Argentina For The Gourmet Traveler

Popular Foods & National Cuisine

Alfajors, Asado, Beef, Dulce De Leche, Empanadas, Pastas

Popular Beverages & National Drinks

Yerba Mate, Wine

Best Dining Destinations

Buenos Aires, Mar Del Plata

Foods

Alfajors

These tasty cookie type treats are the mainstay of Argentine snacking. Generally alfajors consist of thick dulce de leche sandwiched between two cookie wafers. To add a finishing touch, they are coated with either chocolate or a sugary glaze.

Asado

Argentine BBQ is known as asado. Anyone and everyone who has access to a grill, or parrilla, will most likely prepare an asado at least once a week or month, depending on weather and available time. If one does not have a grill, then any parrilla restaurant will suffice. Asado consists of various meats and sausages cooked on a grill over wooden coals. Side dishes may include various salads and french-fried potatoes, with a good red wine being the beverage of choice. This is no light event like throwing some steaks onto a grill and serving them twenty minutes later. Preparing an asado takes time and skill to satisfy the hungers of all involved. If you ever attend one as a guest at someone's residence, prepare to spend at least half the day enjoying good company, good food, and good wine.

Beef

Argentina is best-known as the beef capital of the world. More beef is consumed per capita here than in any other part of the world. Except for a few, most cuts of beef in Argentina differ than elsewhere in the world. This might come as confusing to some when trying to order a steak at parrilla, steakhouse. Parrillas that are more tourist-oriented may have chart or descriptions in English to help you decide. Some of the larger establishments even go so far as to bringing out examples for you to decide with your own eyes! The portions are large and the meat juicy, and if you don't have a huge appetite you might want to order one portion for two.

Example cuts of meat.

Bife De Chorizo - A sirloin cut similar to New York strip.

Bife De Lomo - Filet Mignon

Matambre - Thin flank steak, most of the time this meat is rolled into a log shape with various fillings.

Costillas - Ribs

Dulce De Leche

Dulce De Leche is the most popular sweet known to the Argentines and is becoming quite popular around the world these days. Translated to "milk jam", this caramel type sauce, is composed of milk and sugar that is slowly boiled into a thick and creamy paste. Argentines will spread it on almost any sweet deserts or snacks such as: cookies, alfajors, cakes, toast, crackers, pancakes, and various other pastries.

Empanadas

Empanadas are half-moon shaped pastries that are filled with many ingredients like meats, vegetables, cheeses, and spices. The most popular variety is the meat-filled empanada that consists of ground beef, olives, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, and spices. Another popular one is the humita, that is filled with a creamy mixture of corn, cheese, nutmeg, and thick white sauce. Most restaurants and cafes will serve small versions as an appetizer when ordering a large lunch or dinner.

Pastas

Due to the heavy mixture and influence of immigrants from Italy, pasta is very common dish in Argentina. Almost all restaurants and cafes will offer a small selection of fresh pastas on their menu. In Buenos Aires, every few blocks or so, you can find a small pasta shop that prepares numerous varieties of fresh pastas and sauces to feed the Argentine's hungers. Many will enjoy a pasta lunch or dinner on the weekends. On the 29th of each month, they celebrate what is called Noquis day and very pasta shop will offer large quantities of noquis, or potato pasta.

Drinks

Yerba Mate

Mate is widely considered the national beverage in Argentina. You will find people drinking this tea at various times throughout the day at home or on the surrounding streets and parks. To enjoy mate as it is intended to be enjoyed, you need: yerba, a mate, and a bombilla. Yerba is the herb tea leaves that make up this strong beverage. A mate is the container, usually a gourd or wooden cup, where the yerba is placed. The bombilla is a metal straw used to ingest the tea. Yerba mate can either be enjoyed alone or with a group of friends, with the same mate being passed around for all to share. Newcomers might find this tea extremely strong and bitter, but after a few attempts it becomes quite addicting. The yerba leaves are known for their high-caffeine and medicinal values, and is claimed to be the best remedy for digestive problems.

Wine

Argentine wine is another popular beverage that until now, had largely stayed within the borders due to the fact that everyone was consuming it all. Numerous wineries are located in the western valleys of Argentina with Mendoza and Rio Negro as the largest production areas. Due to the increase in exportation, the rest of the world is starting to become aware of the superior quality that Argentine wines have to offer. Malbec is the most popular and widely consumed varietal, and if you happen to travel to Argentina, you will definitely need to sample this superb red wine.

Destinations

Dining out in Buenos Aires

If one of your travel interests when traveling to Buenos Aires, or Argentina for that matter, is to taste the large cuts of beef or Italian, wine, and Spanish or Italian influenced dishes, you are in for a huge treat. If you are expecting a huge array of internationally specialized cuisine such as Asian, Mexican, Caribbean, etc. think again. For the size and immigrated influences of Argentina, there are not that many choices outside of the standard fare. The foreign-theme restaurants that do exist are few and far between and are more accommodated to fit the Argentine tastes than anything else. However times are changing and more people are willing to experiment with foods outside of their own culture.

Not having such a wide selection is good, since there are so many local variations of dishes, you can hardly ever get bored. However, if you intend to stay in Argentina for a long period of time, it would be nice to have a break sometimes.

Most locals restaurants, particularly the hundreds of corner cafes that populate the city offer almost the same fare: various grilled meats, pastas, pizza, empanadas, some seafood, and salads.