Recently in Buenos Aires Category

After the tango, Argentina is best known for its excellent beef. Buenos Aires faces the Atlantic Ocean, at the eastern edge of grassy plains known as pampas that stretch hundreds of miles inland. The pampas are ideal for raising cattle, and their abundance means that almost all cattle in Argentina are free-range and, therefore, delicious.

We had dinner at La Cabaña, a restaurant whose fine steaks are unfortunately offset by its extremely high, tourist-oriented prices. But the exchange rate crashed from one peso per dollar to three pesos per dollar during the currency crisis, so you hardly ever need to pay more than $5 to $10 US dollars for a good steak dinner. Without a doubt, Buenos Aires is definitely a great choice for travelers who want to live and eat well on a budget.

Another option is Desnivel, a typical Buenos Aires parrilla (grill) in the charming San Telmo neighborhood. We feasted here the next day on flavorful chorizo sausage, an unusually good tortilla espanola (Spanish omelette), tender porterhouse steak, and ribs, plus salad, beer and soda, for well less than $10 per person.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And if Rome equals Buenos Aires, that means eating empanadas (er, among other things). Of course, just blindly walking the streets eating whichever empanadas come your way would be foolish — you want the good stuff. Fear not, for chef and blogger Dan Perlman has put together a great tour four you: The Empanada Trail.

Empanadas vary by country and region in South and Central America, so Perlman points to places to try a wide range of styles. Starting closest to the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center, the closest two on Perlman's list are Bar El Federal, which serves Patagonian style empanadas filled with lamb and mushrooms and a sweet variant on Venezuelan salteños, and Los Chilenos, which serves theirs Chilean style along with very good seafood.

Nearby in the Barrio Norte neighborhood, you'll find the uniquely spicy empanadas catamargueñas at La Cocina, a mostly take-out shop that specializes in food from the northern Argentinian state of Catamarca. You'll also come across La Querencia, a home away from home for residents of Tucumán, another northern Argentinian state. The beef and caramelized onion empanadas here are crisp, flakey and flavorful. (By the way, you might want to pick up Perlman's SaltShaker Spanish-English-Spanish Food & Wine Dictionary before you go. It's full of local slang, phrases and other words that will come in handy when eating out in Argentina.)

When it comes to food and drink, Argentina does so many flavors well, from its grass-fed beef to its fine wines. The LA Times points out that the country's ice cream is no exception. Visitors to Buenos Aires will find delicious ice cream everywhere they turn. There are heladerías (ice cream parlors) all across the city, and while they're all good, several are exceptional, so it pays to know where to go. An ice cream shop called Saverio offers several curious blends of flavors, including kumquats in whiskey and pears in Burgundy. Another high-end shop, Un'Altra Volta, is known for its classic strawberry as well as its chocolate rum-soaked raisin ice cream. Ice cream enthusiasts go wild for the sundaes at La Veneciana, with a banana and dulce de leche version that sounds like reason enough to head down to Buenos Aires right now. Scannapieco, in the Palermo neighborhood, has been serving flavors like chocolate with candied orange peel since 1938. Finally, the casual Il Bombón makes an amazing rice pudding ice cream, served with lemon zest and cinnamon. Guests at the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center will enjoy exploring the city on their own search for the best ice cream in Buenos Aires.

[image via the LA Times]

In the early part of the 20th century, Argentina welcomed thousands of immigrants from Italy. And, as the Washington Post points out, Buenos Aires has been home to many great Italian restaurants ever since. The unusual tradition of eating gnocchi (potato or semolina dumplings) on the 29th of every month is rigidly adhered to in many Italian-Argentinian households and restaurants, so it's a great opportunity for visitors to sample this unique dish. Il Matterello restaurant in El Boca neighborhood serves up delicious plates of gnocchi with tomato sauce for about ten dollars, along with a great selection of handmade pastas. Salgado Alimentos is a former pasta shop turned restaurant that makes gnocchi with little knobs that scoop up a bit of sauce with every bite. La Juvenil is a pasta shop that has potato, ricotta, and spinach gnocchi all month long, along with squash, tricolor, and other flavors on the 29th. And why is the 29th of every month gnocchi day? Because, according to tradition, the end of the month is when the money runs out, and the only ingredients left in the cabinets are the ingredients for gnocchi: potatoes, flour, and eggs. Guests at the Park Tower, a member of Starwood's Luxury Collection, might enjoy a taste of great Buenos Aires gnocchi on the 29th of the month, or of excellent Italian food any time.

[image via the Washington Post]