weight. Another common style is the all-you-can-eat restaurant where customers pay a [[prix fixe]]. In both types (known collectively as "self-services"), customers usually assemble the dishes of their choice from a large buffet.

[[Rodízio]] is a common style of service, in which a [[prix fixe]] is paid, and servers circulate with food. This is common in [[churrascaria]]s, pizzerias and sushi (Japanese cuisine) restaurants, resulting in an all-you-can-eat meat barbecue and pizzas of varied flavours, usually one slice being served at a time.

The regular restaurant where there is a specific price for each meal is called "restaurante à la carte".

===Vegetarian===
Although many traditional dishes are prepared with meat or fish, it is not difficult to live on [[vegetarian food]] as well, at least in the mid-sized and larger cities of Brazil. There is a rich supply of all kinds of fruits and vegetables, and on city streets one can find cheese buns (''[[pão de queijo]]''); in some cities even the version made of [[soy]].

In the 2000s, [[São Paulo]], [[Rio de Janeiro]] and [[Brasília]] have gained several vegetarian and [[vegan]] restaurants.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vegetarian Restaurants in Brazil |url= http://www.happycow.net/south_america/brazil/ |access-date=2011-05-30}}</ref> However outside big metropolises, vegetarianism is not very common in the country. Not every restaurant will provide vegetarian dishes and some seemingly vegetarian meals may turn out to include unwanted ingredients, for instance, using [[lard]] for cooking [[bean]]s. Commonly "meat" is understood to mean "red meat", so some people might assume a vegetarian eats fish and chicken. ''Comida por quilo'' and all-you-can-eat restaurants prepare a wide range of fresh dishes. Diners can more easily find food in such restaurants that satisfies dietary restrictions.