Buenos Aires Food & Wine : Street Food

Reviewed by: Alan Rating:

The capital of Tango, Buenos Aires, has food wise two sides of the story.

After enjoyng massive dishes of juicy steaks, unlike other countries in the world you'll notice empty spots in some cases for Street Food: mainly you would think that Buenos Aires citizens are not particularly into eating standing up or grab something quick to take back to the office.

Still lunch among these warm and friendly people is a kind of ritual so takes time then, and traditions are always precious but yes, for sure, in so many green areas the city has to offer you'll surely find places where eating on the spot is commonplace indeed.

Parks are a good bet for the purpose; often you'll find carts and little wagons selling delicious caramelized nuts and a limited selection of food, perhaps a milanesa sandwich, of Italian origin really, and that's fair enough considering that many Italian families emigrated to this country years gone by now.

Still we're not coming close to lunch as our appetite grows, there are spots in the more working-class neighborhoods and the one most visited is San Telmo, where there are little hole in the wall type parillas or grills, dotted troughout the area. Along Defesa street is the right place to find the typical Fainà (chickpea bread) or you can grab a Choripan (sausage sandwich), or a Vacipan (flank steak sandwich).

The best spots for street food are the 2 costaneras or broadwalks. Along those wide concrete walkways, at the Costanera Norte (north), wich run alongside the domestic airport, you'll find a dozen wagons offering up a range of parillas options, from sandwiches to small plates and different type of juicy sausages: chorizo, morcilla, salchicha parrillera, as well as various cuts of meat beef and pork. Some of the wagons offer also classic achurros, or innards, even if generally they may seem to be momentarily out of them when asked for those.

Costanera Sur (south) seems to be the real hot spot for street food; located on the far side of Puerto Madero Este, bear in mind that on weekdays the selection is much the same as the northern counterpart but it shines on weekends! Temporary carts join the other wagons, they may come from the northern regions of the country and you'll have the chance to taste Locro (corn, squash, beef and sausage stew) or fried breads with bit of chicharron (pork cracklings). It's just one long banquet table to explore.

Category: Food & Wine