To the delight of carnivores, the “steakhouses” that deal with corroborating the traceability of your cuts, which use special ripening or cooking techniques, which take care of every detail on the menu (vegetables and artisanal preparations included) are in vogue and are proliferating. This is a tour of the best in the City of Buenos Aires.
Villegas Resto & Grill, in Puerto Madero, offers top quality cuts of meat: it has its own fields and cattle, which it uses to supply its restaurant, guaranteeing premium quality in all its services. Living up to the trend”from field to table”, They have an establishment in the province of Buenos Aires, in the town of Verónica, dedicated to raising cattle. And also, they have livestock establishments in the town of Villaguay, in Entre Ríos, and in Río Cuarto Córdoba.
The Villegas menu has a tasty mini barbecue of offal, blood sausage croquettes, meat empanadas cut with a knife, and blood sausage quesadillas among the entrees. And the main ones: bife de chorizo, entraña, vacío, asado and ojo de bife, and the imposing T-Bone to the delight of tourists. But it offers much more than meat: there are also homemade pastas made on the day, tastings of provoleta and a variety of fish and seafood.
If we talk about modern concepts, we must highlight to Rufino (Av. Pres. Manuel Quintana 465, Recoleta), a kind of speakeasy in the basement of the boutique hotel My Buenos Aires, whose fires give equal prominence to meats and vegetables. The menu designed by Leo Lanussol and Ariel Argomaniz pays homage to traditional Argentine cuisine, but with a twist.
“Adding an unexpected detail, a seasoning, a final touch that generates surprise, made us fall in love with the classics again,” confesses Martín Serrano, one of the partners. The menu tempts with a humita with scallion, feta cheese and spicy tomato sauce; sweetbreads with cauliflower puree and red cabbage sauerkraut; a rib from the center cooked for six hours (served in two ribs of 1kg in total); and the roasted cauliflower with yogurt, capers and herbs. Its atmosphere is relaxed, but with many details of sophistication. Ideal for a date or to surprise.
For demanding palates is Old Pattern (Av. Larrazábal 502, Liniers), managed by one of the 25 meat sommeliers in the country. Julio Gagliano proposes tasting cuts of animals raised in the open field and fed on pasture. “By working with heavy Aberdeen Angus steers, we found a special flavor, tenderness and juiciness,” he explains.
Of his proposal, the entrails, the rib eye and the bife de chorizo stand out, which he always carries as a flag in the championships in which he participates. These and more cuts can be ordered at the point of preference: almost raw, juicy, on point or well cooked. “We also produce our own artisan chorizo and a Creole sausage with a blend of spices.” to share in family or friends on your deckits elegant lounge or its heated terrace.
And if you are looking to try really different flavors you can resort to Maiky (Gorriti 5806, Palermo), a restaurant in Palermo that dedicated itself to perfecting the smoking technique and applying it to meats, offal and even cocktails. They use chips from fruit trees such as the apple tree (the most subtle and least invasive), the olive tree (the middle ground) and the walnut tree (with the most intense and noticeable flavor).
Your owner, Andres Mazer, recommends “starting with the smoked gizzards with apple chips, which accentuate their flavor, or with the walnut-smoked chorizo, because pork is one of the best meats to smoke.” As a main course, the olive-smoked entree is “a unique experience” accompanied by mashed potatoes, salad and homemade dips. Among other options there is no shortage of the classic ribs, hamburgers and sandwiches.
Finally, in Barn (Olivares 190, Rincón de Milberg, Tigre), the experience is immersive. You arrive at a huge property surrounded by greenery with a large room with a rural setting –but “chic”– where a kitchen is offered that combines a clay oven, pasta fatta in casa and an excellent grill. Their meats are from steer and Angus from producers who guarantee their traceability, and they mature for 10 to 15 days in their own chamber so that their fibers break and they are much more tender.
They are very meticulous with the way they are cooked: their premise is to serve everything “on point”, but the diner can also request point bleu, juicy, cooked or well cooked. And what to ask for? The offal table with pure pork chorizo, black pudding, heart sweetbreads, cured kidneys and cow chitterlings; the ribeye 800 grams rib eye; the center roast with five ribs and the herb-spiced tenderloin.
by RN
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