Oh boy do we love to eat! The gastronomic capital of South America is blessed with thick culinary heritage especially from its ancestry Italian and Spanish roots. Famous for the best barbequed meat (parrilla), Argentina is paradise especially for the meat lovers. From sophisticatede fine dining to simple snacks, food here comes at a good price and definitely in generous portions!
Parrillada
Most authentically Argentinean, the parrillada is an assortment of meat and internal organs barbequed to perfection. As the world envies the Argentineans for their world class grilled meat, this nation definitely never gets enough of its parrilla. For the faint-hearted, internal organs such as intestines, liver and kidney are also served up. Coupled with ice cold Quilmes beer, the grill definitely fills you up to your heart’s content.
Bife de Chorizo
Undoubtedly Argentina’s créme de la créme, the bife de chorizo is the most popular beef steak in the country. Thick and juicy, chorizo is one of the best parts of the cow to be grilled. Almost any restaurant in Argentina serves up juicy steaks at tempting prices.
La Pergola at Plaza Dorrego in Buenos Aires, offers dinner sets for 40pesos (8euros) that includes a generous platter of bife de chorizo and fresh salad. Tango performance (additional cost of 10pesos) at the restaurant allows you a glimpse into the high-end local Porteño life.
Cazuela de Llama
Like any other country, different parts of Argentina have its own culinary specialty and typical dish to take pride in. Northern Argentina has its unique Andean flavors that are rarely found in other parts of the country and are created to suit the geographical and climate of the region. The llama stew is typically found in the Jujuy province, with tender llama meat and its internal organs stewed into a rich gravy based concoction.
N
apolitana con arroz
Due to the influx of italian immigrants, Argentinean cuisine is also deeply influenced by Italy. Napolitana consists of a beef steak, topped with melted cheese and ham. Served with rice, this dish is unique, although I personally think the taste of the beef is overshadowed by the ham.
Bife al Milanesa
Milanesa refers to the method of breading the beef and deep-frying to golden brown perfection. Found in every part of Argentina, this is a popular dish, usually served with fries or salad.
Humitas
Wrapped in corn leaf and steamed, humitas are grinded corn bits mixed with quinoa (Argentinean soy beans). With a slightly sweet flavor, the dish is extremely popular in the north and also in other Latin American countries.
Pizza
Commonly eaten for lunch, pizzas play a big part in Argentinean gastronomic life, almost as much as the italians’ lives. Pizzerias are found in every other corner of Argentina, providing an economic and culturally thick culinary delight.
Empanada
Argentina’s pride, the empanada, is a simple snack of meat/vegetables wrapped in a dough and baked to crispiness. Often taken as a tea break, the empanada is so popular among the locals and foreigners. With a variety of lfavours to choose from, from meat empanada to vegetarian or llama empanada, they are tasty and convenient.
Argentinean Wine
Wine is quintessential in an Argentinean culinary experience. With its own breed of wine, the most famous coming from the region of Mendoza, Argentinean wine is light and dry, perfect for a combination with steaks. The Malbec is one of my favourite with various species to choose from.
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- Enchanting Cemeteries of Chile & Argentina
- Budget Travel in Buenos Aires, Argentina
This post made me remember how great Argentinean food is. I think South America often gets overlooked for its cuisine – lately Asia's been 'in style' for food but these pictures suggest otherwise!
OH.. Yum yum.. I just had dinner and yet my mouth is watering reading your post along with the pictures.
Lovely, lovely! It;s only 10 am in Toronto, but I am so hungry now. Ooh, there's an Argentinian empanada shop close to my work. Hmmm…I'm heading over there now.
Thanks for this—I am dying to sample some parrillada. But may reconsider once I learn what internal organs I am eating! Haha!
mmmm that all looks so good
Now I remember I've been wanting to go to Argentina for so long. Yum! I think I'll skip the internal organs though
I can imagine what you are saying about the Napolitana con arroz. I mean who in their right mind puts ham on a perfectly wonderful steak? Cheese? Now that's an idea I can get behind. Rice? I'm fine with that. (I'll take a glass of that wine too, if it's not a bother.) But ham?
In the interest of full disclosure – I do like peanut butter and bacon. No, seriously.
I visited Argentina earlier this year, this post made me remember how good the food was and now I want to go back! Since I am not an adventurous when it comes to food, I stayed away from the organs, but the other barbecued meat was some of the best I have had.
Argentina is my favorite country in the world, however sadly I am not able to participate in the culinary "delights", as I am a veggie!!! But, I do OD quite frequently on dulce de leche and Malbec.
i am bold hearted! i totally love my internal organs.. BBQed or otherwise (by that i mean braised, boiled, fried etc..!) LOL.. great post.. hope to visit and get stuffed one day;D
We are currently enjoying these foods right now and loving it! We are on our way to Northern Argentina (Salta), where I hope to have some Cazuela de Llama. If it's like the Alpaca in Peru, I am sure it will be very tasty.
oh yum, makes me drool at the thought of it. Yes the llama meat tastes like alpaca, but the cazuela is cooked with spices in a stew, i like it better than the usual grilled llama.
OMG, I really want to go back now. You have my mouth watering, and it's only 9am. Your list is fantastic, but one thing that we indulged in when we were in Argentina that wasn't on the list was Dulce de Leche. We actually got a little carried away with that creamy caramel goodness. One of our faves was going to an ice cream shop in Buenos Aires where we would get a container of dark chocolate and dulce de leche ice cream, go back to our apartment, put it in a bowl and drizzle some more dulce de leche on top of it. SO GOOD!!
Yes, we gained a ton of weight while traveling in Argentina. It's almost impossible not to. Great article and pictures, thanks for sharing.
Adam, thanks for dropping by! You cracked me up, drizzling more dulce de leche on dulce de leche ice cream, that’s wild man! Argentina is such a food heaven, isnt it! I had steaks every night, either that, or I would be munching on empanadas the whole time. Seriously craving for some empanada right now…