Take all of this with a grain of salt, as I was in Argentina in Nov./Dec. 2012, so things may have changed a bit. I spent my time in Buenos Aires (BsAs), Iguazu, and Mendoza. I love street food also, but I found very little of it in Argentina, compared to places such as Mexico City, Puebla, etc. I ate a lot of empanadas, and prefer them reheated in an oven instead of in a microwave, which is very common in many shops. I’d rather eat them at room tempature, to be honest.
I didn’t eat at any of the really high-end places with the exception of Francis Mallmann’s eponymous restaurant in Mendoza, but I had plenty of very good food. Just remember to ask for vegetables! Sometimes they’re hard to come by.
BsAs:
La Morada
Nice little lunch spot recommended to me by a BsAs ex-pat now living here in Toronto. Empanadas are excellent and they usually have locro, one of Argentina’s national dishes. Mostly locals in the place from surrounding businesses.
Aldo’s Vinoteca (San Telmo)
It’s a wine shop and restaurant, food is quite good and it’s a beautiful room. Wine list is presented on an iPad.
Crizia (Palermo)
Recommended to me by one of the guys that work at Lo de Joaquin Alberdi Vinoteca (best wine shop I found in Buenos Aires, btw!). Huge room - by that I mean expansive ceilings two stories high - and a beautiful one at that. Service was excellent as was the food.
El Federal (Retiro)
Not to be confused with El Federal in another part of the city. The chef, Paula Comparatore, is from Patagonia originally, and does a tasting menu that has dishes from the various regions of the country. You can order a la carte also, but I enjoyed the tasting. She sells small jars of dulce de leche that her friend makes back home in Patagonia. Buy several jars.
Empanadas:
La Americana - the criolla, in particular, was awesome. meat, egg, onion, whole green olive, as was the choclo - corn with a light bechemel. These are the two staple empanadas types to judge all places by. Reheated in an oven, which is great. Avoid the pizza here - it’s terrible.
London Bar - good beef empanadas, cheap beer, and a decent cafe cortado.
Picolo Pane - very good all around, lovely ladies running the counter.
El Sanjuanino - good empanadas amongst other things. Locro is available here too.
Florida Garden - great empanadas. They have a location of Florida (surprise!) and an outpost at Aeroparque, the domestic airport that I assume you’ll be using to fly to Iguazu.
I’ll write up a few things on Iguazu and Mendoza later today or tomorrow.
Don’t worry about the “political unrest” in Argentina. It’s fine. Sure, there will inevitably be protests, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. Oh, and bring US cash. It’s a great bargaining tool for buying excellent leather goods in stores. Frenkel’s is amazing for men’s shoes. Didn’t look to closely at women’s shoes as they were next door.
![[thankyou.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/df165fe9c1593d19166ae7e1ffe5e272089cc07b.gif "thankyou"){kind=small}
![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
I’m south American, I can navigate.