An Argentine Food Primer

Restaurant "Butterfly" - Patagonia

 

Introduction

The Argentine lifestyle straddles both the Old and the New Worlds. Argentines never go out to dinner before 10:00 pm in the summer, and habitually stay out with friends through the early hours of the morning.

As tired as they might be from a late Saturday outing, however, they wouldn’t dare skip their mother’s Sunday family lunch: It’s a sacred tradition ingrained in a country where most people live and die in the same town where they are born.

Francis Mallmann - Argentine Cheff

 

 In Argentina, meat has always been at the center of every meal. Most Argentine beef is reared in the pampas, which includes parts of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Cordoba and Santa Fe Provinces. The secret of Argentine beef is the grass-fed tranquility in which the animals are reared, which, according to chef Francis Mallmann, makes the meat more delicious. “they are less stressed’ Mallmann says, there is no negative energy in their bodies”. In fact, Argentine beef does not need to be aged to acquire the tender mouthfeel that we like in oour beef, because the cows are slaughtered at a younger age and don’t require all the fat that corn-fed animals need in order to have tender, juicy meat.

 

 

Bariloche - Argentine Patagonia

 

Nahuel Huapi Lake - Bariloche - Argentina

 

Patagonia is home to Argentina’s best lamb and wild game – deer, duck and wild rabbits – and the place where many Swiss and German immigrants settled. A typical meal at the famed Llao Llao Hotel in Bariloche, Patagonia, is a wild-meats charcuterie plate, followed by several versions of wooden platter of grilled venison and lamb, sauteed wild mushrooms, and garden potatoes. On the esatern Atlantic Coast of Patagonia there is an abundance of oysters, mussels and king crab.

Empanadas Salteñas - Argentine North-West.

  

Salta
In Salta, everything (including the aromatic Torrontes white wine varietal ) is about spices and aromas. The classic empanadas of Salta are a bit spicy, with lots of onions and raisins. The humitas (corn on its husks) is made with red pepper flakes. Cumin is added to almost every dish. This spiciness is unusual for Argentina, where most people prefer their food not too spicy – the main flavorings being olive oil and garlic.

Torrontes - White Wine produced in Cafayate - Salta.

Mendoza  

 

In Mendoza City, that would be two places: Don Mario and La Barra. Mendoza, Salta and Patagonia, Argentina’s premium wine producing regions, each have their own local specialties. Mendoza is known for its empanadas, which are often made with chunks of meat rathern than ground meat. Because olive trees grow abundantly in Mendoza and were planted in home gardens and vinyeards by the Spanish and Italian immigrants, olives are a part of every appetizer dish and are used flavorful in Mendoza, so most people in the countryside make their own jams, preservers and dried fruits to eat in winter.

Buenos Aires

Although Buenos Aires is the capital of beef, which such famous traditional eateries as La Brigada in San Telmo and Cabana las Lilas in Puerto Madero and La Dorita in Palermo, every Argentine town claims its own best place for asado (barbecue).

In Buenos Aires, celebrity chefs routinely open venues and constantly dream up innnovative concepts in food and ambiance. The most trendy and fashionable neighborhood in Buenos Aires is Palermo Viejo – recnetly subdivided into Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood. Only ten years ago, Palermo was a seleepy part of town filled with run-down European-style houses built in the early part of the 20^th century. Today, many of the neighborhood’s grand old homes have been restored, and Palermo’s vibrant community comprises dozens of cutting-edge restaurants, boutique hotels and the latest in fashion and design.

Tegui - Buenos Aires

Inovative Argentine Cuisine

In Buenos Aires:

Downtown: Tomo 1. 
Recoleta:  Tarquino.
Palermo: Tierra Adentro and HG.
Palermo Hollywood: Tegui; Per Se.
Puerto Madero: Osaka and The Faena Hotel.
La Boca: Patagonia Sur.

In Mendoza:

Seven Fires ( Francis Mallmann )

Nadia OF.

In Bariloche:

Butterfly

Cassis
Il Gabbiano

For further information, contact us and we will be glad to share our list of favorite restaurants with you.