1. Italian Food
Buenos Aires, Argentina is home to thousands of Italians. As you can imagine, there are a lot of Italian restaurants throughout the city. On our first evening in B.A., the front desk clerk at the Mine Boutique Hotel was really eager for us to try Il Ballo dei Mattone, a kitschy family run trattoria located in Palermo Soho. The restaurant was packed with locals and it appeared as if we were the only tourists in the place. The food was fantastic; I had an amazing lasagna bolognese. As you can tell from the pictures, this place was really wacky. There wasn't an empty space on the wall or the ceiling. (I also probably should have worn a more muted shirt....I sort of blend into the walls in these photos!) This was a great find!
Cheers to Il Ballo dei Mattone
The Small Kitchen
Now That's A Busy Photo!
Dinner is Served
2. Provoleta and Empanadas
If you are looking for a snack, look no further than these two Argentinian staples. Provoleta is a disc of provolone cheese, heated over a grill, rendering it pliant and crisp-skinned. A knife is necessary for cutting it! Resembling mini-turnovers (back left in the photo below), empanadas in Argentina are baked as opposed to fried as in other Latin American countries. Empanadas contain a variety of savory fillings. Both of these snacks, as well as pizza, can be found on the menu at Romario's in Palermo.
Pizza at Romario's
3. Helados
Here we are enjoying two ice cream sundaes at Café Tortoni on the Avenida de Mayo. Founded in 1858, Café Tortoni is the oldest coffee shop in the whole country. It's also a great place to stop in for an ice cream. Note the smiles on our faces.
Sundaes on Sunday
Video of Café Tortoni
4. Argentine Beef
Argentina has the world's highest consumption rate of beef at 68kg per capita. And once you taste Argentine beef, you will know why! Believe the hype. What makes Argentine beef so special? Its because the happy cows are fed and fattened up on the nutritious pampas grass as opposed to corn and growth hormones. When coming to Buenos Aires, you must plan to dig into a juicy steak at a parilla (grill). Luckily for us, one of the top rated parilla's was just a short walk away from our hotel in Palermo. La Cabrera has two small dining rooms with exposed bare-brick walls, mosaic floors, and wooden furniture. Reservations are only taken for the first seating (8:30 p.m.); if you don't have a reservation, come early, and enjoy the free champagne while waiting on the sidewalk. We were told that their steaks are some of the best in town, and while I wasn't in B.A. long enough to compare it to others, I can assure you that this was an incredible cut of beef. We had heard that the portions were large, so the three of us split a tenderloin and a rib eye. Each steak came with an assortment of multiple sides, although we still ordered the french fries. Incredible and delicious!
La Cabrera Steak Knife
A Feast is Served
5. Dulce de Leche
This is not your ordinary caramel. For some reason, in Argentina, when you boil milk with sugar, you end up with one of the most incredible culinary treats. You can find dulce de leche in every conceivable format, in ice cream, as fillings to alfajores cookies (the Oreo cookie of Argentina), and, as pictured in the photo below, slathered over flan.
Flan with Dulce de Leche at La Cabrera
Dinner is Served
2. Provoleta and Empanadas
If you are looking for a snack, look no further than these two Argentinian staples. Provoleta is a disc of provolone cheese, heated over a grill, rendering it pliant and crisp-skinned. A knife is necessary for cutting it! Resembling mini-turnovers (back left in the photo below), empanadas in Argentina are baked as opposed to fried as in other Latin American countries. Empanadas contain a variety of savory fillings. Both of these snacks, as well as pizza, can be found on the menu at Romario's in Palermo.
Still Life with Provoleta and Empanadas
Pizza at Romario's
3. Helados
Helados is Argentinian ice cream that best resembles gelato. Most heladería menus are divided among frutas (fruit creams and sorbets), cremas (including dulce de leche and vanilla varieties), and chocolates. Porteños take ice cream seriously, and there are plenty of noteworthy artisanal ice cream parlors located around the city. Among the chains, Freddo is often mentioned as one of the best. Luckily for us, there's a branch within walking distance of our hotel!
Freddo's Classic Argentinian Gelato
Service With a Smile
Here we are enjoying two ice cream sundaes at Café Tortoni on the Avenida de Mayo. Founded in 1858, Café Tortoni is the oldest coffee shop in the whole country. It's also a great place to stop in for an ice cream. Note the smiles on our faces.
Sundaes on Sunday
Video of Café Tortoni
4. Argentine Beef
Argentina has the world's highest consumption rate of beef at 68kg per capita. And once you taste Argentine beef, you will know why! Believe the hype. What makes Argentine beef so special? Its because the happy cows are fed and fattened up on the nutritious pampas grass as opposed to corn and growth hormones. When coming to Buenos Aires, you must plan to dig into a juicy steak at a parilla (grill). Luckily for us, one of the top rated parilla's was just a short walk away from our hotel in Palermo. La Cabrera has two small dining rooms with exposed bare-brick walls, mosaic floors, and wooden furniture. Reservations are only taken for the first seating (8:30 p.m.); if you don't have a reservation, come early, and enjoy the free champagne while waiting on the sidewalk. We were told that their steaks are some of the best in town, and while I wasn't in B.A. long enough to compare it to others, I can assure you that this was an incredible cut of beef. We had heard that the portions were large, so the three of us split a tenderloin and a rib eye. Each steak came with an assortment of multiple sides, although we still ordered the french fries. Incredible and delicious!
La Cabrera Steak Knife
A Feast is Served
5. Dulce de Leche
This is not your ordinary caramel. For some reason, in Argentina, when you boil milk with sugar, you end up with one of the most incredible culinary treats. You can find dulce de leche in every conceivable format, in ice cream, as fillings to alfajores cookies (the Oreo cookie of Argentina), and, as pictured in the photo below, slathered over flan.
Flan with Dulce de Leche at La Cabrera
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