I would be remiss to begin any conversation about food in Argentina without first discussing its meat. As a longtime vegetarian, I never craved beef, and I considered steak to be the chewy brown stuff best dipped into mashed potatoes or smothered in sauces.
And then I moved to Argentina.
Here, cooking steak is an art. At home, we have a parrilla, a simple iron barbecue that slowly chargrills meat on a bed of coals. I have no idea how to use it. Anytime we have a party, we ensure at least one Argentine guest knows how to work the thing.
The steak, if done correctly, is juicy. Salty. Red.
Dining in Mendoza
The best steak — and overall meal — that I’ve had was in Mendoza wine country at Bodega La Azul, an inviting winery and restaurant with views of the Andes. A few friends and I opted for the five course meal, each round paired with a different wine from the family-owned vineyard.
The meal started with a zucchini and carrot tortilla española, followed by wild boar bruschetta and beef empanadas, baked in a brick oven.
We split the three main course options of ribeye, skirt steak and braised pork.
For dessert, we had the choice of flan con dulce de leche, cheese and marmalade, or lemon cream.
Everything from the steak to cheese to setting satiated our appetites. After our meal, we lounged on the bright blue couches, sipped even more wine and snapped pictures in our sun-soaked daze. The long, lazy afternoon culminated a weekend trip to Mendoza, which I wrote about for The Bubble.
Back home in Buenos Aires, I’m sticking by my newfound appreciation for steak, with at least a few meals a month centering around the parrilla. Now to find someone to figure out the grill…
