Steak and Mendoza Malbec. Buenos Aires, Argentina

January 2020

It wouldn’t be a trip to Argentina without battling an enormous steak.  I’m not a huge meat fan, particularly not red meat, but anything local and I’m sold.  We stumbled across La Carniceria in Palermo.  It seems eating out is a popular activity in Buenos Aires and despite the plethora of restaurants, many were fully booked.  What I particularly liked about this place was that the door (once we found it) was locked so you have to knock and wait for someone to come out and add your name to the waiting list (you could book in advance but we didn’t have that foresight).  We then sat on the step outside quaffing a delicious bottle of Mendoza Malbec, watching the world go by whilst we waited for a table.

The restaurant was intimate, with a handful of tables, a bar with a pit of fire behind it and wallpapered with photos of cow carcasses, which did make it feel a little like we were sitting in an abattoir.  The New York strip steaks were enormous hunks of meat, served on chunky, wooden chopping boards with a smear of bright squash puree, and a dollop of the obligatory chimichurri.  I was reassured to discover part of the intimidating size was a bone, which in itself contained delicious, fatty bone marrow to be prodded out with the knife tip.  Even I was taken with this steak.  The outside was caramelised to perfection and slightly salty, the inside was juicy and tender.  My only improvement would be to pair it with a bolder, higher tannin wine.

Book in advance for one of two sittings per evening, or join the wine drinking queue on the doorstep and watch the world go by.