Lunch at Berttu's
The lunch stop is Berttu's, a long-established restaurant in Juiz de Fora — the major city of this stretch of the BR-040 and the economic capital of the Zona da Mata region. Berttu's has been operating for more than 30 years and is known for its traditional Minas Gerais cooking served on clay roof tiles (na telha), a presentation style that is both theatrical and practical, keeping the food at the table warm well into the meal. It is a popular local institution rather than a destination restaurant, which is precisely the point: an hour here, unhurried, before the road continues.