Argentina - Meat Culture and Confiterías

They say that Argentina has the best meat in the world. I have tried it more than once and can say: that's absolutely true!

The most noteworthy is the Asado, a huge piece of meat that is grilled over an open wood fire, which I tried at my friend Julian's place. It is a festive and Sunday meal, a social event for the Argentinians, where the only side dish is usually some bread.

Slices of meat are cut off the Asador, the grill master, and placed on the table one by one. This can take several hours. But before that, many Argentinians eat grilled Morcilla as an "appetizer", which is Argentine blood sausage. In Germany, I never tried blood sausage because the name alone disgusted me, but here I have made up my mind to try everything I can. In any case, it tasted better than I expected, and only the sight was a bit unpleasant when you pressed the hot blood sausage with the fork and the almost liquid content spilled out. Asado is also offered in many restaurants, but it is not comparable to the traditional one. To taste true Asado, you have to be lucky enough to be invited by an Argentinean privately.

Just like in Chile, dinner is started very late in Argentina, so in most restaurants, you have the opportunity to order food until around 1 a.m. You can try other grilled specialties in so-called Parrillas, where you can also order parrilladas, a grill plate to share and serve yourself. Parrillas can be very cheap or very expensive, but you will never be disappointed. Alternatively, you can order individual dishes such as Bife de Chorizo (sirloin steak), Bife de Costilla (ribeye steak), Bife de Lomo (tenderloin steak), or Entrañas (skirt steak). However, this is only a fraction of the meat varieties offered there, and they are usually served with Chimichurri, a slightly spicy oily sauce. When eating together, we usually order different types of meat, a salad, and a side dish like french fries, which are placed in the middle of the table along with a bread basket.

Another well-known dish is Choripan, a type of Argentine hot dog made with Chorizo, a spicy sausage, and Pan, a crispy roll. Depending on where you order it, it can be an appetizer or a fulfilling meal.

Schnitzels are also frequently found in Argentina under the name Milanesas and we ordered them almost every week.

Besides the meat offerings, the vegetarian options are not small either. Delicious pizza, empanadas, and pasta can be ordered in almost every restaurant. There are even shops where you can buy only homemade pasta.

If you are looking for quick street food, you will quickly come across the terms 'Bondiola', 'Churrasquito', and 'Hamburguesa', all more or less sandwiches with meat.

The typical drink of an Argentine is Mate tea. It is drunk day and night by all age groups and every social class. Therefore, it is quite normal to see Argentinians walking on the streets with a thermos of hot water under their arm, a package of Yerba, a gourd (Kalebasse), and a Bombilla, the drinking straw.

A typical Argentine wine is Malbec, which is said to be one of the best wines in the world. It is usually very full-bodied and is drunk at least with dinner.

Confiterías are also a very big topic in Argentine cuisine. They offer, for example, Churros or Medialunas (croissants), which are also a staple for a traditional breakfast.

A sweet classic, just like in Chile, is Dulce de Leche, which can be bought as ice cream, with Churros, in chocolate bars, or pure in a jar, with or without special flavors. For me, Dulce de Leche is a substitute for Nutella here, as it is incredibly expensive to buy Nutella here. Desserts or sweet dishes that are frequently offered with Nutella in Germany are instead served with Dulce de Leche here. Everyone will find something at least at the store 'Casa del Dulce de Leche': From spread to liqueur, they have it with different flavors and even sugar-free.

A typical Argentine dessert that I tried at the Tango show is Flan, a creamy dessert with caramel sauce, similar to Crème Brûlée.