A Serious Thread About Food In Argentina

[TomAtAlki]

Dinner for 2 in a nice restaurant (but not the nicest) in Seattle, including an okay, not great bottle of wine, watching prices, sharing, will be a minimum of $100. In BsAs using the same criteria (you really don't need to watch the prices) the bill is half that.
Nancy

 

[camberiu]

Ahaha yeah, I have heard Argentines complain about the food in Brazil, too. I was just in Buzios and Rio for two weeks and high cost aside, I loved a lot of the food, but remain perplexed at the habit of providing both white rice and french fries as side dishes--I don't care for either, but also, why?? I get that carbs are cheap, but both? Also, I didn't get the appeal of mandioca flour, which is served along with the rice and fries.

Not a huge fan of the carb overload either. This is done to accommodate the people from northern Brazil and their descedents that moved to the South.

Anyway, the pay-per-kilo places were where we ate half the time and I was pleased that I could fill half a plate with fresh vegetables and that there were plenty of protein options--black beans, fish, chicken, beef, etc. Actually, the best meal we ate the whole trip was probably the pay-per-kilo place in Buzios in the center that specialized in food from Minas Gerais. The stews were outstanding and I was pretty blown away in terms of quality, freshness and generally amazing flavors. The second best pay-per-kilo place was at the bottom of a favela we toured. Excellent food. Go figure.

In general, eating out in Brazil is ridiculously expensive, so you will get the best bang for the buck on the per-kilo places. And the good thing is that you will find plenty of fresh vegetables that you can eat as much as you'd like.

My rule for Latin American food in general is that the more indigenous and/or African influence in the area, the better the food. So it's little wonder that the food in Buenos Aires consumed by the masses generally sucks.

That is a good rule. The puzzling thing is that Italians and Iberians have a great culinary and it is both surprising and shocking that we don't see that tradition manifest itself in Argentina.

 

[arnolddavid]

For the past 8 years I have lived in Bs As part of the year (4 months per). Previously, I lived in Rio the other months, but have now returned to NYC. In my opinion, the availability of some food products is limited in BA, but this limitation isn't so severe as to constitute a determinant or even a catalyst for obesity or an unhealthy diet. Personal choices can still determine the level of nutrition/health of one's diet (I can live without peanut butter, fresh crab, and cranberry juice).
As for cost, even with the blue falling to 14+, dining out in BA is dirt cheap compared to NYC (any of the boroughs). My favorite restaurant in BA is Tomo Uno. The 3 course prix fix (as of 2 months ago) was 350 pesos with wine (several glasses). Even if the price has increased to 420 (30 USD), that's about 1/4 of what a similar dining experience would cost in Manhattan. A 3 course dinner at La Grenouille (a reasonable analog) cost $106 - without wine. With this kind of price differential I don't mind the absence of some food items in BA.
p.s. Late dining much more detrimental than the absence of certain food items. See

[background=rgb(255, 255, 255)]http://www.nytimes.c...ght.html?src=me[/background]

 

[Ries]

Yes, you are correct. The top Thai restaurant in NYC (and probably of the United States) costs about the same as a "nice" restaurant in BA.

Thai food in the USA is usually fast, cheap, and decent- but hardly gourmet. I have seen a few real gourmet Thai places- and they cost a lot more.
My local Thai place is similarly priced- but its simple, plastic tablecloths, plastic cups, not equivalent to someplace like Astor or Cafe San Jan or Caseros- all of which are nice places, with excellent food, prepared by worldly professional chefs, for LESS than my local greasy spoon Thai place.
Real gourmet restaurants in NYC, or even in podunk rural Washington, where I live, cost triple or more what a similar meal costs in BsAs.

 

[Girino]

My in-laws in Colombia do not drink water. It's soda and juice, all the time.

I don't know about Argentinians and South Americans about drinks, but I have noticed that there are many many youngsters with bad teeth or missing teeth, even the frontal ones. I think this is a result of bad eating, rather than a lack of personal hygiene.

I also noticed that here often people don't mind sharing fork/spoon or the bottle/bombilla which I find horrendous. I still remember the ads on the NY subway warning about mother-to-son dental decay.

 

[sergio]

Camberiu, i don't think that cheap or average restaurants are usually "gourmet" anywhere in the world though I have found Italy to have a high standard in general. On the high and expensive end the US can be very gourmet with New York very likely the gastronomic center of the world. I also find that you can get cheap meals in the US that are very tasty and affordble. I remember a fabulous fresh turkey, not turkey loaf, sandwich at an urban US farmers' market, for example. You can find a lot of this sort of food in the US if you look. I don't think that Argentines look for good food when they are abroad. Few can afford high end restaurants to begin with. They stick with fast food, not knowing or maybe caring about alternatives. Even people I know who have enough money don't seem to eat in good places when they are in New York or Miami. It leads me to think that despite their protestations, most Argentines don't care that much about food. They like their culinary mediocrity and recoil at the idea of eating anything new or, God forbid, spicy. I know that sushi has caught on among a mostly elite group and there are definitely more ethnic restaurants than ever before in BA but for a city that fancies itself "European" and cosmopolitan, there is a long way to go. Having said that, I do regret the disappearance of the old style parrilla where waiters in white jackets with brass buttons served with a napkin over their arms.

 

[Ries]

I consider myself to be pretty "serious" about food, where ever I go.
That means I read a lot, study what is local and available, and do a lot of on the ground research (that means eating) where ever in the world I go.

I dont think you can be "serious" about food in Argentina, if you only go by anecdotal stories about what Miguel's cousins eat.

I dont go out and spend $500 pesos per person at the top gourmet restaurants in Buenos Aires, and I dont go to Million and order a 200 peso drink.
I think its perfectly possible to not spend a fortune, and still eat well in Buenos Aires- it takes some research, of course- reading websites like Pick up the Fork, going to the new organic and farmers markets, but there is a reward for doing it-
I have tasted wonderful artisan chimichurri, many new microbrews, fresh from the farm produce, meat, and dairy, and great cured meats and cheeses.

Its all out there to find, both buying ingredients and eating at restaurants, if you are "serious".

But its a lot easier to go to the corner bar, order a milanesa, and complain.

I have had some of the best meals of my life in Buenos Aires, and I have traveled a lot- my standards are high.

There was that one night, when we were the only couple there, a Moreneta de Montserrat, for dinner- it was incredible. The two owners met when they were both working at El Bulli, and they can really cook. Unfortunately, they dont do dinner anymore, but their simple, cheap, lunches are always sublime.

But there is a lot more out there, and more every month.

 

[Girino]

Moreneta de Montserrat

I have marked that, can't wait to try it.

What veggies are typical of Argentina and how do you use them?
For example, platano is good fried, makes a nice side dish.
I can't understand the difference between the many kind of pumpkins here. Which one is used for the puré de calabaza?

What do you put inside a tamale?
I have introduced boiled corn-cobs with a hint of butter, they are yummy. We have corn in Italy but it was never eaten in my home, so this is new to me.

 

[nlaruccia]

I have marked that, can't wait to try it.

What veggies are typical of Argentina and how do you use them?
For example, platano is good fried, makes a nice side dish.
I can't understand the difference between the many kind of pumpkins here. Which one is used for the puré de calabaza?

What do you put inside a tamale?
I have introduced boiled corn-cobs with a hint of butter, they are yummy. We have corn in Italy but it was never eaten in my home, so this is new to me.

I've never seen tamales in Buenos Aires, but in Salta they put ground beef in them. Pure de calabaza is made with calabaza. I never understood why they call pumpkin zapallo, and squash calabaza. Is it reversed in Argentina? They typically make roasted bell peppers with olive oil and garlic, and most parillas have verduras asadas (roasted red bell peppers, egg plants, zapallito, carrots, and onions) with olive oil on it. They use acelga in everything. I don't know how they can eat it, it's too bitter. Spinach is so much tastier. Green leafy vegetables, brocolli, green beans are not used much in Argentine dishes. They seem to eat mostly starchy vegetables: potatoes, squash, pumpkin, and corn. I love when they want to make something spicy they add nutmeg to make it extra special. LOL.

 

[nlaruccia]

I have marked that, can't wait to try it.

What veggies are typical of Argentina and how do you use them?
For example, platano is good fried, makes a nice side dish.
I can't understand the difference between the many kind of pumpkins here. Which one is used for the puré de calabaza?

What do you put inside a tamale?
I have introduced boiled corn-cobs with a hint of butter, they are yummy. We have corn in Italy but it was never eaten in my home, so this is new to me.

This webpage with Argentine cooking might interest you.

http://www.cocinerosargentinos.com/recetas/19/2112/Regionales/Tamales-catamarqueos.html