If the most popular foods of Rio de Janeiro have one thing in common, it is their informality. You can find fine restaurants in the city, but they do not set Rio apart from other places. What does set it apart, and what invariably brings its residents, known as "Cariocas," together is the unpretentious food they eat in bright, loud, crowded bars and restaurants, on busy street corners, or after a day at the beach. Here: A view of traditional bolinhos de bacalhau (fried codfish balls) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 7, 2016. (Photo by Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

Resident Taina holds her brother Ysaque in the hallway outside their apartment in an occupied building in the Mangueira “favela” community on August 13, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Artists perform during the Closing Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 21 August 2016. (Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA)

In this January 27, 2020 photo, Jessica Hahn-Chaplin applies make up before a rehearsal of the Paraiso de Tuiuti samba school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hahn-Chaplin dances samba annually in Bath, England. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

Wearing a protective mask to curb the spread of the new coronavirus a man attends a memorial for those who have died from COVID-19 worldwide, at Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, July 1, 2020. (Photo by Leo Correa/AP Photo)

Aerial view of Christ The Protector Statue at sunrise on April 21, 2021 in Encantado, Brazil. The statue under construction in Encantado, Southern Brazil, will be named Cristo the Protector and will surpass the iconic Christ The Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro by five meters. Made of steel and concrete, it will stand 43 meters including its pedestal, and become the third-tallest statue of Jesus Christ in the world. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Germany's Kira Walkenhorst (L) taps Germany's Laura Ludwig during the women's beach volleyball qualifying match between Germany and Canada at the Beach Volley Arena in Rio de Janeiro on August 9, 2016, for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. (Photo by Leon Neal/AFP Photo)

A dog dressed like of a bee is seen during the “Blocao” dog carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, February 16, 2014. About 100 dogs have had their day at a pre-Carnival bash in Rio de Janeiro. A 10-man brass band and a singer belting out Rio's anthem song “Cidade Maravilhosa” (Marvelous City) kicked off the four-footed fest as dog owners gathered to party down with pooches on Copacabana beach Sunay. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)