Argentina: Argentina Food Recap
Having driven a massive loop around Argentina, we sampled a lot of classic Argentinian cuisine – from the Italian-influenced Buenos Aires to river fish in the north, to the indigenous dishes in the Andes, to gaucho-cultures around the vast pampas. Asado aka grilled meat (steaks plus ribs, blood sausage, sweet breads, and more) is by far the number one cuisine, eaten over the country in massive proportions and varieties of preparation. Meals typically start very late – 9pm or later – and then the Argentinian gorge on grilled meat and red wide deep into the weee hours. Other classic Argentinian things are empanadas and dulce de leche. Italian influences show up in awesome pizzas and pastas, including a purely Argentine invention of sorrentinos (super-sized massive ravioli). In the northeast – it’s all about river fish, such as pacu, surubi, and boga, with a lot of indigenous Guarani Indian influences. In the northwest, it’s grilled llama and goat, corn and potatoes, quinoa, peppers, and various stews. Add to all these the Argentinian wines (Mendoza malbecs and Cafayate torrontes), and good beers. The only lousy thing in Argentine is the breakfast – medialunas (croissants) and coffee – and absolutely nothing else, gets pretty boring and monotonous after a while.
