Boteco () or Botequim/Butiquim () are terms derived from the Portuguese of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

"botica", (cognate with Castilian Spanish "bodega") which derives from the Greek "Apotheke", which means storage, grocery store or where goods were sold by retail. In Portugal, the "boteco" was a warehouse or store where groceries and

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the internal organ (anatomy), organs of a butchered animal. Offal may also refer to the by-products of Milling (grinding), milled grains, such as corn or wheat. Some cultures strong ...

were sold and the same meaning belongs to the Spanish bodega. In

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, the boteco (buteco), or botequim, is traditionally known as a place where alcoholic beverages are sold, serving as a meeting place for "bohemians" looking for a good drink, cheap snacks, appetizers and a relaxed conversation.

Brazilian cities

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, the "botequins" are also known as "pé-sujo" (dirty-feet) when sanitary conditions are questionable. In Belo Horizonte, nationally known as the "Brazilian capital of the boteco", there are about 12,000 establishments, more bars per capita than any other city in the world. Also in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

is used often the term "boteco-copo-sujo" (dirty-cup-pub) which is an offshoot of the genre "boteco" for definition of the level of slovenliness of the establishment, in allusion to its appearance, as though welcoming, most no prizes for their apparent aspects such as cleaning or air. Among the delicacies of the most unusual boteco, we can cite the traditional liver with onions (figado acebolado), spicy

chorizo ''Chorizo'' ( , ; ; see #Names, below) is a type of pork sausage originating from the Iberian Peninsula. It is made in many national and regional varieties in several countries on different continents. Some of these varieties are quite differe ...

(chouriço apimentado) or the fried scarlet eggplant (jiló frito), accompanied by beer, the chopp, the famous

caipirinha Caipirinha () is a Brazilian cocktail, of São Paulo (state), São Paulo origin, with cachaça (sugarcane hard liquor), sugar, Lime (fruit), lime, and ice. The drink is prepared by mixing the fruit and the sugar together, then adding the liquor. ...

or the cachaça. There is even a well-known competition between the crowded bars of Belo Horizonte to select which has the best and most traditional pub food. This festival is called Comida de Boteco and was created in 1999 by gourmet Eduardo Maya. The Mercado Central (Central Market place) in Belo Horizonte crowds several examples of traditional pubs of mining capital, with famous "tira-gosto" (snacks) (so called delicacies of foodstuff derived from the establishment)Central Market botecos
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References

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External links

New York Times news about the Belo Horizonte's botecoOfficial site of the Comida di Buteco championshipBoteco Portal BrazilBelo Horizonte: Central Market PlaceRio de Janeiro: The Botequim — BootsnAll.com
Restaurants in Brazil Retailing in Brazil

Brazilian cities

See also

References

External links