Buenos Aires is like no other city I’ve been to. I was told to expect a city quite like Paris with its wide boulevards and fashionable apartments overlooking the chicest shopping areas. While it’s true that Buenos Aires has both those features, it has a whole other vibe than Paris, especially when it comes to food.
Where Paris seems to quietly evoke its culinary superiority, Buenos Aires jumps out right in your face, and begs you to love her. She’ll leave you screaming for more.
The abundance doesn’t stop at the dinner plate either. Architecturally, it’s the kind of place where fanciful Belle Époque curlicues dance next to boxy concrete apartment buildings whose heavy edifices keep both feet firmly planted on the ground.
Most of the food I’ve enjoyed here follows this same fanciful/utilitarian dichotomy. Lunches particularly can be hours long affairs, spent lingering over a simple but impeccably grilled steak with all the accompaniments including dessert, coffee and of course wine.
It’s a major metropolitan area, so you find all kinds of food. However, in general the food is heavily Italian-influenced, with undeniable Spanish flair and uniquely South American ingredients. First and foremost among these ingredients is beef.
Argentina is a beef capital of the world. They have galloped their way to the world’s second highest consumption rate of beef. I’ve heard it said that the only part of the cow that Argentinos won’t eat is the moo. So it’s safe to say that they know how to cook a cow. The restaurants where they cook that cow are known as parrillas, or grill restaurants They are seemingly everywhere. They specialize in grilled beef, but also serve lamb, chicken, pork, offal, and more types of sausages than you’ve ever imagined. All accompanied by world class Malbec wine. You’ll want to make time for at least one evening of meat debauchery when in Buenos Aires.
