Eating in Buenos Aires on $30 a Day

With an exchange rate of 3 pesos per dollar, Argentina is certainly a deal for the American tourist and the nomadic Yankee traveler.  However, because inflation here is on the go-go-go, prices are on the rise, and it is not the dirt-cheap cosmopolitan metropolis it once was.  However, it is still very possible to live a good life in Buenos Aires for relatively few American dollars; it is just that now, things such as eating cheaply require a little planning, which can even make things more fun.  Who knows, your quest to find cheap eateries may even lead you to new culinary discoveries.

 

As an American now making pesos as an English teacher in Buenos Aires, and also as an American with a never-ending appetite, I have searched high and low for the cheapest way to culinary delight.  Let’s start with breakfast.  When my boyfriend and I first arrived in Buenos Aires, we had dollars, and were frequenting cafés in the Recoletta, Barrio Norte, and Palermo neighborhoods for café con leche and croissants or fresh fruit.  Soon, though, these rendezvous began to take a toll on our finances; Recoletta and Palermo are chic barrios that are soft on the eyes, but no so soft on the wallet.  Our morning coffees & fruit were beginning to cost us about 30 pesos a day, with the café con leche itself costing 7 pesos each. 

 

After we moved to San Telmo, we discovered the joy of café con leche for 3 pesos.  These cheap cups of joe can be found at any number of the corner Ma & Pa-run cafés that dot the streets of this barrio, as well as the neighboring Montserrat and San Cristobal neighborhoods.  Often for 4 or 5 pesos, you can get a café con leche, a glass of orange juice and a little chaser of sparkling water, as well as a basket full of medialunas, croissants encased in a sugary glaze.  Delicioso.  And affordable.

 

A few hours after one’s memorable date with a croissant and coffee, it is already time for another date, this time with lunch.  Lunch at a restaurant gets unexpectedly pricey, as such things as bottled water can be sold for upwards near 7 pesos a pop, with tap water being virtually unattainable in any café.  The most economic way to have lunch in Buenos Aires is to go to a grocery store and plop down with your goods for a picnic, the good old fashioned way.  It is cheap, and a great way to learn the layout of the land, and to do some people watching while you’re at it. 

 

Grocery stores–supermercadeos or autoservicios in Spanish—come a dime a dozen per street.  No matter which one you choose, it will certainly have logs of salami hanging from the deli counter.  The salami here is scrumptious, juicy and full of spice and flavor.  You must buy one.  Sliced and topped with a hunk of fresh mozzarella cheese makes it a perfect picnic snack.  On your way to check out at the store, grab a bottle of Quilmes to wash down your salami and cheese.  I guarantee a liter will not cost you more than 3 pesos. 

 

After you’ve got your goods, you will not find any shortages of plazas or small green spaces.  I specifically recommend the river-front in Puerto Madero.  The picnic benches overlooking the water make it a primo-picnic spot on a sunny day.  However, any plaza will do just as well, from Plaza de Mayo to Plaza Italia to Plaza Evita.  Bring out the meat and cheese, crack open the beer, and there you have it, a muy affordable bon appétit.  

 

After a day like this, of maybe cutting back here and there, it is time to get excited for dinner.  Dinner in Buenos Aires is a late affair, usually taking place around 10 pm.  It is never rushed; this meal is as much for the social aspect as it is for the nutrient aspect.  And the dinner menu in Buenos Aires is truly mouth-watering.

 

As I’m sure you have heard, the steak in this city is something to write home about.  The city is filled with parillas, or steak restaurants, that serve tender and juicy servings of red meat cooked to perfection.  It would be a crime to visit the Paris of the South without trying a parilla.  Just like the café con leche, parilla lines the city, but the most affordable ones are found in the San Telmo, Montserrat, and San Cristobal areas. 

 

My other favorite food in Buenos Aires is the pizza. I know, I know, coming from the US you want to try something exotic.  But trust me, the pizza here seems exotic compared to what we are used to.  The mozzarella cheese is softer in Argentina than in the States, which is not always a good thing, but when we are talking about being melted on top of a delicious focaccia-style crust, the softer the better.  Toppings range from green olives to shrimp to thick pieces of salami to fresh leaves of basil.  It is not the cheese soaked, grease drenched pizza of home (that don’t get me wrong, is sometimes just what you need).  In Argentina, it is the barely greasy, fluffy, and delicately flavored pizza pies that must not go uneaten when one is in Buenos Aires.  Please, at my insistence, order a grande and enjoy.

 

And there you have it, an affordable and highly edible three meals in Buenos Aires.  Remember to top everything off with a glass, or two or three or four, of famous Argentine Malbec, and your day will truly be complete.

Argentine Choripan

The first bite is spice…Not hot spice in the way of Mexican jalapenos or Thai green curry, or even the mystery culprit that makes you sweat within an Indian curry…No, I mean a whole spice that cracks between your molars and explodes with flavor.  I am talking about the feeling you get when your mouth barely fits over two thick slabs of toasted bread and messily manages to bite into a juicy sausage.  I am talking about when that sausage splits open with the impact of your teeth.  I am talking about the unmistakable taste of famous Argentine chorizo, smoked on a grill, and served as a sandwich.  I am talking choripan.

You won’t find street vendors peddling these delicacies in Microcentro or Recoletta.  No, you have to venture a little off the beaten track for a choripan.  But not far.  The parks are the hot-spots.  Whether it is the lush fields of the Palermo parks to the sun-dried beauty of the Ecological Reserve, once you enter the seclusion of the city’s green zones, you can not miss the gleam of the choripan man’s silver cart.  And once you spot him, I recommend that you approach his booth as quickly as possible, proceed to order at least one choripan, but probably two, especially if it is your first time.  The total cost will be between three and four pesos (roughly one dollar to a dollar and a half). 

Once you are handed your choripan, you will notice the array of sauces on the ledge.  These sauces will be in plastic containers, and will have titles such as salsa golf (a surprisingly good blend of ketchup and mayonnaise), mayonesa aceituna (olive mayonnaise), ketchup (not everything is so exotic), and queso cheddar (a cheesy sauce, a classy version of cheez-whiz).  Remove the top bun of your choripan and start squirting.  Once you finish piling on your condiments, look to either the far-left of the ledge or perhaps the far-right.  You will undoubtedly see a plastic tub of an oily-looking mixture with all different colored spice flakes.  This is chimichurri. It may look unconvincing, but trust me, it is the ultimate clincher to this culinary experience.  Spoon that spicy oil on top of your already-sauce-covered chorizo, and replace your top bun.  Now bite. 

There are times to be gentlemanly or ladylike, respectively, and there are times to throw caution to the wind.  Eating a choripan is one of the latter times.  Forego your table manners, and take no notice of the salsa golf dripping down your chin, or the chimichurri that has managed to run down your arm (how it got all the way to your elbow is still a mystery, but oh well).  Someday I will confess to you of my adventures chomping on choripan outside of some classy discos.  But we will save that for a later day.  For now, try to get your hands on some choripan.