A walking tour of some of the best steakhouses in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires has some of the best steakhouses in Argentina. The best way to explore these is through walking tours of Las Cañitas and San Telmo.

Argentina is renowned world over for its meat. It’s therefore not surprising to find a large number of people visiting steakhouses on a regular basis. In fact, the steakhouses are top priority for almost everybody staying or visiting the capital city of Buenos Aires and other cities in the country.

Whether you are on a business trip to Buenos Aires or planning your vacations in the city, then visiting steakhouses here must be high on your mind. If you spend some time browsing through the guidebooks you will discover that same set of chic parrillas or Argentinean grill restaurants are recommended. Some of these parrillas are indeed quite popular, while others are overpriced and targeted at tourists.

Buenos Aires is home to some of the finest and authentic parrillas in the country. These parrillas are the biggest attraction for the locals and tourists who visit to enjoy popular delicacies such as chinchulines (cow small intestines) and morcilla (blood sausage). There are numerous parrillas in the city ranging from upmarket establishments to hole-in-the-wall joints. An exciting parrilla tour is undoubtedly one of the best ways to sample an assortment of local cuisines that are just waiting for you.

Culinary-themed walking tour of Las Cañitas and San Telmo

Local Buenos Aires resident Santiago Palermo and American expat David Carlisle got together to design a culinary-themed walking tour to offer an insight into the parrillas and nightlife in the city. The walking tour involves two routes. The first route covers the restaurant and nightlife neighborhood of Las Cañitas, while the other route takes you through the traditional San Telmo, which is one of the oldest barrio (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires. Here you will find decades-old family-owned restaurants. You will be treated to choripan (a type of sandwich with chorizo), a traditional Argentine street food, at a local parrilla during both walking tours on both routes. The places that you visit might look to be run down or basic, but nevertheless are greatly treasured by the locals.

Visit the small pizza and empanada restaurants

Make the small pizza and empanada restaurants your next stop on the walking tour. Handmade empanada de came is worth trying out. These dough pastries filled with olives, egg and meat are simply delicious. The pizza and empanada restaurants are as common as the parrillas. They are integral to the Argentine dining scene. They may be smaller takeout stalls or sit-down eateries. The empanadas are considered to be the best choice for an inexpensive, quick lunch. It is delicious and commonly filled with ground beef, ham and cheese, or chicken or onion and cheese.

Get insight into a “secret parrilla”

Parrillas are commonplace in Buenos Aires and elsewhere in the country. But have you ever visited a “secret parrilla”! If you haven’t, then just do it now. A “secret parrilla” should be your third stop during walking tour. These parrillas are usually invisible as they are difficult to locate because of absence of any outside sign. You can’t easily find them in the street. Seek help from the locals to find them out. The “secret parrilla” offers varied traditional parrilla cuts such as matambre de cerdo (pork flank steak) and bife de chorizo (sirloin strip steak), accompanied by wine and salad.

Conclude tour with a visit to heladería

It’s time now for you to conclude the tour. It ends with a visit to a heladeria or ice cream parlour. Argentina is famous around the world for its ice cream. This became possible because of the huge influx of Italian immigrants in the country during the 1870s and 1940. A visit to a heladeria is exciting as you get opportunity to relish some of the best artisanal ice cream in Buenos Aires.

The walking tours are organized every Tuesday and Wednesday in Las Cañitas. The walking tour in San Telmo is organized every Friday and Saturday. The walking tours in both the places start at noon and lasts nearly three hours. You will need to spend for these tours and make reservations in advance.