A Serious Thread About Food In Argentina

[TomAtAlki]

Does anyone know a parilla that is of consistently good quality? I tried Parilla Pena, which everyone recommends here, and I found it to be bad. The meats were flavorful and the price reasonable, but the meats were also tough. I tried tabla de achuras (my favorite thing when I go out) at a place recently, which is usually good, and it was not good. One thing I've found is that parillas no longer put salt on the meat. I find this to be outrageous, especially as, when you ask them why they do this, they say, "oh you can put your own salt on it and we don't know how much salt people like and some people are on a diet." Thanks...by this reasoning, all restaurants are excused from seasoning any of their food at any time. I eat mostly at home now.

La Choza Gascon 1701 4833 3334. You usually need reservations or wait for hours. We've been going there for years and still love it.
Nancy

 

[Matt84]

Salt is a public health issue. If you ask for salt, restaurants will provide, but I still usually have to remind them not to salt my meat.

As for a good traditional parrilla, try El Trapiche (Paraguay 5099) in Palermo.

Thanks for Trapiche.
I am the first to complain about too much salt in restaurants (in sauces for instance), but I reckon sometimes meats require being salted (or buttered, etc) before and during cooking.

 

[stapxeab]

Serafina, here is the post I have tried a couple of times to paste up. No luck with IE, had to switch to Foxfire.

Seems like we have wandered many Km from the original topic, so I’ll feel free to jump in with my observations on the local food but not necessarily from a physical health point of view!

Your question deserves a thoughtful answer. Understand that my response is not judgmental, rather based on over 10 years of observation. I am a US transplant who has been coming and going for over 15 years. My wife is an Argentine who has gained some repute as a chef in the US, Mexico and here in Argentina. She is of Italian descent, as are many Argentines.

My wife and I are both ‘foodies’ and are well traveled. Some Argentinians too are well traveled and those who have traveled outside of South America (to locations other than Miami) quickly develop more diverse eating habits. Most Argentinians I have met are quick to learn and are fascinated by the ‘American way’ in most everything except food. Argentines who live outside of Buenos Aires are more finicky about diet than those in the big city here. They are also more polite and respectful than those you find here (in general), but that’s another story!

A study on international eating habits that I found a couple of years ago (and I can’t seem to lay my hands on now) revealed that in the Asian kitchen there were 227 ingredients generally on hand. Compare that to the US kitchen with 127 and finally the Argentinian kitchen with 27, including dulce de leche. My numbers might not be recalled exactly to the unit, but the outcome is clear.

Feeding an Argentine might be compared to having a child who refuses to try new food, in that respect your use of the word ‘infantile’ might fit. My own observation is that Argentines are, for the most part, socially retarded. They have limitations when it comes to expressing themselves and their feelings verbally, witness the custom of beating on pots and pans as a way of expressing their displeasure of government. In this regard I believe they are perhaps not very highly evolved. Their diet is only one manifestation of this. Their driving habits, frequent confrontations between drivers, their short memories for the behavior of their government officials, their own behavior at soccer games and their tendency to ‘squat’ on some piece of ground and call it their own (hence grow the favelas) are others. A major indicator is the number of therapists per capita in Buenos Aires. I could go on.

Their favorite food is what was cooked at home by mom or dad and most shy away from anything the least bit exotic. Exotic to an Argentine is a pretty broad list. Again, those who have not traveled outside of the country are the most reluctant to try new food. They eat the three P’s; pizza, pasta and parilla. I have met Argentines who don’t eat vegetables, period.

Let me share an example from my wife’s family who live in a country town of 100,000 some three hours by car to the West of Buenos Aires. My wife made what we would call a ‘New York style’ cheesecake and served it to the family at her parent’s house. There were perhaps 10 people around the table; mom, dad, sisters, brother, a neighbor or two and some cousins. Everyone cautiously took a bite and seemed to like what they were eating (there is some similarity to the gooey filling of some of the local pastries). Then someone asked what it was made from and when the answer was ‘a type of cheese,’ many stopped eating and pushed their plates away.

Around the same table they had never heard of an ice cream ‘float’ and couldn’t bring themselves to like it, with the exception of a few those in the 10 years and younger group. However, ice cream is quite popular throughout the country among all age groups. But serve ice cream with another staple, CocaCola and they can’t get into the combination.

When we visit my wife’s family the three P’s are served, usually accompanied by the same basic salad with oil and vinegar dressing and some type of vegetable.

As for the parilla; outside of the apartments in high-density Buenos Aires, every house has a parilla and it is the center of activity on weekends, holidays and any family get-together. We would grill chicken, burgers or steaks in the US but here chicken is more expensive than beef and burgers not so common! Also, the British influenced the meat-eating habits in Argentina by shipping all the choice cuts of beef to the motherland, leaving the ‘offals’ (off falls) of the meat to the locals. This was the part of the cow the British didn’t want and what the butcher might toss away or turn into pet food in the US. Thus the locals began to relish the organs and entrails of the beef. At the parilla the only seasoning is salt and on the table everyone relishes the ‘chimichurry’ sauce with the meat, thought to be the invention of the British who created it to replace the curry they used in India. Curry is thought to have been originally used as a way to mask the taste of spoiled food before refrigeration was common, by the way.

Next we have to talk about all the gooey pastries (filled, frosted, baked or layered with dulce de leche) and breads we see in abundance everywhere. There are more pastry shops here than coffee shops in the US. The greatest mystery to me is; “who eats all that stuff’? It can’t possibly be those skinny ladies I see everywhere. In my wife’s family everyone eats the pastry and bread, but the amounts seem to decrease with age until one is perhaps in their sixties, then it starts up again. The young ones and the older ones eat more while those in their 30’s to 50’s just nibble a little.

Wine and baguette style bread is on the table at every meal except breakfast, when those gooey pastries are served. Butter is not on the table, instead there might be a spreadable cheese or some flavored mayonnaise.

There was a time when my wife and I figured the surefire way to create a great business would be to open a nice restaurant in her home town that served something other than the 3P’s. There is one so-called Mexican restaurant there and one place to eat fish. Now we understand that serving curries and sushi in her home town would be the kiss of death. Although, after some coaxing, many of her family will eat and eventually relish these things (more so after they have been to the US to visit and found the horizons of their diets broadened). Even bacon and eggs for breakfast are popular among some who have visited the US and stayed at the Holiday Inn with breakfast included.

So this brings us back to the well-traveled and well-to-do Argentine we find in Buenos Aires. They employ domestic help to mop the floors, wash, cook and serve. What gets cooked is some variation of the three P’s. These more worldly souls support the diversity of restaurants found off of the path of most locals in Buenos Aires. However at home there are less than 27 ingredients in the kitchen because most don’t have a parilla in the apartment, spacious as it might be.

 

[polostar88]

Thanks for Trapiche.
I am the first to complain about too much salt in restaurants (in sauces for instance), but I reckon sometimes meats require being salted (or buttered, etc) before and during cooking.

Third day in a row that I have to eat out and the food is totally without salt in every restaurant for every meal. Even today, I asked them to put salt (in a parilla) and they only applied the lightest touch. Seriously, fuqq them! I'm so tired of this, the dietetica craze is making Argentine food even blander than usual.

There is no sodium public health problem. The govt. in the US and some other countries pushes the myth that sodium is bad for you, when there's no evidence for this, but conformist bots keep repeating it.

The lame dietetica trend in this city is making their already bad food much worse. Dietetica stores full of middle-aged women buying birdseed, soy, and poisoning themselves and their families.

 

[Matt84]

Third day in a row that I have to eat out and the food is totally without salt in every restaurant for every meal. Even today, I asked them to put salt (in a parilla) and they only applied the lightest touch. Seriously, fuqq them! I'm so tired of this, the dietetica craze is making Argentine food even blander than usual.

There is no sodium public health problem. The govt. in the US and some other countries pushes the myth that sodium is bad for you, when there's no evidence for this, but conformist bots keep repeating it.

The lame dietetica trend in this city is making their already bad food much worse. Dietetica stores full of middle-aged women buying birdseed, soy, and poisoning themselves and their families.

ah! i totally agree. Salt and Potassium is what the nervous system is made of, it's not "bad", its misuse is bad. Also there are different kinds of salt and sea salt (or even celery salt) that are required for cooking.
Meats do not contain enough sodium, only vegetables do.
Salting french fries is unnecessary and should be left to the diners discretion. Meats however require salt for curing and cooking properly!
I suspect there's been a cultural revolution in Argentina in the last 10/20 years.
People used to know, instinctively, traditionally, that one should salt the meat way before cooking it, the same way people used to know that banging pots and pans is not a mature political demonstration. But alas, both phenomena are quiet new and resemble an orphan society. Which is worse than infantile.

 

[nlaruccia]

Third day in a row that I have to eat out and the food is totally without salt in every restaurant for every meal. Even today, I asked them to put salt (in a parilla) and they only applied the lightest touch. Seriously, fuqq them! I'm so tired of this, the dietetica craze is making Argentine food even blander than usual.

There is no sodium public health problem. The govt. in the US and some other countries pushes the myth that sodium is bad for you, when there's no evidence for this, but conformist bots keep repeating it.

The lame dietetica trend in this city is making their already bad food much worse. Dietetica stores full of middle-aged women buying birdseed, soy, and poisoning themselves and their families.

I think maybe they don't put a lot of salt on the food because people might complain, which is why they have salt shakers on the table and serve your salad with olive oil and vinegar on the side. I always order a salad in the States and forget to ask them no to dress it and it comes back looking like nasty ranch dressing soup with lettuce floating around in it.

 

[ariel81]

Serafina, here is the post I have tried a couple of times to paste up. No luck with IE, had to switch to Foxfire.

Seems like we have wandered many Km from the original topic, so I’ll feel free to jump in with my observations on the local food but not necessarily from a physical health point of view!

Your question deserves a thoughtful answer. Understand that my response is not judgmental, rather based on over 10 years of observation. I am a US transplant who has been coming and going for over 15 years. My wife is an Argentine who has gained some repute as a chef in the US, Mexico and here in Argentina. She is of Italian descent, as are many Argentines.

My wife and I are both ‘foodies’ and are well traveled. Some Argentinians too are well traveled and those who have traveled outside of South America (to locations other than Miami) quickly develop more diverse eating habits. Most Argentinians I have met are quick to learn and are fascinated by the ‘American way’ in most everything except food. Argentines who live outside of Buenos Aires are more finicky about diet than those in the big city here. They are also more polite and respectful than those you find here (in general), but that’s another story!

A study on international eating habits that I found a couple of years ago (and I can’t seem to lay my hands on now) revealed that in the Asian kitchen there were 227 ingredients generally on hand. Compare that to the US kitchen with 127 and finally the Argentinian kitchen with 27, including dulce de leche. My numbers might not be recalled exactly to the unit, but the outcome is clear.

Feeding an Argentine might be compared to having a child who refuses to try new food, in that respect your use of the word ‘infantile’ might fit. My own observation is that Argentines are, for the most part, socially retarded. They have limitations when it comes to expressing themselves and their feelings verbally, witness the custom of beating on pots and pans as a way of expressing their displeasure of government. In this regard I believe they are perhaps not very highly evolved. Their diet is only one manifestation of this. Their driving habits, frequent confrontations between drivers, their short memories for the behavior of their government officials, their own behavior at soccer games and their tendency to ‘squat’ on some piece of ground and call it their own (hence grow the favelas) are others. A major indicator is the number of therapists per capita in Buenos Aires. I could go on.

Their favorite food is what was cooked at home by mom or dad and most shy away from anything the least bit exotic. Exotic to an Argentine is a pretty broad list. Again, those who have not traveled outside of the country are the most reluctant to try new food. They eat the three P’s; pizza, pasta and parilla. I have met Argentines who don’t eat vegetables, period.

Let me share an example from my wife’s family who live in a country town of 100,000 some three hours by car to the West of Buenos Aires. My wife made what we would call a ‘New York style’ cheesecake and served it to the family at her parent’s house. There were perhaps 10 people around the table; mom, dad, sisters, brother, a neighbor or two and some cousins. Everyone cautiously took a bite and seemed to like what they were eating (there is some similarity to the gooey filling of some of the local pastries). Then someone asked what it was made from and when the answer was ‘a type of cheese,’ many stopped eating and pushed their plates away.

Around the same table they had never heard of an ice cream ‘float’ and couldn’t bring themselves to like it, with the exception of a few those in the 10 years and younger group. However, ice cream is quite popular throughout the country among all age groups. But serve ice cream with another staple, CocaCola and they can’t get into the combination.

When we visit my wife’s family the three P’s are served, usually accompanied by the same basic salad with oil and vinegar dressing and some type of vegetable.

As for the parilla; outside of the apartments in high-density Buenos Aires, every house has a parilla and it is the center of activity on weekends, holidays and any family get-together. We would grill chicken, burgers or steaks in the US but here chicken is more expensive than beef and burgers not so common! Also, the British influenced the meat-eating habits in Argentina by shipping all the choice cuts of beef to the motherland, leaving the ‘offals’ (off falls) of the meat to the locals. This was the part of the cow the British didn’t want and what the butcher might toss away or turn into pet food in the US. Thus the locals began to relish the organs and entrails of the beef. At the parilla the only seasoning is salt and on the table everyone relishes the ‘chimichurry’ sauce with the meat, thought to be the invention of the British who created it to replace the curry they used in India. Curry is thought to have been originally used as a way to mask the taste of spoiled food before refrigeration was common, by the way.

Next we have to talk about all the gooey pastries (filled, frosted, baked or layered with dulce de leche) and breads we see in abundance everywhere. There are more pastry shops here than coffee shops in the US. The greatest mystery to me is; “who eats all that stuff’? It can’t possibly be those skinny ladies I see everywhere. In my wife’s family everyone eats the pastry and bread, but the amounts seem to decrease with age until one is perhaps in their sixties, then it starts up again. The young ones and the older ones eat more while those in their 30’s to 50’s just nibble a little.

Wine and baguette style bread is on the table at every meal except breakfast, when those gooey pastries are served. Butter is not on the table, instead there might be a spreadable cheese or some flavored mayonnaise.

There was a time when my wife and I figured the surefire way to create a great business would be to open a nice restaurant in her home town that served something other than the 3P’s. There is one so-called Mexican restaurant there and one place to eat fish. Now we understand that serving curries and sushi in her home town would be the kiss of death. Although, after some coaxing, many of her family will eat and eventually relish these things (more so after they have been to the US to visit and found the horizons of their diets broadened). Even bacon and eggs for breakfast are popular among some who have visited the US and stayed at the Holiday Inn with breakfast included.

So this brings us back to the well-traveled and well-to-do Argentine we find in Buenos Aires. They employ domestic help to mop the floors, wash, cook and serve. What gets cooked is some variation of the three P’s. These more worldly souls support the diversity of restaurants found off of the path of most locals in Buenos Aires. However at home there are less than 27 ingredients in the kitchen because most don’t have a parilla in the apartment, spacious as it might be.

Im sorry,but to put the US asa a standard for foods,its laughable and pathetic,food is french and spanish,taht is the example.
Americans well traveled?dude,75% of americans never had a passport
I know most of europe,some countries in Latin america,Israel and florida,Im much better traveled than most of your countrimend,and I still enjoy the food we have here

 

[ariel81]

ah! i totally agree. Salt and Potassium is what the nervous system is made of, it's not "bad", its misuse is bad. Also there are different kinds of salt and sea salt (or even celery salt) that are required for cooking.
Meats do not contain enough sodium, only vegetables do.
Salting french fries is unnecessary and should be left to the diners discretion. Meats however require salt for curing and cooking properly!
I suspect there's been a cultural revolution in Argentina in the last 10/20 years.
People used to know, instinctively, traditionally, that one should salt the meat way before cooking it, the same way people used to know that banging pots and pans is not a mature political demonstration. But alas, both phenomena are quiet new and resemble an orphan society. Which is worse than infantile.

If you put salt way before cooking the meat,it takes away the juices.

 

[Girino]

I was shuffling through a book called "manual del asador" or something similar and they squared the salt issue saying it has to be put after grilling the meat. Personally, I always add salt after cooking the meat unless the recipe calls otherwise (such as for cuts cooked under a crust of salt, or when cooking meat with a sauce, such as for goulash).

I don't like salty or sweeter foods and I think that generally speaking, here food is more salty and sweeter than what I am used to. However there are other factors that weigh in the discussion about how much salty is too salty. For example smokers develop a different taste, my parents are both heavy smokers and they put too much condiments on their food for my taste. Another factor is personal sensitivity: when I dinner with a too salty meal, I get up at night to drink and this pisses me off a lot.

I don't understand why in Argentina they use sunflower seed oil on salad, it is tasteless and just help to swallow the bite without adding any flavor.


I agree with stap about feeding Argentines= feeding children. There are many ice cream shops but the flavours are very mixed ups, rarely are about basic flavours such as milk, chocolate, fruit - rather they are a mix of 3-4 ingredients of low quality and they taste like industrial snacks for children.

One day I served home made ice cream (milky flavour) with hot coffee and my guests never saw such a thing. Also, the type of ice cream cups they serve here is very limited.

I too noticed a very low consumption of vegetables, although if you ask them they reply they eat plenty. However when you start asking about specific vegetables they start saying this no, that no, this one I don't like, the other one gives them a strange reaction, etc. basically it is all potato, tomato and green salad.

Bottom line: argentines lack curiosity and fantasy in their cuisine.

 

[ariel81]

Im sorry,but what ice cream shops dont have basic tastes?all have strawberry ,pinneaple,lemon,orange,peach,and many more without milks
also,all have ddl,chocolate,crream,vanilla,and many plain more.
Agree about the smokers,I used to be one.
Sunflower oil is much cheaper than olive oil,simple as that,and years ago,olive oil was really expensive.