Restaurant menus in Buenos Aires
 

Several posters have said that different side dishes come with their steaks they ordered. Other posters have said they did not know they were getting all that food so they ordered more.

When you order a steak, etc., does it say on the menu which side dishes are included or do you ask. We would be eating in moderate restaurants, El Establo, etc.

Thanks. I am going to have lots of questions in the next three weeks.

Most restaurants are ala carte. In El Establo, I typically order one entrada (appetizer), one plato principal ( main course) and a postre (dessert) along with a bottle of Malbec. Spliting each of these in half works well for two people.

At el establo a typical meal for two might consist of: a green salad (ensalada verde or mixta), a steak with a side of mashed pumpkin squash (calabaza pureee), and flan casero con crema y dulce de leche (homemade flan with whipped cream and dulce de leche) and a bottle of Terrazas Reserva Malbec.....

Approximate price drdawggy?

Sylbea:

I believe your "Several posters have said that different side dishes come with their steaks they ordered. Other posters have said they did not know they were getting all that food so they ordered more." applies predominantly to "La Cabrera".

In most restaurants, a steak comes by itself, or with a certain side dish, which is clearly indicated in the menu.

Have a great time in our town.

Good point, AV...."side dishes" do indeed come with a meal at la Cabrera....the exception to the rule....

Having mentioned El Establo . . .

The papas frances we had there were some of the best we had anywhere in BAires. Good steak too.

The parilla we visited, Don Julio, doesn't provide sides with the cuts of meat. We ordered one starter to share, three cuts of meat (two in half portions and one full portion) to share, a plate of fries and a salad, also to share. And dessert. As the dulce de leche pancakes come in pairs, we shared that too! All excellent and very warm and friendly.

Although I don't eat meat/poultry, but will eat fish, I found that when I ordered fish it was just that...fish.

Then, I ordered the side dishes separately...like mashed potatoes, penne pasta, vegetables, etc.

The sides were very big, more than I could eat in one serving, and I was one person traveling alone. However, I rented an apartment, for part of the stay, so would have the food wrapped to-go. Each of my side orders lasted for 3-4 servings.

I just got back from Buenos Aires a week ago. Happy Travels!

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Guenmai: You answered my question just as I was about to ask it. You said that you would have the extra food "wrapped to go"; is this a common practice in BsAs as it is in USA? I ask because we will also have an apartment upon our visit and this would be a good thing to do with extra food.

Guenmai, I eat mostly seafood as well. How good is the seafood in Buenos Aires? What seafood dish is the specialty down there?

Nobody responded to Irecommend's question asking the cost of a good steak dinner. Does anyone recall? Does the cost of the steak dinner include the needed angioplasty thereafter? Kidding :)

we ate two weeks ago at Don Julio. We were five people, and it came to US$20 per person for the following: chorizo and provoleta appetizers; one big salad; three or four orders of steak; one pasta; several papas fritas; numerous bottled waters; and a bottle of wine.

Tater, Beef from Argentina is healthier than beef from the USA--"free range" beef fed on grass from the Pampas vs hormone enhanced, grain fattened cattle in the USA makes for a "heart healthier" experience. No angioplasty necessary....

Tatersalad....are you THE tatersalad???

I also want to know about left overs in restaurants. We would love to bring home the leftovers is this is exceptable, when we travel in Europe this is not the case.

About the to-go issue. At first when I asked for it to be wrapped, "to-go", I got blank faces. Then I switched to the British expression, "Take away" and did a little hand language and they smiled and understood.

I would walk across the street to the restaurant near my building, ask for the English menu, and then point. They would take out the Spanish menu and then line it up with the English one to figure out what I wanted. I had no mishaps that way. Smiles.

Food was quite inexpensive. For 51 pesos (exchange rate was 3.34-3.40 pesos to a dollar, week before last, I would get two large fish filets, a big container of either mashed potatoes or penne pasta, and a large container of vegetables. That amount of food lasted me at least 3 generous servings.

When I ordered I would just tell them that I wanted it to-go (take- away) and then sit and wait for them to cook it up. They'd bring me something to drink while I waited. The food was packaged in nice aluminum containers and was very hot. Then they'd put it all in a big plastic bag and back across the street, to the apartment building I would go.

This might sound strange, but when I travel, I pack my own containers just in case a restaurant doesn't have to-go containers. I'm used to renting apartments in other countries. This trip I packed my stainless steel containers that I buy when I'm in Bangkok at my serviced apartment. They have great stainless steel containers in Bangkok as everyone uses them. But, I didn't need to use them in Buenos Aires. I suggest packing some of those plastic containers, that can be bought at the supermarket, here in the States, just in case you need to use them. Happy Travels!

drdawggy: thanks for the info; now with this knowledge I can travel lighter and leave my angioplasty at home. :)

susanna: no, I am not THE tatersalad; I am only a tatersalad (a side-order). I am thinking of changing my name to ensaladaspapas. :)

Is it common in BsAs to take out leftovers?

Yes, you can take home left-overs.
You tell the waiter <b>para llevar </b> which means to go.
There are restaurants here that only do Take-away..Basau on Pe&ntilde;a @ Ayacucho is one that we really like... and pizza of course.. take away or deliver.

The portions in a lot of restaurants are similar to European portions, you will most likely eat what is on the plate .. but Rodi Bar gives me a piece of fish that must have come off a shark and a mountain of mashed potatoes so you never know :)

La Cabrera is the only place that I know of that serves something like 15 side dishes.. tiny ones but it all adds up..

Guenmai: I misunderstood your first post about take away. My thinking it was extra (doggy bag) and not a take-away order. :)

One day I actually ate at the same restaurant that was doing my to-go orders. I couldn't eat all of the food, so as I didn't know how to ask them to wrap the extra food to-go, I just used the words, to-go and take-away, in that situation,too. They understood what I meant. Happy Travels!

I have to correct myself..
Basau is on Pe&ntilde;a and Azcuenaga.. across the street from a lovely little bistro called Sant&eacute;... which is also a great place to have dinner ( or any meal) alone...