Imagine a place where thick, tender, juicy, mouth-watering steaks are available on nearly every street.  Then imagine Buenos Aires, home of the ubiquitous parilla (grill).  Everywhere you look in the city, there’s a world-class parilla offering a high-quality steak from a well-cared for, grass-fed cow raised on small farms by gauchos in the countryside.  And thanks to a low exchange rate, it’s completely affordable.  So get ready to meet your protein quota for the year — here’s a list of our favorite parillas in Buenos Aires…

La Cabrera

Not only was this restaurant highly recommended by various food critics and guidebooks, it’s rated #1 out of 629 restaurants in Buenos Aires on TripAdvisor.  If that’s not enough to get you there, consider that the owners had to open a second restaurant a block away to accommodate the huge crowds (called Cabrera Norte).

Because of La Cabrera’s immense popularity, they crammed more tables than the space allows, so prepare to make new friends.  The first thing you can talk about is the amusing metal plates shaped like a sitting cow.  Then you can share the assortment of 15 complimentary side dishes that come with your meal, such as mashed pumpkin with raisins and cocktail onions soaked in red wine.  And at the end of the meal, you can brag about who made the best selection from a lollipop tree featuring flavors like dulce de leche.

When we visited, the restaurant was offering a wine special that featured a bottle of Malbec for dinner and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for us to take home for only $15 US.  The wine went perfectly with our juicy and flavorful marinated tenderloin.  Our incredibly helpful and attentive waiter recommended we share one steak dish and one appetizer since the portions were so large, so we went with the provoleta for our starter.  That left just enough room for a chocolate lava cake and a berry pavlova for dessert.  An appetizer, a dinner, 15 side dishes, two bottles of wine, four bottled waters, two desserts, tax and tip, all for less than $70 USD.

Cabrera 5099
54-11-4831-7002
http://www.parrillalacabrera.com.ar/

Cabaña las Lilas

This famous parilla in Puerto Madero has won more gold medals than Michael Phelps.  The steaks are arguably the best in the city thanks to beef that comes directly from the restaurant’s private ranch.  The exorbitant prices reflect the high quality of the beef, but it’s much more laid back than you’d expect from a high-class restaurant.  Even though this two-story parilla is huge, reservations are recommended, especially if you want a view of the water.

One word of caution, if you accept the tray of olives and deli meats that are presented to you, you’ll be charged a table cover; we skipped the cover since this place was already pretty expensive (about $20 a steak, not including side dishes) but that allowed us to completely devour our meat like we were tigers are on the Serengeti.  While we agree that these were one of the best steaks we had in Buenos Aires, a restaurant this expensive should be reserved for a night when you decide to break the bank.

Avenida Alicia Moreau de Justo 516
54-11-4315-1010
http://www.laslilas.com/restaurant.php

El Desnivel

Don’t judge a book by its tattered, bland cover.  Despite the yellow walls, the eye-burning fluorescent lighting, the theme-less decor, the mismatched table cloths, the tiny tables, the college-age clientele, and the nonchalant staff, El Desnivel was our favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires.

The provoleta and the high-quality steaks were so delicious, we questioned why we paid three times as much at other restaurants.  This was the only parilla we visited twice, and we weren’t the only ones — we saw some of the same diners on our second visit.

Luckily, this place is so big that you shouldn’t have any problem finding a table.  If you leave room for dessert, go with the rich and creamy homemade flan that comes with a thick dollop of freshly made whipped cream.

855 Defensa
54-11-4300-9081

DaDa Bistro

Word of mouth led us to this tiny bistro near Plaza San Martin serving modern Argentine cuisine.  It’s hard to miss the bright red facade, but getting a seat at one of the restaurant’s ten tables is far more complicated (reservations are highly recommended).  However, you can wait at the mosaic bar, order one of their popular martinis, and try to make sense of the dada design — disco balls, pop art and strangely designed lighting fixtures.

When we visited, just about everyone ordered the Lomo Dada, a 2-inch thick filet mignon with a light cream sauce and an equally large cube of cheesy potato au gratin designed like lasagna.

941 San Martin
54-11-4341-4787
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buenos-Aires-Argentina/Dada-Bistro/32813121714

El General

The wood floors, wood seats, and wood banisters on the second floor of El General resemble an old west saloon more than a fine restaurant.  Although the expansive menu includes fish, chicken and Italian dishes, the real highlight is the page-long list of parilla offerings.  Every cut of cow was available in no-frills fashion (no toppings or sauces) and came with a choice of sides like French fries, cheese-covered rice or a potato pie called Pastel del Papa.

While waiting for your food to cook, the owners of the restaurant invite you to walk around and take a look at Peron family memorabilia.  The owners were once friends with Juan Peron, former president of Argentina, and his wife, Evita.  After that, you’ll need some time to explore the extensive wine list, though they recommend a few expensive ($75 US) bottles of Malbec.

Avenida Belgrano 561
54-11-4342-7830

Campo Bravo

On a corner with four parilla options, Campo Bravo was by far the most popular.  This large, minimally-designed restaurant was packed by the stylish people of Palermo.  And despite an up-scale menu featuring chic dishes like risotto and fancy salads, the huge steaks were the real draw.

The plates of food are spared decoration, but you don’t need a parsley garnish tarnishing steak this delicious.  The entire dining room was only managed by a couple of black-clad waitresses so service was a bit slow, but you’ll need time to sit and digest all that food anyway.  It wasn’t difficult to get a table at lunch, but word is the wait can be over an hour for dinner when the hip, young people start their night here.  Reservations aren’t accepted.

292 Baez
54-11-4514-5820

When you think of food in Argentina, you probably think of slabs of beef sizzling over an open fire or delicious empanadas filled with meats and cheeses.  But did you know that Buenos Aires is one of the best places in the world for… pizza?

Yeah, pizza.  That artery-clogging delight you fall back on when you’re too tired to cook anything.  Everybody loves pizza.  Pizza may be the only food in the world where we’ll still eat the entire thing even if it isn’t good.

Most people think good pizza can only be found in New York or Chicago or, of course, in Italy, the world’s pizza headquarters.  But back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, tens of thousands of Italians immigrated to Buenos Aires, bringing some of their best pizza recipes with them.

Yet, for some reason, the world has been oblivious to the fact that some of the greatest pizza parlors in the world are operating in South America.  Well, it was our mission to find ‘em.  For the good of humanity, we put more research into this than a senior thesis, and I think our efforts were met with greater reward.

After extensive interrogations conducted in secret, under-lit rooms, we’ve narrowed down the best pizza in Buenos Aires to two well-respected, long-standing establishments:  Guerrin Pizzeria and El Cuartito.

Both pizzerias are inexpensive (less than $1 US a slice or about $7 for a large), both pizzerias serve thick and hearty slices that require a fork and knife, and both pizzerias offer an extensive menu loaded with Argentine classics (as well as empanadas and desserts).

A popular pie that’s unique to Argentina is the Fugazetta.  Soft and chewy freshly-made dough is brushed with a rich olive oil, then blanketed with a thick layer of cheese and topped with a Vesuvius-sized mountain of roughly chopped white onion.  This sweet and savory concoction would probably be more addicting if it weren’t so dense.

Fugazettas may also come with a slice of ham or prosciutto buried underneath the cheese.  There’s also a version that comes without cheese called a Fugazza.

Another popular pizza is the Especial, which both pizzerias claim as their own.  Each slice is coated with homemade marinara sauce, then bombarded with creamy mozzarella cheese, slices of ham, soft and tangy red bell pepper, and topped with green olives (pit included).

You probably won’t find pepperoni on the menu but you will find the Spanish version, a mildly spicy sausage called chorizo.  Other toppings include vegetables (but if you’ve gone this far, why try to pretend like you’re being healthy now?), anchovies, and a choice of mozzarella or provolone cheese.

There’s also an unusual topping called a faina, which is a piece of bread the width of a pita made of chickpeas, flour and seasonings.  For people who consider forks and knives too much work, the faina turns a slice of pizza into a sandwich that can be handheld.

Both Guerrin and El Cuartito were delicious, and way better than any pizza we regularly order in the States.  But, if we had to choose between the two, we’d probably give Guerrin the victory.  After all, we DID have lunch there three times in our 8-day trip.