Eating Around Buenos Aires
Dulce de Leche is beloved in Buenos Aires.
getty
Dining doesn't get a lot more fun than it can be in the back streets—and broad boulevards—of Buenos Aires. A couple of things set this magnificent city apart from other destinations and they include a remarkable history of immigration, mostly from Spanish and Italian settlers. It has also included numerous Armenians and Jews from a number of culinarily interesting countries; access to incredible grass-fed beef; a fascination with ice cream and dulce de leche-based desserts.
Argentine food is very meat-forward, although more vegetarians are emerging in this country. The natives also love to put cheese on everything. That, oddly, includes cream cheese which was even given to us on the national airlines on the flight down.
The seminal dishes are almost always empanadas to start, as a snack or a meal or culinary introduction to the country. I found a smaller range of flavors this trip than previously: it was mostly meat, ham and cream and the odd Caprese which is mozzarella and tomato in an empanada casing. Steaks are always divine: ask for medium rare if you want it as the Argentines tend to overlook their steaks (based on previous concerns with food safety).
Matambre is thinly cut slice of beef and Milanesa is a classic Austrian Schnitzel. It can be made of veal, beef or chicken. Add tomato sauce, cheese and ham and call it a Napolitana while you are down here. It is delicious but not ideal for everyday consumption.
I took my first food tour in Tbilisi Georgia with Culinary Backstreets. It was actually a fun introduction to seminal dishes from the country and let me spend time with an interesting woman and get to know her country better through our discussions. I did another one in Buenos Aires, with a young lady named Lucy, and it was also a good introduction to classic dishes here. We started out with pizza, did down some steaks and ended up with with gelato. The whole tour took place in Palmero, a trendy area in the center of Buenos Aires.
This area is a great place to wander and eat, as are the equally trendy 'hoods of San Telmo and Recoleta. San Telmo is as famous for its Sunday, meat-heavy brunches as it is for its antiques flea market. As the neighborhood has gotten trendier the shopping has become less interesting. However, I really enjoyed a simple meal at Cafe Rivas on a quiet corner.
The burger is a stunner at the Four Seasons.
Liza B. Zimmerman
Recoleta is a hotbed of fancy hotels, great restaurants and the cemetery where Evita Peron is buried to top it off. The Four Seasons Buenos Aires Hotel here has a lovely bar space and a sun-filled dining room restaurant that goes by the name of Elena. Major cuts of meat are always in play here (and sometimes you can get the great burger from the bar). The sommeliers also know their way around an unusual glass or wine or two.
Because Argentina has many fewer laws about how food and wine can be sold so the country is home to many lovely Puerta Cerradas, or 'closed doors,' which is a restaurant that is operated in someone's home. It is a chance for local chefs and sommeliers to share their visions on local food and open their spaces to guests.
Santiago at Casa Coupage.
Casa Coupage
One of the more interesting ones I went to was Casa Coupage, owned by Santiago Mymicopulo and his partner Inés Mendieta. Their beautiful bi-level home is hidden on a backstreet in Palermo. The couple focuses on modern Argentine cuisine and unusual Argentine wines such as older vintages and blends. Mymicopulo likes to taste them blind, which is always humbling.
It is easy to go crazy eating the potentially best steak in the world down here. Two of the more notable, and expensive, options are Fogón Assado and the Palermo in the Faena Hotel, in the eponymous hotel that also exists in Miami. Both serve over-the-top steak-a-ramas with multiple cuts of meat and local wines. Either would be a fitting beginning or end of a trip.
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