Las Nazarenas, Buenos Aires

After about 43 hours of door to door transport all the way from Singapore to Argentina, it was rewarding to finally make my way to a parrilla for some of the local asado grilling that Argentina is known for. This spot (1132 Reconquista, 54-11-4312-5559) was a total random selection as I walked down the street. When I saw a number of butterflied carcasses surrounding a huge pile of burning firewood (I think it's a local tree called quebracho?), I knew I had to stop in.

As one would expect of a place like this, all sorts of cuts of the cow were offered (including the innards). I settled on the bife de lomo, which was basically a cut of loin or filet mignon (ironically after all that whining about United Airlines lately), but nearly three inches thick. This delivered on all promises with a solid aroma and juicy inside despite being a bit on the well-done side, which is apparently the local preference. I admittedly still prefer Ruth's Chris with the sizzling butter on top for a bit more extra punch, but hey - this was Argentinan, and it was indeed a great cut of beef.

Now, one interesting thing that they provided at the start of the meal was an empanada, which is a local meat-filled pastry that reminded me a bit of a Singaporean curry puff (or an Indian samosa). It was also interesting to find that their papas fritas (it's apparently typical to get fries or a salad with your steak) had the same fresh-cut-and-fried taste and texture as In-N-Out's fries, but whose grease was a touch tastier and whose cuts of potato were much more characteristically "human" than the uniformly cut stuff one gets at In-N-Out.

Anyway, this is definitely a very encouraging start to what is going to be a very carnivorous trip. Here is also another page to add to the ongoing tastings of local beer, this one being called Quilmes Cristal and seeming rather commonplace around here. It was fine, although I know that I'll definitely need to jump on the Argentinean wine soon too.