La Parrilla

Classic Argentinian cuisine consists of a small set of staples, but the most important and most indicative of the country as a whole is the Argentinian grill - la parrilla (pronounced par-i-sha). Though very European, filled with pizzerias and pasta shops, Buenos Aires would not be Buenos Aires without the strong presence of the parrilla. So basically, meat. Lots and lots of meat.

When you sit down for a meal at a parrilla, the first thing to notice is the menu. In general, the main course section is a list of cuts of beef with a few chicken and pork choices thrown in. There is a long list of sides and usually salads (which are mostly create-your-own) and starters. There are many choices within these categories, but not much else outside them. When ordering a meal, one should also know that one order of meat is generally enough for an eater like me and an eater like my husband. Parrillas also run the gamut on niceness - some are 5-star affairs which require nicer clothes than anything that fit in my backpack for this trip and some are stands where you pour on chimichurri from a squeeze bottle and sit on the riverwalk. We've been to a bunch of different ones and they all have there own unique flavor of Argentina.

Over the last few weeks, we've figured out that a starter, a choice of meat, a side, a salad, and a bottle of wine is just fine for a meal where you are full but not in need of a taxi to get home. And what self-respecting Argentinian would even dare to leave a meal like this without a dessert (not Jorge).

I don't know if Ive had such good steak as I've had in Buenos Aires. Below is a list of our favorite parrillas we've been to so far.

T-Bone
Malabia and Santa Fe, Palermo

The steak we had at T-Bone was probably the most tender of all. It was cooked to medium, which is a hard goal to hit in Argentina as it seems most people like their meat much more well done than this. We also had a huge plate of fried potatoes and a provoleta, which is a small wheel of provolone cheese thats been baked with salt and served warm and gooey. The whole meal, wine included, was about USD$45.


Su Parrillon
Costanera in Puerto Madero

In general, I'm not a huge fan of eating street meat, but I decided to throw caution to the wind when we walked along the river in Puerto Madero (the really new modern section of BA on the river, lots of highrises). There were at least 20 different outdoor cafes, all serving similar style meats on the grill, drinks, and toppings. For just USD$7 total, we each had churrasquito (thinly sliced sirloin) and a pear soda. The sandwiches were gigantic, fresh, delicious, and slathered with chimichurri and pickled onions.


El Palacio de la Papa Frita
La Valle

This was actually the first meal we had after arriving in Buenos Aires. Our friend Jorge took us here as a welcome meal as they are well known for their papas souffle, which are cold thin cut potatoes flash fried in super hot oil until they puff up like pillows of air. They were a nice treat, especially since fried potatoes are like crack for me. This was also my introduction to real Argentinian chimichurri - made of parsley, vinegar, garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt, and olive oil. Its so much better than ketchup. Who knew.


El Estrebe
Pena and Pueyrredon, Recoleta

We came here for lunch one day since it was a national holiday and everything was closed but restaurants. The thing that stood out to us about this meal was not only the amount of filet we were served as supposedly a single portion (both of us couldn't finish our halves), but how good the sides were. Instead of the standard salad and fried potato route, we indulged on a baked onion stuffed with ham, tomato, and cheese, and fluffy mashed potatoes. I was skeptical at first about the onion but seriously, it was awesome. I mean really, whats to dislike about onion, ham, and cheese.


and drumroll please....of course I've saved the best for last....

Don Julio
Gurruchaga and Guatemala, Palermo

This has been, by far, our most favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires. It is only a block from our apartment so we have no problem getting so full that both of us need to crawl home. We've been twice already and plan to go back once more before we leave for Bariloche.

And before I explain the food, just know even Matt said "Wow, this is awesome." So thats saying something.

The steak has been the most flavorful out of all that we've had. The salads are fresh and healthful and the chimichurri is spicy without overpowering the herbacious flavors. We've gotten the same wine both times as it is the most impressive bottle we've met thus far.(Its imported to the US, I HIGHLY recommend trying it)

For Aaron and everyone else who is curious, this is the wine:
Aguijon de Abeja

All for under $55 (seriously, i attached proof), we got: an enormous amount of skirt steak, a fresh green salad, warm fresh bread, chorizo with sun dried tomatoes, fried potatoes, a bottle of the awesome wine, flan, and a glass of malamado, Argentina's port-style dessert wine.



aaand proof. FYI, $4 pesos = USD$1