Parrillas Escondidas

El Trapiche

2006-05-07T21:48:00.000Z

Paraguay 5099, Palermo, Tel: 4775-5793

From Fiona

El Obrero

2006-05-07T21:39:00.000Z

Augustí R. Caffarena 64, La Boca, Tel: 4362-9912

From Fiona

Lezama

2006-05-07T21:35:00.000Z

Brasil 359, - San Telmo, Tel: 4361-0114

From Fiona

Manolo

2006-05-07T21:29:00.000Z

Bolivar 1502, San Telmo, 4307 8743

From Fiona

El Desnivel

2006-05-07T21:24:00.000Z

Defensa 855 - Ciudad de Buenos Aires Tel: 4300-9081 San Telmo

From Fiona

Info Bife!!!

2006-05-07T20:59:00.000Z

You can't tell the players without a program!

We are truly in luck with the monster post from Laura at Moving to Argentina.

While she concerns herself with you and your purchases in the carnecería for your creations at home, you'll be greatful for the nomenclature and descriptions of the many items in her litany that appear on the menús of any good asado.

Your conversations with both your butcher and your mozo will go up 75 IQ points, at least.

Veggies

2006-05-07T20:08:00.000Z

You will dig the mentions that Fiona from The Buenos Aires Experience gives us to chew on. Each deserves it's own mention.

La Irlandesa Fiona, from a race that knows what- from- what when it comes to beef (check but out one of miracles attributed to St. Pat) begins with an account of her lapsed vegetarianism. Now, I don't see it as a strict requirement of a great Parrilla Escondida...but it is fairly common to find places that don't mind throwing anything you want on the grill and some places are proud of their grilled vegetables.

It is great info to know that any vegetarians/vegans in your party might have a wonderful repast along-side of you and your other less ethical friends. If you can include a mention of whether your Parrilla Escondida offers something special it would be a great include.

La Rosalía

2006-05-07T18:57:00.000Z

The lovely Miss Tango in her Eyes weighs in (Suave, Suavecito! She's just a wee slip of a thing...but we'd better begin to consider the calorie count of this safari!) with una escondida on Scalabrini Ortiz y Honduras in Palermo called La Rosalía complete with fotos!
Even though Ms. TihE goes on to describe the most tender of lomo, she deserves a special icon in that the boliche is a great one for ¡CHORIPANES! In my manifesto, I neglected to include one of the great essentials to truly great asado: the chorizo and the many appitizermeats, sidemeats, topmeats, bottommeats that go with the meat and sometimes the meatsauce. Achuras deserve special mention as well and shall have it later. (I hope she tells María-José that it ain't everybody's half chomped-on chori that gets iconic blogosphere status.)

For a real two-fer, she gives us La Cholita at Rodriguez Pena 1165 (4815-4506):

http://tangoinhereyes.blogspot.com/2005/12/choripan.html
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2038/1318/1600/DSCF1370.jpg
This photo is of the lovely steak I had at La Cholita
But make reservations as it is very busy.
The best steak I had was at LOMO thought, very very tender!

Reservations is another aspect of Parilla-life that deserves exploring as well. In that most restaurants don't/won't make reservations...even some of the great ones.

Costanera Sur

2006-05-07T18:37:00.000Z

The mysterious Ms. 99 suggests a mysterious joint that seems to satisfy all the qualifications. 'Ceptin' we gotta get an I.D. on this place! No name, not really an address...but a great description of generally where it lies.

Costanera Sur (steps from Puerto Madero and years-light in beauty and wilderness); behind the "Museo de Calcos" close to "Las Nereidas" fountain also known as La estatua de Lola Mora. Great open parrilla! Ask for Bondiola, you won´t regreat.
En Costanera Sur (cerquita de Puerto Madero pero a años-luz en belleza); detras del Museo de Calcos, vecino a la Estatua de Lola Mora. Un Parrillón genial! Pidan bondiola, está de rechupete.

The Costanera Sur sounds like a treasure trove of Parrillas Escondidas and it could be good eats just getting this one wrong...over and over again.

Steaking-out Our Quarry

2006-05-01T14:18:00.000Z

Let it evolve from here.

What got me thinking about this was the juxtaposition of:

1. the incredibly wonderful little Porteño places where I've eaten the world's finest beef in surroundings that made me glad to have been born let alone having emigrated and...

2. the similar stories in the world press that go on to describe dinner checks of upwards of $75 USD for two.

Somewhere therein lies the rub...in that it rubs me the wrong way for reasons I don't fully understand.

It can't be that I'm a bargain-hunter; I'm not and I never have been. It could be that when I read how much they paid the realization strikes me that they must have been in the wrong place! That has been compounded recently with experiences in restaurants where none of the diners speak Castellano. That sounds like a wonderful meal but it just ain't right.

Entonces. Toward sharing the real and unique birthright of this place and people which is the finest carne at local middle-class prices which makes it more enjoyable more often...I propose that we share amongst ourselves and even, since we are charitable folk, among the plague of FOREIGNERS! that crowd us more and more the comforts and pleasures of real Argentine beef eating as it has ever been before it is no more.

Things are changing very quickly. Yet even today's new arrivals are lucky to be here and now in this regard and we hope it remains so.

Naturally, when one knows of a special place, there is the fear of ruining it a la "nobody goes there anymore...it's too crowded." Another concern is that by spreading the word we might drive a sweet little boliche del barrio out of the reach of the neighbors.

I don't think there is very much danger of that, though. The vast majority of visitors of whatever permanence won't be interested in the places that I want to describe here and if we drive a little trade to some neighborhood joints, it might just help preserve them.

The rest of our horde that really does want to know and experience what it is to live in this wonderfully carnivorous place deserve some help. If their motives be pure! If their hearts be true!

Like I said, let it evolve from here...

I'm thinking that a somewhat regularly affordable din-din for two city-dwellers should probably cost no more than, say, $75 pesos. Extra points for everything above and beyond buen bife y vino de la casa y ensalada y pan y...algo al lado. That should include a respectable propina.

We should feel free to inject our own personal prejudices of whatever kind such as dining or not dining under banks of florescent lighting or inattentive service or whatever bugs your preference for a dinner experience. All the while keeping in mind that the world press doesn't know what they are talking about when they lazily recommend places at NYC and London prices and that they do no service to those that would like to know what a pleasure it is to live here.

Gimme your thoughts.

Mike