My dining buddy and I should have known better. The all-you-can-eat buffet ($22.99), so beguiling when we arrived shortly after noon, was cause for regret when the rest of our day's culinary exploration was shortchanged. A single plate, at the by-the-pound price, would have been wiser: My dutiful heap of shredded collard greens would still have left ample room for shrimp, bacon-wrapped chicken, and feijão tropeiro, "cattleman's beans" (first photo, lower left corner) that are a specialty of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. In typical fashion, this Mineiran restaurant garnishes them generously with fried pork rind.
Also shown: from my second plateful (or was it the third?), a picked-apart chunk of "sun beef," one of many cuts of meat from the buffet's busy rodizio station; abobora com coco. The all-you-can-eat option also includes a choice of more than 20 desserts (otherwise a la carte, $4-$5 each). In brisk autumn weather, this pumpkin preserve with coconut might taste even better.
Delicias de Minas
168 McWhorter St. (at Garden St.), Newark, New Jersey
973-589-1920
www.DeliciasDeMinasRestaurant.com
