Regional food

Being Brazil a country of continental dimensions, it's no surprise that there are large differences between the cuisines of the different States. Some ingredients widely used in Recife (and hardly found in the south): manioc flour (main ingredient of tapioca), corn flour (cuscuz), pumpkin, jerked beef, goat, lamb, etc.
There are several restaurants which offer typical dishes from the Northeast, cattering mostly for the Brazilian tourists from the southern States.

Best regional food restaurant: Oficina do Sabor.

Buraco da Otília
Rua da Aurora, 1231 - Phone 3231-1528
A very old and traditional restaurant. Specialty is galinha a cabidela, chicken boiled in its own blood, very common in Recife.

Recanto do Picuí
Praca do Derby, 253 - Phone 3423-5188
Specialty is jerked beef, prepared the Recife way. Meat is as tender as filet mignon.

Parraxaxá
Avenida 17 de agosto, 807 - Phone 3268-2793
Rua Baltazar Pereira, 32 - Phone 3463-7874
Good regional food in a big house, decorated with ornaments from a typical house of the interior lands of Pernambuco

Chica Pitanga
Rua Petrolina, 19 - Phone 3465-2224
Self-service. Brazilian food for lunch (queues outside the door, particularly on weekends), regional food for dinner.