Every city that hosts an aviation fair is different, but the chalets have the same logos, the international-class hotels are welcoming but bland and the language on the fast-food menus changes but the photos of the burgers are the same. You're here for the event, perhaps you've done your part or are waiting for your next appointment, and you have time to kill. What to do?

Well, you need to eat, you’re on a per diem and you’re near Congonhas Airport. Let’s say you've just walked out of the main gate to LABACE, Congonhas Gate 3. Turn left, and just beyond the pedestrian overpass you'll see a two-story building with the Picanha Grill rodizio steakhouse above, and a branch of a Middle Eastern budget chain below.

Picanha Grill is a middle-class steakhouse that operates on the “rodizio” principle: you pay a fixed price, and they keep bringing you grilled meat until you tell them to stop. Picanha Grill's weekend price is R$44.90 (under U.S. $15) and the weekday price is R$29.90 (under U.S. $10). The caipirinhas are offered with authentic and imported booze; since you yourself are imported, go authentic with the caipirinha de pinga at R$14.90. Besides the grilled meat that comes to you (the cheaper cuts come around first, wave them off and say “picanha” or “alcatra”), the salad bar has an enormous selection. If you're feeling adventurous, try the “coração de galinha” (chicken hearts).

If you're not that hungry, cross the pedestrian bridge, and look ahead, north under the unfinished elevated track, and you'll see a typical São Paulo diner, which will likely be open unless it’s Sunday, as it operates six days a week from 6:00 to 1:00 a.m. The diner’s name—Drink Time—is the only thing in English about it, and you may be reduced to gestures to explain what you want. A cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato is a x-salada, pronounced “sheesh salada,” a “sheesh churrasco salada” gets you a slice of beef instead of a patty. Fruit juices made in front of you from actual fruit are good and cheap, a “vitamina” is a smoothie and they advertise “Milk Shake.” The afternoon manager is Diego, and Tancredo is on till after lunch, but neither speaks English. They claim they will deliver to LABACE, but understanding what you want by phone and getting it by the gate security are both challenges.

If diners aren't to your taste, turn left at Drink Time instead of going in, go uphill until the road stops, and turn right. Jucalemão has German specialties—Bratwurst Mit Sauerkraut is one—and German atmosphere, with Bavarian travel posters on the walls. As in many Brazilian restaurants, standard dishes serve two and range from about R$50 to R$90, with single portions at a discount of about a third. There's a selection of beers, and vodka caipirinhas are R$16. The atmosphere is much less frenetic than at Picanha Grill.

São Paulo has many fine restaurants; residents of Rio claim it's because the city has no beaches. If your budget is unlimited, and you're willing to go beyond walking distance, the closest of the great steakhouses is Fogo de Chão, about four blocks north of the airport. It’s a chain, one of the Texas branches supposedly being the elder George Bush's favorite restaurant.

At the top end of the city's restaurant scale is Baby Beef Rubaiyat in the heart of the modern business district, at Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 2954. Of the many, many options we pick this because on the other side of the avenue, the Museu da Casa Brasileira is currently hosting an excellent exhibit on “Design in Brazilian Aviation” focusing on Embraer. See it and eat.

Adventure Time

Your employers have given you the afternoon off, and you've eaten room service while watching TV on six continents. You want something completely different. 

Get the team together, grab a taxi or Uber, and head for lunch to Nandemoyá in Liberdade, the Japanese district—São Paulo is the world's largest Japanese city outside Japan. The unassuming doorway at Rua América de Campos, 9 is easy to miss, and the atmosphere is utilitarian. But the restaurant is usually packed, and a lot of the clientele is of Japanese descent. You get a check at the door, get in line, pick up a plate and go down the buffet filling it with sushi, sashimi, other fish, salad or ordinary Brazilian dishes, and the attendant notes the weight on the check. You can fill up for around R$50.

The weekend Japanese fair on Praça da Liberdade, a block away, is an opportunity to pick up keepsakes for the family back home. From there, follow Avenida Liberdade south to Rua Condessa de São Joaquim, and turn right on the bridge over the highway. At Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antônio turn right, and when you reach the plaza, bear left until at the other side of the plaza you reach Rua Jaceguaí. Turn left, and down the block on the right-hand side you will find Teatro Oficina Uzyna Uzona, where Macumba Antropófaga is playing on Sundays at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are R$60. Once you've got your ticket, find a place to have a beer or two. The play is in Portuguese, but English subtitles are displayed on the wall above the band, which plays live music throughout, and are visible from the maroon-upholstered seats.

The first act includes a walk, march or dance with music around the neighborhood, a secure way to see a bit of old São Paulo. The second act, back in the theater, revolves around two pre-war cultural figures, painter Tarsila do Amaral and author Oswaldo de Andrade. Fair warning, the play involves extensive nudity.

There is an intermission at around 7:15 p.m., after which is a series of sketches based on current Brazilian events, and even subtitles don’t help explain what’s going on. You’ve seen the best of the play, leave at the interval, take a taxi home and tell your colleagues what they've missed.