Steaks and Tango - Suggestions Please
 

Just 48 days to go until we arrive in Buenos Aires. Please share what are some of your favorite steakhouses in the city. And also who puts on the best tango show? I'm looking for authenticity, although being made for tourists is fine. Thanks.

Sadly, I thought the beef was much better in Uruguay, so my recommendations would be in Montevideo.

I loved the beef in Argentina. Mind you I loved it in Uruguay too!

Hopefully my good friend and epic poster avrooster will see this and offer the benefit of his advice.

On our last trip we enjoyed La Choza especially epic steaks and amazing sides and also Don Julio ( although I think avrooster thinks I mad to like this place!) . Fervour is one place which av took us too which is renowned for its beef, although for some bizarre reason ( made my wife was intent on reducing my cholesterol levels after three months in the country) I had the salmon which was amazing.

We got our tango fix at Cafe Tortoni. Worth visiting just for a coffee. Not the big staged show more intimate. We were wowed the first time with live music and great dancers. But not so much the second time - a smaller show with recorded music. Check before signing up!

Since my great friend and top poster Crellston requests my presence, here I am.

I suggest you ask Google to show you the "tripadvisor buenos aires restaurant reviews".

In the Recoleta area, read about Fervor and Mirasol. Fervor also offers great grilled fish (as Crellston pointed out)and vegetables, which is unheard of in a steakhouse

In the Palermo area, read about Don Julio and La Cabrera. Both are quite touristy, but you don't seem to mind that too much. I don't think much of these places, mainly because they are crowded and noisy, but tourists LOVE them, so who am I to disagree?

There are also a couple of quite expensive and touristy steakhouses in the Puerto Madero area called Cabaña Las Lilas and La Cabaña.

Researching the matter this way, you can make up your own mind about which place is the right one for you.

I suggest you do the same to choose a tango show.

Any other questions?

Have a great time in my town, tripplanner001. I trust we'll be able to enjoy one of your renowned trip reports.

My favorite Tango Shows are: La Ventana and the upstairs show (shorter, smaller, but really nice) in Cafe Tortoni. For the most authentic, the tango shows in the theater in Galerias Pacifico are real...as are the Milongas. Be advised that the food in all Tango shows is not nearly as good as in the restaurants - so a picata and drinks with dinner in a restaurant is recommended (by me, anyway:) And speaking of my recommendations, a poster above was very unhappy with my restaurant recommendation of El Mirasol de la recova. I still stand by that as a wonderful place for a very good meal. However, as in all restaurants, a chef's night out or another change can overshadow the good...I do have it on good, local authority that this is still a stellar restaurant.

I agree that Fervor has been wonderful - for meats as well as for their excellent sea food appetizer (enough for a small army).
But we had a so-so meal there last year...so, again, we'll see this year if that makes it to the top of our list. La Chosa and Don Julio are super for supper :) And while La Cabrera is fine for it's food...it is more touristy than any other med. to high end restaurant in town - IMO.

So many good choices...and then there is meandering around and seeing where the Portenos are dining !

Thanks to each one of you for your responses.

Thursdaysd, unfortunately this trip will not have us in Montevideo. We intend to hop over to Uruguay on a day trip - to visit Colonia del Sacramento.

Crellston, I've noted your suggestions. Either way, we plan on stopping at Café Tortoni for the venue and the atmosphere.

Avrooster, noting your suggestions. We're staying in an apartment between Recoleta and Palermo so these will come in handy. I've done some online research, as well as looked at guidebooks, but the options seem to be plenty.

MarnieWDC, appreciate your feedback. For some reason, I thought milongas are only for those who would be interested in lessons and partaking in the action, but perhaps my assumption is incorrect. I'm looking to be a spectator only.

We did not have a good experience at Mirasol. The cruise ship's Uruguyan-sourced steaks and overall service were better. The steaks in Montevideo were a LOT better.

The volunteer greeter who showed me around Buenos Aires told me that much of the land that used to be used for cattle was now given over to growing soy beans for China, and the cattle were raised in factory farm conditions. Apparently Uruguay has not taken that path, which is why their beef is better. I don't remember whether I ate beef in Colonia, but am sure you can find some. You might try El Porton.

I ate at Don Julio and was not impressed, the beef was tender but tasteless, although it might have been better if I had known to order bife de chorizo instead of lomo.

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...-buenos-aires/ (links at the top of page, and posts on Uruguay before Buenos Aires)

Definitely go for bife de chorizo over lomo wherever you go! I also tried grilled provolone for the first time on our last trip - what I had been missing, delicious. Also worth checking out some of the cheaper cuts, possibly as part of a parillada (mixed grill), vacio is my personal favourite. See https://therealargentina.com/en/a-me...-in-argentina/ for more info.

I love ojo de bife best.

Mlgb, sounds like we should hop over to Montevideo just to get ourselves some delicious steak. We would otherwise, but it's just not going to happen on this trip. Just too much travel with the limited amount of time.

Thursdaysd, thanks again.

Crellston and MarnieWDC, thanks for the suggestions on the cuts. And I do enjoy a good ribeye.

Another nod for el Mirasol, an institution that is solid, efficient and not exactly intimate or adventurous.
http://www.elmirasol.com.ar/en
check the headquarters branch.
Steak immediately comes to mind for Buenos Aires grills, but I like sausages and other meats from open-fire cooking too.

Tripplanner--

Why not get your steak in Colonia? Go early and come back late?

!Ojo de bife!

It is true that the raising of beef cattle in Argentina has changed: from all free roaming to many in feed lots. This affects the taste quality of the steaks, etc. That said, many of the good restaurants in BsAs (and elsewhere in the country) obtain their beef OFTEN from the free roaming ranches. We have had fine beef in Don Julio and look forward to La Choza this summer. Argentines in general seem to prefer the non spicy or less seasoned foods - so most restaurants serve foods a bit less spicy than US or Canadian tastes. One can always request a spice or a salsa to add to a dish.

Bring your own salt and pepper, LOL. Better yet, eat pasta.

I grew up eating range fed beef and I prefer the flavor and texture.

Not the mushy bland US and now Argentine feedlot beef.

Southam, thank you. I enjoy good sausages very much too. I guess sausages in Argentina never came to mind.

Dwdvagamundo, eating steak in Colonia could be an option. Do you have a place you'd recommend?

MarnieWDC, thank you for the additional information. I usually enjoy steak without too many condiments - so that I could better taste the beef.

Mlgb, is your take on Argentine beef exclusive to Buenos Aires or does it apply everywhere? FWIW, I'm also going to Bariloche, El Calafate, and Ushuaia if there are places to check out in those cities.

BA was the only place I went out to eat in Argentina, tripplanner001. I was there for 3 or so nights after a NCL Cape Horn cruise.

We were lucky that NCL stocks their beef from Uruguay. After the disappointing meal at highly recommended Mirasol and the better steak in Uruguay at the touristy La Chacra del Puerto, plus having ahd better steak on the ship I didn't try again, but sadly nothing else was memorable. Even the ice cream is bland!

In Patagonia, lamb (which I prefer) is the better option if you like that.

I would think that Bariloche would be worth looking into.

Bariloche:

bife de chorizo at El Boliche de Alberto (thanks to avrooster for the suggestion)
mushroom soup and Zurich style beef at La Marmite

El Calafate:

tasting menu at Casimiro Bigua (there are two, this is the tapas place)
langoustines and lamb at Casimiro Bigua (ditto)

The lamb in Patagonia tastes OK, but it is ALWAYS overcooked.

Not ALWAYS if we are including the Chileans. Maybe the Argies since they do seem to cook things at least a degree more than one expects.

Thanks again mlgb and thursdaysd. I like lamb very much, but not when it's overcooked. I will look out for good lamb in Patagonia; the best I've had have always been in Australia.