Argentina- land of the cows and home to the meat eaters. There’s no place for vegetarians in Argentina. In this country, carnivore is king.
Any decent foodie knows the famed reputation of a quality grass-fed Argentinean steak. It’s a culture known for its dedication to the art of red meat. Beef, pork, ribs, lamb, chorizo, blood sausage, sweetbread- you name it, they’ve perfected it.
Considering the average Argentine eats approximately 129 pounds [59 kg] of beef a year, I would hope they’d have it down by now…
“Asado” and “parrilla” are crucial words in an Argentinean’s vocabulary. A parrilla is a metal grill that is very common in most Argentinean homes, apartment buildings and restaurants. It consists of two parts- a simple iron grate and a separate space to the right for a fire. The grill is usually warmed by wood or hot coals that are maintained separately on the side of the “grilling area” and when the coals are hot and ready they are transferred beneath the cooking grate. The Argentine asado, or barbecue, is more than just a meal, but an all day social event centered on the activities of cooking on the parrilla and eating themselves.
I’m not a huge red meat-eater. I don’t cook it, and rarely gravitate towards it on a menu. It’s not that I don’t like it, I’m just more of a chicken, fish and veggie kind of gal. But when you visit Argentina, you put those insignificant preferences aside. Vegan, vegetarian, health-conscience, whatever. You don’t deny a heavenly slab of tender, juicy sirloin perfection.
But when visiting the massive Argentinean capital, bursting to the brim with parrilla restaurants around every corner turned, how do you choose?
That’s where Parrilla Tours comes in.
Taking a Parrilla Tour will help you weed out all the pricey low-quality tourist traps and find the smaller hidden gems where the real asado magic happens. You’ll get an inside look into the culture of the “asado” and the “parrilla,” learn the ins and outs of famed Argentinean meats and get to know a cool area along the way.
David, cofounder and guide at Parrilla Tour, led us around the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, an area known for its preserved authentic feel and classic historic charm. San Telmo is BA’s oldest neighborhood, characterized by cobblestone streets, colonial architecture, antique fairs and tango parlors, a traditional Argentine scene frozen in time.
During our two-and-a-half hour tour we made five stops at very different restaurants and got a great introduction to the local gastronomy and culture of Argentine cuisine. It really helped having David walk us through the process, knowing exactly where to go and specifically what to order off each menu.
First Stop- Spanish Inspired Empanadas
Our meeting place and the first stop on our San Telmo food tour was at a true hole-in-the-wall, mom and pop-style joint. It is one of those places you’d be sure to walk right on by without a second thought. The home-style eatery is family owned, has been around for as long as anyone can remember and is known for having the best empanadas in town.
Here we sampled a homemade Spanish-inspired empanada filled with beef, green onion, cumin and potato. David explained to us that each of Argentina’s 24 provinces is known for a different style of empanadas and this onion-potato-beef mixture is typical to Buenos Aires. The empanada was fresh out of the oven, baked, rather than fried, soft, juicy and so full of flavor!
Second Stop- Mercado San Telmo
On our way to stop number three, we went for a quick stroll through San Telmo’s traditonal market. Mercado San Telmo was built in 1897 and is inside an old Italian-style open iron building. It is set up flea-market style, made up of different food stalls, cafés, restaurants and small shops. David walked us through the market so we could see the local butchers and food vendors in action. He introduced us to some local produce and explained some of the typical ingredients that go into Argentinian cooking.
Third Stop- Choripán and Chimmichurri
Our third stop was at another traditional-style family owned establishment, where we got to try another Argentine classic- CHORIPAN! I already knew all about choripán from my Chilean asado experiences, but of course I was more than happy to try another.
Choripán is a typical South American sandwich, popular in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and Peru. The sandwich’s name comes from simply combining its two main ingredients “chori,” from chorizo sausage and “pan” from the Spanish word for bread. Each country does their choripán a little differently. In Argentina, choripán was originally served as an asado appetizer, to hold over guests during the all-day grilling process. The sausage is served hot off the grill on a fresh flakey bun, sliced in half lengthwise and usually doused in chimmichurri, a typical spicy oil-based sauce. Today choripán is still a popular appetizer and is also often eaten as a street snack.
Fourth Stop- A Parrilla Style Lunch
Stop four, our main and longest stop of the day, consisted of an abridged version of a sit down Argentinian Parrilla style lunch. Here we got a real taste of an authentic parrilla experience. We started with “provoleta,” (a typical Argentine appetizer of locally produced cow’s milk cheese that is seasoned, grilled, and served communally with bread) followed by an arugula and Parmesan salad and then a sampling of two different cuts of grilled Argentine steak. The meal was paired with a light smooth Malbec from the Mendoza wine region of Argentina and topped off with a refreshing glass of bubbly champagne.
Yeah, I know, the abridged version was still quite a marathon …
Over and over I sunk my teeth into mouthwatering parrilla delicacies. Steak so tender it melted in my mouth, sauces so flavorful my taste buds jumped for joy. Truly heaven- parrilla style.
Fifth Stop- Artisanal Sweet Treats
To wrap up our tour on a sweet note, we made our final stop at a local artisanal ice cream shop. By this point I was already pretty full, but let’s be serious, there’s always room for ice cream.
All of the ice cream in this shop was Italian-inspired and completely homemade. The owners often rotate flavors to test test out different unique combinations such as vanilla honey ginger and flan with dulce de leche.
There were too many interesting flavors to choose from, so being the indecisive eater that I am, I asked the shop keeper for her two favorites. She suggested two very distinct, very different flavors, but I went for it. She ended up suggesting one that wasn’t even on the menu yet, score! I had a rich dark chocolate with coffee chunks topped with a light and creamy passion fruit. Weirdly, they complimented each other pretty nicely!
After an afternoon of indulgence, I have to say a big thanks to Parrilla Tour, for slightly increasing my risk of heart disease. Still, I have to admit, it was worth each and every bite!
Parrilla Tour Practical Information
Parrilla Tours are offered in two different popular BA neighborhoods, Palermo and San Telmo. Tours in Palermo are available Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 12PM with an additional time on Tuesday night at 7:30PM. San Telmo tours are offered Mondays and Wednesdays at 12PM. Each tour will visit 3 authentic local eateries and end at an artisanal ice cream shop. The tours last about 2.5 hours.
For more information on tours click here or contact David at info@parrillatour.com. Their team is very helpful and super accommodating!
Interested in taking a Parrilla Food Tour? Pin and save for later!
Disclaimer: Parrilla Tour graciously invited me as a guest on their tour for purposes of this post. Still, as always, all opinions expressed are my own. I would only recommend something that I genuinely felt would benefit my readers.
Welcome to Wanderful Wednesdays!
Consider yourself a wanderer?! Well then, this Blog Hop is for you!
Meet your hosts: Lauren of Lauren on Location, Van of Snow in Tromso, Isabel of The Sunny Side of This and Marcella of What a Wonderful World.
Here on Wanderful Wednesday we hope to promote an open and supportive community for like-minded bloggers- expats, travelers and all kinds of wanderers!
The linkup will take place every Wednesday at 8AM GMT.
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This week I’m highlighting 9 Works of Art that Move Me by Christy of What up, Swags?! I’m not usually a museum/art person, but I really love how she made the explanation of each piece her own. It was really interesting to see why each was so special to her, and even made me appreciate them more! If you haven’t already, be sure to go check out her post and spread the love! Thanks for linking up with us SWAGS!
Happy Hopping Friends! 😀
Argentine food is ammmazing!! When visiting both Brazil and Argentina in 2003, we ate at a restaurant that sliced the meat right off the skewer onto your plate. It was soooo delicious! I’d go back just for the food haha #WanderfulWednesday
That sounds amazing!! And yes, I’ve heard Brazil has amazing food as well! Hopefully I’ll get to check out that scene sometime soon! 😀
Oh I looove empanadas – wish I could have one right now! And you’re right, there is ALWAYS room for ice cream. Especially when there are so many unique flavors to chose from.
I never have a hard time fitting in dessert 😛
I’m so hungry just by watching thisssssss. This is the best kind of tour I’ve seen on the internet so far. You lucky blogger, tough job wasn’t it? 😉
Oh yeah, you know! Eating is always such a hard job for me ….. 😀
Really enjoyed this post, I learned so much about Argentina’s food culture! I had no idea they are so keen on meat, seems like I have to book a flight ASAP! 🙂 xoxo, nano | http://www.travelwithnanob.com
Thanks so much Nano! I’m glad you enjoyed learning about Argentine foodie culture! If you’re a meat lover than I definitely suggest a trip to Argentina! 😀
I’d totally enjoy a tour like that! I usually try to search for a place that is packed with locals cause that usually means that the food is good but it can be so difficult to find those places!
It can be SO hard to find the local joints, especially in a big city like Argentina. The more I travel the more I realize a place isn’t local/good just because it rates high on Tripadvisor. I always try to find those little hidden hole-in-the-wall places and food tours always make that so much easier 😀
The artisanal ice cream sounds like a lovely end to your food tour.
It was definitely a nice sweet end to the tour! 😀
Mmm, I would LOVE a tour like this, not only because the food looks delicious (and now I’m sad I packed a salad for lunch) but because I feel like food is such a simple way to immerse yourself in another culture.
Eating is my FAVORITE way to immerse myself in another culture! And you could always add some steak to that salad- that’s what an Argentine would do! 😀
OMGeeeee, thank you so much for highlighting my post, Lauren!! I have a lot of link-ups to catch up on and should be all updated on commenting by next week!! But right now I have to go eat because this post made me SO HUNGRY. 😀
Take your time Christy hahaha .. Go stuff that face 😀
Um that all looks so delicious. I love empanadas!
Empanadas are definitely some of my favorites as well. I have to stop myself from eating them all the time as they’re so available here! 😀
I always love your food posts because they make me want to try out new and different things! All of that meat looks so delicious, and I’m pretty sure that I would be in heaven! I had no idea that asado meant BBQ, but that totally makes sense!
Glad I make you want to try new foods! It’s my absolute favorite part of traveling! 😀
Do you know what? I’m a vegetarian and even i want to do this tour after reading your post! I didn’t go to Argentina on my South America trip, partly because i know how much meat is part of the culture and I just don’t like it let alone want to eat it. But I really want to visit this amazing country, and learning about their love of meat is going to be part of that when I do as I feel that I can’t fully explore a culture without exploring the food they eat too. I just hope one of the regions has a veggie empanada! 🙂 I will also REALLY enjoy the ice cream at the end too 😉
I think you would enjoy learning about the “meat culture” even if you don’t like to eat it haha .. It’s so interesting! I’m not a big red-meat eater, so for me it was crazy to learn how much of their culture revolves around it! Actually a lot of vegetarians take a “few days off” when they visiting Argentina, just to say they tried the meat! But yes, I definitely think you could find a veggie empanada and some other great options! I’d suggest going for the ice cream alone by the way! 😀
What a great sounding tour! Sounds fabulous! You are very right about it being tough for veggies as I struggled a lot there! But the ice cream is to die for!!!!
Thank you for saying this tour sounds fabulous even though you’re a veggie!! Hahaha that was sweet of you :D… but yes .. the ice cream was absolutely amazing!!
All of this looks so tasty! Definitely pinning this post for a future trip!! I love empanadas… and that meat looks SO perfectly cooked!!
Yay! I hope you get to try the tour one day! It was seriously delicious! 😀
This post totally has me missing Argentina!! Their steaks are truly unbeatable! I would have loved to go on this tour when I was there last… but maybe now I have an excuse to go back 😉
I’ll always take an excuse to go back to Argentina 😀
Mmmm…. I do love a good slab of red meat so this looks like the tour for me!
If you like red meat at all…. this is a tour for you! 😀
So much food! I was reading this last night and basically just had to go out and buy some steak.
Hope it satisfied your craving!! 😀
What a fantastic-sounding tour! I love getting to know a place through its food and this sounds just about perfect. That steak description is making my mouth water…
I’m not even usually a steak person … but this steak …. YUM
My 16 year old daughter is living in Argentina on a year long student exchange right now. She loves the food, and says I will too (we will take her back next year.)
That’s amazing! Good for her! I’m sure she’s getting to try so many amazing dishes! 😀
I do not know how to describe the awesomeness of this post! I would go on a tour like this without thinking it twice. I went to Argentina many years ago and have to say I really enjoyed the food. Since I was by myself, I couldn’t do the parrilla ritual properly but had a good taste during an excursion to a Gaucho ranch (all the English speakers congregated in one table). Thankfully, we have an Argentinean store and deli very close to our house. We get a choripan or lomito once in a while.
Some of the people on my tour had just been to Gaucho ranch! They loved it! And I’m so jealous that you have access to Chorpian and Lomito right by your house! I’ll definitely be seeking out similar places when I return to the states!
omg i should not be reading this near dinner time! I’m salivating. I have been to Argentina long ago before I appreciated good food and had money to spend on it…lol. Looks like a (carnivore) foodie’s dream. I love food tours – i think it’s the best way to explore the city. #wanderfulwednesday
Argentina is definitely a meat-eaters dream. No doubt about that. The thing that’s nice about Buenos Aires is you don’t have to drop a pretty penny to eat well! You just have to know where to go 😀
I can’t believe how much beef is eaten by Argentines. I love food tours like these and getting off the usual tourist track. #WanderfulWednesday
SO MUCH BEEF. It’s actually kind of crazy haha
All of the food in this posts sounds so delicious! I’m not even sure where I would start if I were to visit Argentina today! The food tour sounded like a great way to try all of the local favorites without falling into tourist traps! Looks like you had a lot of fun visiting Argentina! 🙂
The food tour was an awesome way to get a sampling of a lot of Argentine classics! I love starting with food tours when I’m visiting somewhere new and then going back to the places I liked the most! Definitely gives you an inside look at local favorites! 😀
Oh man, this is making me miss Argentina! Argentinian empanadas are seriously the best. There was a hole-in-wall empanada place we went to all the time, and of course parillas! And yessss the ice cream there is so good too. They’re so serious about their ice cream!
I take anyone serious about their ice cream seriously 😛 … And the hole-in-wall joints are always the best! 😀
I’ve never been in Argentina but would love to! One of the main reasons is obviously the food. Ahh that meat, gorgeously cooked meat!!!