Monday December 13, 2010 at 2:53PM from Sabine K.
Where to eat?, Villa Crespo

Suitable for:
a business dinner: No
a dinner with the boss: No
a dinner with colleagues: No

With close ties to Spain and Italy, cultural influences manifest themselves in Argentine cuisine in inventive and tasty ways. The variety of restaurants covers a range from sophisticated to fast food chains satisfying every taste and every pocket.  Dinner tends to be eaten late in Buenos Aires, with restaurants filling up at 10 p.m.

The most popular meal is el asado or parrillada, a mixed grill of steak and other cuts of meat prepared over charcoal or a wood fire and accompanied by chimichurri, a tasty marinade, served with different types of salads and/or fried potatoes.

There are a number of local fast-dishes called minutas, often served in restaurants and bars.  The most popular are milanesa (breaded meat) with fried potatoes and empanadas (dough filled small portions of ground meat, olives, boiled egg and spices).  You can also find empanadas or sandwiches at any panaderia, Argentine for bakery, for a few peso’s each.

Across Buenos Aires, behind nondescript front doors, a new food fad recently evolved in the form of puertas cerradas. These are a host of homesprung restaurants intimately set in family living rooms or gardens.  These were well-kept secrets, but as their popularity has grown a search on the Internet can often reveal their locations. A few examples include Almacen Secreto in the Villa Crespo neighborhood, Cocina Garden in San Telmo, which costs around 125 pesos for four courses and Diego Felix in Colegiales costing approximately 150 pesos for five courses.

Tags: dinner, lunch