The worst pizza in the world?

[sergio]

I don't think Argentina 'meat' (by that you presumably mean beef) is so fantastic anymore. It used to be but I've watched the transformation from exclusively grass fed to almost exclusively feed lot produced beef. Some expats will blow up at this statement but I'm traveling in the US at the moment and I've had some great beef here. Some came from deluxe butchers, some from the supermarket and some at good restaurants. In general I'd say that what I've been eating here is better than most beef I eat in Argentina. If you've been following agricultural trends in Argentina you'll know that grass fed has been largely replaced by chemical fed feed lot beef. Your taste buds, however, should be telling you that something is amiss.

 

[fedecc]

Feed lots represent 30-40 % of argentine meat production.

 

[perry]

Good post and agreed with Sergio about the meat which has greatly gone downhill since 2002 . There is more than 70 percent of all meat now feed lot in Argentina and this is a sad situation as the flavour is certainly much worse these days.

I now only buy grass fed meat at high price via premium brands and at a high cost of 40 pesos a kilo . Is it worth it damn right it is.

 

[emilyr]

Also On my last trip Capt Dave introduced me to a place in Palermo in Santa Fe ave called Kentucky........perhaps if Everything in Argentina is so bad you should go home or something. I dont mean this to be mean but come on.

I have been to Pizza Kentucky (there is also one on Billibghurst and Corrientes). I am from Kentucky...hailing from Louisville with the Derby horses that are displayed in Pizza Kentucky's window. So I walked in and showed the mozo my passport with this whole naive fantasy that he would, I don't know, hug me and say, "Welcome home, child! Let's talk about the Bluegrass, mint juleps, horses, Appalachia, banjos, and...the annual Lebowski Fest." No, no, he gave me a strange look and said, "It's just the name." He crushed my fantasy, and broke my heart.

That aside, the pizza at Pizza Kentucky is tasty, but it does not scratch my PIZZA ITCH. In fact, I don't consider it pizza...but almost like another kind of pizza-like dish that is tasty but not exactly pizza..to ME.

I am really happy in Buenos Aires. My boyfriend and I have a "date" at LEAST once a week where we walk blocks and blocks until we stop for a delicious ice cream. I also enjoy the onda of the restaurants where you can often just sit talking and drinking for hours after finishing eating without being rushed or pushed, the big glass bottles of beer. I love the onda of the verdurarias and the dirty buildings...but we can still be happy here and MISS things we ALSO love. And I miss PIZZA!

 

[objectiveous]

Some of you might find this article interesting: "Export-Oriented Populism: Commodities and Coalitions in Argentina"[1]

The reality of grain vs. grass feed is more complicated that people might first imagine. I was surprised, after reading this [2] report.


[1] http://www.springerlink.com/content/ew713354qt7801l6/fulltext.pdf
[2] http://home.stat-usa.gov/agworld.nsf/505c55d16b88351a852567010058449b/0674b0e8aaf4f5cc852576640047d8ad/$FILE/AR20090929A.PDF

 

[mini]

I now only buy grass fed meat at high price via premium brands and at a high cost of 40 pesos a kilo . Is it worth it damn right it is.

How do you know which is grass fed? I have read the labels of the expensive beef and it doesn't say that it's grass fed. Do you have any brands or butcher recommendations?

 

[objectiveous]

How do you know which is grass fed? I have read the labels of the expensive beef and it doesn't say that it's grass fed. Do you have any brands or butcher recommendations?

What an insightful question. Reminds me of the studies blind wine tasting studies. Apparently, we humans have an uncanny ability to fool ourselves. Consider the the placebo effect, for example.

I currently have myself convinced that the beef in Bariloche is 100% grass feed... by the hand of angels. I'm creative that way. ;-)

 

[sergio]

Fedec, Even if you are right that only 30-40% of Argentine 'meat' (I think you mean beef) production is feed lot produced, that means that you have a 30-40% chance of being disappointed - a rather high percentage for a country that has always prided itself on its fine, distinctive beef. I suspect that the percentage of feed lot beef is actually higher. Anyway, based on my own experience of over a decade of eating Argentine beef, I can say that I have tasted a decline. I can also say that I have been eating wonderful beef in the US on this trip. Of course it costs more as it isn';t subsidized.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

How do you know which is grass fed? I have read the labels of the expensive beef and it doesn't say that it's grass fed. Do you have any brands or butcher recommendations?

An Australian cattle rancher (now sadly deceased) once told me that the fat from grass-fed cattle builds up under the hide while the fat from from grain-fed cattle is marbled through the muscle. I have no idea if that is an old wives' take but right or wrong, that's the way I make my judgement.

 

[Maikito]

GUYS GUYS GUYS. Getting back to the pizza discussion, yesterday I had the best pizza I believe I ate the best pizza I've had in Buenos Aires. I went to my friends house in Flores and she ordered from Pizzería Genaros. I've been debating with her, because contrary to what most of us think, she loves the pizzas here. I told her about this thread and she was shocked that most of us hated or didn't love Buenos Aires pizzas. She told me about Genaros weeks ago, and I was very skeptical since she loves pizzas here.

Last night I visted her and she ordered from Genaros. She ordered Napolintana with garlic (tomato sauce, mozz, tomato slices and garlic), Calabreza (with actual calabreza, not salami) and ham and red bell pepper. I didn't like the ham one because it was paleta ham, not actual ham.

OMG guys, the calabreza and napolitana were DELICIOUS!!!!!! The mozzarella was stringy, not creamy like cheap mozzarella or queso cremoso. Acutal stringy mozzarella cheese. The calabreza was amazing, almost like pepperoni, it even had fennel seeds in the meat. I don't know if you guys live near by Flores, I don't, but from now on when I visit my friend I'm ordering Genaros. Genaros 4585-4214 - Av. Gaona 3479

I can say I approve!