Looking for a Burger!

Real cheddar cheese is readily available at specialty cheese shops such "al quso queso" which are all over Barrio Norte. I've even found it at Disco and it is definitely NOT processed. Supermarket cheese is generally poor - tends to be the Dutch style that has a long shelf life. However some fine cheeses are made in Tandil, a prosperous farming town in the province of BA. They can be found here. Try the cheese shop at Patio Bullrich, for example. As for produce here, I find it quite inferior to what can be found in farmers markets, specialty shops or good super markets in the US. Lettuce is a prime example. There are fewer varieties here and it is generally quitre "picked over" and wilted. About taste in food, Argentines just don't care for spicy food. I think it has something to do with the confirmist attitudes that abound here. People just go with the flow and are disinclined to experiment.

 

[JG]

thanks for the tips. sounds like most are over a half hour away from where i live. i agree with the posters who found the ground beef low quality. it didnt take me long to reach the same conclusion. In short, they use the "cheap stuff". Regarding Argentinian products being bland, i agree with that too. they sugar it up, water it way down and then add some more sugar, heheh. why? its cheaper that way. people have different tastes naturally, but as this is an expat group, i think im not the only one who has this take on things while Portenños dont seem to like to think outside of the box.

 

[chris]

Latin Americans generally like sweets. Sugar is cheap and it is something that everyone can afford. It is really had to find a good bakery here. Pastry tends to be dense, little butter is used and items are often not very fresh. A British writer who came here a few years commented that the pastry in the windows of bakeries ´yearned to be Viennese´. With few exceptions, if you want nice pastry here you have to bake it yourself. As for hamburgers, they just aren't an important part of the Argentine diet. A quick look at ground beef in the supermarket will tell you that it is poor quality.

 

[bacanuck]

Hi to all,

I´ve already posted information about the Alamo in Recoleta. I am working there and am personally in charge of assuring that the North American food options we offer are authentic. About two weeks ago I decided that our hamburger was just not up to par and put on a cook´s apron and showed the guys in the kitchen how to make the hamburger that my mom used to make for me in Canada. It is the best hamburger in the city. I´ve been to Kansas and I admit that they do some things very well(the ribs!) but at The Alamo, we kick their ass in Hamburgers, wings and Nachos. Come give it a try. Uruguay 1175(between Sta Fe and Arenales) Also, it won´t cost you 15 pesos! (Basic burger-9pesos, pint of quilmes-5 pesos and all north american sports. Hope to see you all soon

 

Tried El Alamo on your recommendation. Burger now 11 pesos, not 9. Better than average but I tasted bread filler - not the way to make a hamburger. Quality gound beef is all you need. Friendly staff but place lacks atmosphere. Too bad the owners can't figure out that the US has some interesting regional food. A little imagination is needed.

 

[Harold]

http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar/list.php?navby=Cocina&parname;=Norteamericana∥=36&filter;=

Here is a link from one of the forums that lists a ranking of 'American' food. Though I would be interested if any of them has any pork BBQ (either vinegar or tomato) or sweet tea.

Harold

 

[nashorama]

Harold, et al:

We have yet to try the Alamo, it will happen, but my Argentine friends (especially my squeeze) enjoy the food at both Kansas restaurants. Bacanuck is correct that the burgers at Kansas begin at 15 Pesos. Argentines like a fried egg on their burgers, which is not as unusual in the USA or Canada as some might think. It's an old trend from the 30s and 40s. But the fried egg will cost an extra Peso, extra condiments are a Peso, and anything out of the usual that's going to take extra time will cost an extra Peso.

Kansas does have baby back pork ribs with a sweet tomato sauce. They aren't the same as you'll find in the south, but close. However, they do not have dry rub ribs. Only ribs covered in a sweet tomato vinegrette sauce. As for iced tea, I've yet to find a place that offers it. Argentines balk at the idea of tea being cold. I wish I could take my friends to Luby's in south central Texas where the waitresses come by every five seconds to refill you ice tea and drawl "Sweet or unsweet?" Personally, I'm into unsweet. I make my own ice tea at home and no one ever bothers the giant ice tea jar in the fridge, but they sure complain about how much space it takes up.

Good luck on your search.

Kansas has mild competition in San Ysidro called Dallas. However, the food at Dallas really sucks. Very uneven quality and service. I recommend you try Kansas early on a Saturday around 2:00 in the afternoon. By 2:30 both restaurants in San Ysidro and in BA on Liberador are packed and there is often a 20 to 30 minute wait for a table. They don't take reservations.

 

[Slush]

I don't know about the food at Dallas because I've never been there, but you might want to know that there's been a huge boycott of that restaurant because the owner, Horacio Conzi, shot and killed an innocent kid because he happened to have the misfortune of leaving the restaurant with a young woman the owner was interested in. The owner followed them in a rage and actually fired numerous shots at the remise the girl was traveling in, with no concern whatsoever for human life. The driver of the remise was also shot, and the brother of the murderer--a co-owner of Dallas--paid the driver $35,000 for a bullet removed from his butt in order to "prove his brother's innocence." Fortunately, the killer was recently condemned to 25 years in prison.

 

[nashorama]

Dear Slush:

That's good information to be aware of. As a graduate of UT Austin, we never much cared for Dallas anyway. Beetz and Cheese Whiz, what an amazingly tragic incident?

Thanks for the info