Santa Teresinha sits tucked along the Araguaia River in the heart of Mato Grosso, and its food scene reflects exactly that geography. River fish are the undisputed stars of every table here — pintado, dourado, and piraputanga pulled fresh from the Araguaia and grilled, fried, or simmered into thick, golden broths. You'll find these preparations at simple waterside restaurants where plastic chairs face the current and the cooking smells better than anything a menu could promise.

The town's feira, held on weekends near the central square, is where locals stock up and visitors get lucky. Vendors sell tucumã fruit, pequi preserved in oil, homemade tapioca, and hunks of queijo do sertão wrapped in banana leaves. Grab a paper cone of fried fish cubes dusted with manioc flour — a snack so ordinary here, so addictive everywhere else — and eat it standing up like everyone around you does. This is the real culinary backbone of Santa Teresinha.

For a sit-down meal, look for family-run kitchens advertising prato feito — a heaped plate of rice, beans, farofa, and whatever protein came in fresh that morning. Local cooks treat pequi with genuine reverence, folding it into rice dishes and chicken stews that carry that distinctive, funky aroma you either fall for immediately or spend a week reconsidering. Either way, trying it is non-negotiable. Wash everything down with a cold caldo de cana from the nearest sugarcane press and feel completely, perfectly settled.