Brazil staycation

Formerly of So Paulo, Williamsburg resident Gil Inoue likes the “inspired vibe” at Beco(45 Richardson St at Lorimer St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-599-1645, becobar.com). For brunch, he orders bife a cavalo ($11), a filet mignon and two eggs with rice and beans. He also recommends coupling the dish with a cold glass of caju mimosa ($6), consisting of champagne and cashew-fruit juice.

Experience a Brazilian-style buffet—it adopts a pay-per-weight system similar to Manhattan delis—at Copacabana Pizza & Grill(31-13 36th Ave at 32nd St, Long Island City, Queens; 718-545-3685), a cafeteria that dishes delicious and inexpensive ethnic cuisine. Grab a tray and a plate and help yourself to as much of the freshly made salads, rice, beans, pastas, breaded chicken and fish as you can stomach ($4.99/lb). Observe how the locals order their tender grilled beef—known as churrasco—and ask for the same. Don’t forget to pair your grub with a Guaran Antartica—this soda tastes like ginger ale, only sweeter.

Another favorite expat eatery is Casa(72 Bedford St between Commerce and Morton Sts; 212-366-9410, casarestaurant.com), beloved for both its ambience and tasty stews like feijoada ($23.95), a beans, beef and pork concoction considered to be Brazil’s national dish, and moqueca ($20.95), a seafood dish that hails from Bahia. “They say it’s Grandma’s home cooking,” boasts owner and So Paulo native Jupiera Lee. “The taste of our food brings them home.”

Williamsburg’s Miss Favela(57 South 5th St at Wythe Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-230-4040, missfavela.com) is an excellent place to shake it, especially on Saturday nights, when samba band Gato Morto plays. Manager Tino Vargas estimates that about 70 percent of the joint’s clientele is Brazilian, and they imbibe plenty of drinks—like caipirinha ($8), the quintessential cocktail containing sugar, lime and cachaa.

Brazil is known the world over for its epic Carnaval, the nearly weeklong hedonistic pre-Lenten celebration featuring costumed samba dancers and copious amounts of alcohol, held each year in Rio de Janeiro, Olinda, Recife and Salvador da Bahia. The Brasil Party, held every Wednesday at Nublu(62 Ave C between 4th and 5th Sts; 646-546-5206, nublu.net), can get just as packed and sweaty. Forro in the Dark plays rhythmic, percussive forr dance music live, and resident DJ Greg Caz spins classic Brazilian beats. Caz describes the hip-shaking, never-tiring crowd as “a good cross-section of twenty- and thirtysomething Brazilians and the non-Brazilians who love them.”