1st Annual Buenos Aires Chili Cookoff

For any expats or travelers in Buenos Aires missing the mythical taste sensation of "spicy", you are a few days away from appeasing your desire in the form of the 1st Annual BA Chili Cookoff. I'll have more info on the event as I'll be likely reviewing it. But if you're in Buenos Aires and looking for something fun to do, be sure to come. Proceeds will support the Buenos Aires Shankees Baseball Team.




1st Annual BA Chili Cookoff:

PLACE:
Genó Beer Bar, Guatemala 5499, Barrio Palermo, Buenos Aires


DATE/TIME:
Sunday, 3rd of July, 1pm. Volunteers need to be there about 11am. Cooks need to be in position about noon. Judges and the General Public come in about 1pm to kick everything off.

Winners will be announced at 4pm or when there is no more chili, whichever comes first.

PRICES:
5 peso Chili (175 cc)
5 peso Cornbread from El Tejano
5 peso Tortillas de Pancho Villa
5 peso Cookies and Goodies from Sugar & Spice
5 peso Draft Beer de Quilmes and Buenos Aires largest selection of Imported Beers from GENÓ Beer Bar

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20 Free iPhone Food Apps for the Traveler

Later today I'll be getting on a flight from Buenos Aires and heading to the United States, where I'll be spending a month in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. And with every trip, I only have so many meals in a day and try to be careful not to waste one on subpar food.

So for the past 4 years as an iPhone user, I've been using a number of apps to help avoid any culinary mistakes. I thought I'd share a few of these.

If you have any others to recommend, do so in the comment section below.

+ menus
+ ratings
+ prices
- US only
- Limited cities

MenuPages:
The app I rely on the most is MenuPages. Unlike many of the other options, MenuPages gives you reasonably updated menus for each restaurant. This on top of the standard info you'll find on other applications: price range, ratings, reviews, and address. But like the app name tells you, it's the menus that make this app the most useful.

Using the MenuPages app is a sintch too. Just need to type in a cuisine your looking for and it will give you a Google Map with available options. When you click on an listing, it will give you the address, price range, ratings in stars and reviews...and with a click, the menu.

I've been using Menupages for years on the computer and the past few years on the iphone. But the biggest drawback is that the available cities are very limited.

Originally, MenuPages was just a New York based tool. Over the years, they've had new ownership, and started to expand...but at a snails pace. The only cities available are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago. They've recently expanded with London and Paris, seemingly following Yelp's lead. Luckily, these are all cities I frequent. But the app is only useful if you happen to be in one of these select few cities.

+ reviews
+ ratings
+ price range
+ many US cites
- US only
- no menus

Yelp:
Probably the most popular app for the hungry on the road. A quick search will give you a Google mapped result that with a single click, gives you price range, hours, address, ratings and reviews. They also include discounts from time to time for a location, like some of the other services like Foursquare, etc.

I'd likely only use Yelp if it included one more item: menus. I can read all the reviews I want and people's recommendations...which are helpful. But in the perfect world, one would be able to see the specific menu as well. And with so many restaurant official sites being in flash, it' snot always as easy as clicking the link to the official site and give the menu a look. I find I use Yelp hand-in-hand with the MenuPages app to cover that base.

+ reviews
+ ratings
+ price range
+ many US cities
- US only
- no menus

UrbanSpoon:
There are plenty of people who appreciate the risk in eating more than I do. And by risk I mean a menu that might not be to ones suiting. For the adventurous, there is UrbanSpoon. It's a simple interface, you can shake and assuming you're in the United States, it will give you a random restaurant to try. You can also click the "browse" feature and do a more detailed search by cuisine, neighborhood, etc. Upon viewing a cuisine, you'll get the high-level name, address and price range info. And with a 2nd click, you'll get a rating calculated by a simple "like" or "I don't" option. Photos are also a helpful tool they provide.

+ international
- not as detailed
as Yelp, etc

Google Places:
The Google Places app is basically the Google attempt at Yelp and other local resources. For food hunters, it's a handy tool. But mostly when you are outside of the US and don't have access to apps like Yelp. Sure, you can at times get free app alternatives for a given international city. But Google Places gives you some quick ideas, reviews, ratings, etc.

+ International
options in
one app

Google Maps + My Maps:
It might seem pretty redundant to include the most basic of iPhone apps, Google Maps, on the list. Especially since it comes pre-installed on all iPhones. In the United States, it's where so many of the other apps like MenuPages and Yelp are pulling their map data. That's all well and good in the United States, but when you are traveling outside the US, you need something more broad. And Google delivers that. With the simplicity we're all used to with Google Maps, you can type in something as simple as "restaurants" and be given some helpful information. If one is planning a trip, you can also create your own Google Map with pin points to places (restaurant locations) of
interest. Due to a hiccup in the Google Maps technology though, you'll need the next app mentioned to access your customized map.

+ access to your
saved
Google Maps

My Maps is a simple app that accesses your Google account. When you create a map on your computer using Google Maps and save it, you currently cannot access that via the official Google Maps iPhone app. My Maps is free and upon clicking, just presents you with a list of your saved maps. When you click a map, it loads it in Google Maps. Tis is especially helpful if you are are traveling outside the United States and want to have a layout of restaurants you intend to visit.

Upon searching the App Store today, it does appear that the free version I currently use might no longer be available.

+ international
+ map view
+ ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor:
The TripAdvisor app gives you all the info you get from their helpful site, but in a much easier method. In a foreign country and want a specific cuisine?. Just click "restaurants", type in your city, click a price range, and you're good to go. It's that simple. The results are given in list form with the star ratings, number of reviews and the handy "see on map" option, which launches all the listings on a Google Map. Granted, I've personally spent more time outside the United States the past year, but even when in the US, I find myself using TripAdvisor often.

+ most US cities
- US only

Nationwide Happy Hours:
There are a number of different Happy Hour apps out there. But this one covers the United States while many others are limited to a single city. Search is done by entering the city and then a Google Map appears with the various listings. A single click gives you a high-level look at hours and prices with more details in the second click.

+ most US cities
- US only

GoTime Happy Hours:
Another United States national source, GoTime.com Happy Hours is a collection of listings brought to you be some of the various local publications through GoTime.com.

Some other happy hour apps for specific cities include HourDrinks (New York) and Venga (Maryland/DC/NoVa).

+ extremely detailed
info with
restaurant reviews
- Only city of SF
is a free app

Lonely Planet

This is one of the best apps for a food traveler. Just like their paper books, you get access to restaurant reviews, local food festivals and street fairs, phrase books, history, and everything else you could possibly need. The offline maps are the most helpful tool...allowing you to have the accuracy of a Google Map, but without the roaming charges.

If you are visiting San Francisco, you're in luck...the Lonely Planet app is free for the Bay Area. Each other city costs $5.99...but since SF is free, it made the list.

+ number of free

cities such as

NY, Chi
- $4.99 for other cities

TimeOut:

The popular travel book also has it's own iPhone app. Unlike some of the other travel guide apps where you can download specific cities from within the app, TimeOut has unique apps for each city. There are a number of free cities including New York and Chicago. If you've worked your way through Yelp, MenuPages and the other apps, TimeOut is worth some use.

+ dining, transit,
parking all
in one app

MyCityWay:

Another cool United States based app. Originally, the app was just for New York. In time, they have expanded to include a large number of other cities. The level of info each city app provides is very deep. You'll find a dining guide by cuisine or via your local in the "around me" section. There's individual sections for nightlife, local events, coffee, transit, parking and much more. With this one little app, you can plan where you're going to go eat, but also what subway to take there or where to park.

There is the all encompassing "USA" app, as well as 9 international cities and 22 US cities.

- only negative is
it's only for
Buenos Aires

Guía Oleo:
Here's a great app for anyone living in or visiting Buenos Aires. Guía Oleo is essentially the BA version of Yelp. Same handy map options, reviews, ratings, etc.

Other Quality iPhone Food apps:

Foodspotting: 
It's a somewhat helpful app, giving you a basic feel of a place based on photos.

FourSquare
The app is primarily for social networking and seeing where people are in an area. But it does offer discounts and deals too. So you can open the app on the fly, and it will tell you local deals in the specific area you are in.

Groupon
If you're looking for a deal of discount, you'll find some options here in many different cities.

Restaurant Finder

FoodStream

Dishfinders

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BBQ Wild Boar Ribs (Ribs de Jabali)

I love wild boar. I love BBQ ribs. So let's have them both.

Rather than having to hunt down Jabali meat, luckily BBQ Wild Boar Ribs are an option at Oro & Cándido  in Palermo. In general with boar, the quality all depends on where it comes from. Feral Swine can be very good when hunted naturally and can be equal when farm raised. And of course, there is poorer quality when the jabali feeds on less natural foods in human population rich places.

With the Ribs de Jabali option at Oro & Cándido, you do run into a familiar problem with the menus in Buenos Aires. The actual menu listing is "ribs de jabali". But the use of the English word "ribs" can at times be a problem. "Ribs" on any English menu in North America would likely mean exactly what you are used to: either standard, long ribs or baby back ribs. But at times in Buenos Aires, you'll see the word "rib" used, but the cut is actually not what you'd expect. At Oro & Cándido, the "Ribs de Jabali" aren't a rack of ribs. They are instead costillas de jabali, more like a rack of lamb in the cut of meat.

So the primary letdown is that when ordering "Ribs de Jabali", you aren't actually getting ribs that you're expect.

Once you get past that, you can try to appreciate it. The meat however, is less than great. In smothering with BBQ sauce, you can dress up this pig a bit.

I've had better jabali at a number of places. Not great, not bad at Oro & Cándido. But I'm not sure I would recommend at this particular restaurant.  

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Empanadas de Yacaré, Ñandú y Jabali (Caimen Crocodile, Ostrich, Wild Boar)

Here's a dish for a partially-ambitious carnivore. It's an empanada sampler from Oro & Cándido  in Palermo with (3) empanadas: Crocodile, Ostrich and Wild Boar. So you get to sample some game meats, while enjoying a more familiar style.

All three are similar in preperation: the meat is ground for all three, with some onion and seasoning, and made into an empanada, each with a unique casing.

The Jabali is a more tender white meat, full of juices in the blue corn casing. The flavor is good and it went well with a small side of BBQ sauce I had requested.

As someone that has eaten ample Ostrich in his lifetime, I'm used to the distinct taste of the meat. But they do a good job with the flavor and it tastes similar to a traditional carne empanada.

The Yacaré Crocodile is in the darker whole wheat casing. It's actually the first time I've eaten Yacaré and it did taste quite different that all the alligator I've eaten while living in the United States. I has not a fan as I found the flavor to be similar to what a person smells like after 3 days at Cochella.

But if you're in BA and looking to try something different, give it a whirl. It's only $21AR and is an appetizer, so even if it doesn't satisfy your palate, you'll always have the entrée to follow.

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BBQ Baby Back Ribs from Kansas

There aren't too many options for fall-off-the-bone BBQ ribs in Buenos Aires. For all the great meat dishes in the country, so much of the meat options require strict grilling. The idea of slow smoking meat for 6 hours seems alien to many chefs, almost sacreligious. 

I can't count the number of times I sought out places for BBQ ribs (pechito de cerdo) and even found locations that announce them as "BBQ". But most of the time, they aren't. 

Take La Carranzita in Palermo for example. They just take a rack of ribs, throw them on the grill, and put some kind of sauce on them. You can imagine how tough they area: chewy in the middle, burnt on the outside, and just too much work to even get any meat of of them. Even worse is when these same restaurants refuse to use a real barbacoa sauce and instead tries to make their own. And that's what they do at La Carranzita...they  seem to just take a bottle of ketchup, add some sugar and call is "BBQ sauce". 

Luckily, when a rib lover need a BBQ fix and doesn't want to put in an entire day to smoke them, there is Kansas in Palermo. 

I figured it was finally time to take some photogs of their ribs.

The ribs they offer are only baby back, which to me are like the Southwest Airlines of BBQ ribs. But they fall off the bone and don't taste like they've been pre-boiled to be tender. They have a nice smoky flavor and the sauce is excellent as well. Sides are french fries and coleslaw, but I swapped them out for candied batatas and grilled zucchini. 

Overall, they probably aren't much better than baby back ribs you'd get at an American Chili's. But for BA, it's the best of the best. 

The menu has a ton of other great options and specials. When I went this past Sunday, they had grilled swordfish on the menu...and that's a fish I rarely find here. 

They also have a killer dessert menu. Below you'll find their New York style cheesecake, in a frutilla sauce and topped with white chocolate shavings. Good stuff. 

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Pizza at Siamo nel Forno

Siamo nel Forno

Costa Rica 5886, Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires

Always earns it's rep as best pizza in the city.

The best of the best. Siamo nel Forno is considered by many to be the best pizza in Buenos Aires, and I concur. The crust is cripsy on the outside, chewy in the middle. The cheese selected is real mozzarella, and not the lower quality cheese you get used to finding on pizza in BA. If you order a pizza margherita (see image), you'll get just a light amount of quality tomatoe, muzzarella y albahaca.

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Pizza in Buenos Aires...with Pepperoni

Photo by Dan Perlman

Buenos Aires seems to have pizzerias on every other street corner. Any traveler or new resident from North America or Europe would be happy to see that, something many wouldn't expect in a South American city. But when you finally get around to eating pizza in Buenos Aires, you realize it is completely different from what you are used to.

In fact, there are many who claim it's the worst pizza in the world. I for one wouldn't go that far, since the average pizza I've had in Buenos Aires has been on par with pizza I've had in much of Europe and the United States in the states not on the east and west coasts, or major cities like Chicago. 

Pizza in Buenos Aires is seldom a thin crust by world standards and very far from "New York thin crust" standards.The mozzarella cheese used is often a softer type with a different flavor than people are used to (finding good cheese is an issue many expats in BA are quick to bring up...despite all the damn cows). The pizza crust is pretty thick, while remaining reasonable light and fluffy. Think of BA pizza as being more like a 3cm bread with sauce and cheese. 

The pizza culture is also a bit different than many are used to. You'll find virtually every pizzeria has a menu of different types of pizzas they serve. Not listed on these menus are toppings. So the Buenos Aires pizza culture does not include much self-experimentation. In many other countries, someone might have a special concoction of toppings they prefer that they order on a pizza. In Buenos Aires, it's more of just trying different options on a menu. And for the bold, it's asking for something customized with specific toppings, even when the menu doesn't encourage it.

So on my quest for the best pizza in Buenos Aires, I've tried a number of different places. Perhaps it's because it's what I'm used to, but the pizzerias that serve the closest to "New York style" pizza are the ones I prefer. 

I've only tried about 20 different pizzerias in Buenos Aires, but I already have a top few:

Siamo nel Forno
Costa Rica 5886, Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires

The best of the best. Siamo nel Forno is considered by many to be the best pizza in Buenos Aires, and I concur. The crust is cripsy on the outside, chewy in the middle. The cheese selected is real mozzarella, and not the lower quality cheese you get used to finding on pizza in BA. If you order a pizza margherita (see image), you'll get just a light amount of quality tomatoe, muzzarella y albahaca.

Pizzeria Morris

Costa Rica 5799, Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires

Morris has all the same options as every other Buenos Aires pizzeria. But what they do with the crust is what sets them apart as my favorite Buenos Aires pizzeria thus far. Just looking at this iphone photo, anyone used to pizza in Buenos Aires will see the crust is different than most pizzerias. It's crisp on the outside, slightly chewy in the middle. The sauce was also quite different, as it was a simple tomato sauce one would be used to from a traditional New York pizzeria. The photo to the left is just a simple Muzzarella pizza (salsa tomate y muzzarella) with the standard topping of whole green olives. If you're in Palermo, it's worth trying.

Punto Pizza

Paraguay 3779, Palermo, Buenos Aires

When ordering pizza in the United States, I was never a huge fan of pepperoni. I always liked it on pizza, but just rarely ordered it. But since pepperoni is a non-existent food item in Argentina, I was intrigued when I heard there was a pizzeria that served it.

Upon reading a blog, I learned about Punto Pizza, a local chain with 4 Buenos Aires locations. I admit, I cared less about the pizza and more about the fact that pepperoni as a topping was available. 

And it was well worth the trip. They only offer delivery and pickup. Since I'm without a phone in BA, that left only the option to walk over there.

The pizza itself was fairly average by worlds standards, but very enjoyable. I ordered a small pepperoni pan pizza (they offer both pan and thin crust). The crust itself, even for a pan pizza, was very light and fluffy. So it was a very light meal despite the cheese and pepperoni.  In reality, this pizza was pretty close in flavor to what it resembles: a Pizza Hut pan pizza. It was nothing special by international standards, but pretty good for BA standards. But hey, they have pepperoni pizza.

Piola
Libertad 1078, Recoleta, Buenos Aires

I don't have any photos, but Piola is worth trying as it's thin crust, compared to the traditional Buenos Aires thick crust I mentioned above. Their pizza isn't going to win any awards, but it's a good balance of the traditional BA pizza taste, with some of the benefits expats will enjoy.

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Fabada Asturiana

A stew of beans, chorizo, morcilla, pork belly and potatos.
From El Preferido de Palermo in Palermo Soho, a restaurant specializing in dishes from the Asturias region of Spain.

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Matambrito de Cerdo al Verdeo

Grilled pork flank, cut and served in a brown gravy with cooked green onion and papas espanol. One of the daily specials at El Trapiche in Palermo Hollywood.

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Ojo de Bife - Matarife

There's a need every so often to mix things up when going to a parrilla. So rather than ordering Meat A and Side dish B, I'll try one of the entrees on the menu.

Below is something you'll see on many parrilla menus in BA. It's ojo de bife which is a rib eye steak. It's topped with a BA favorite, roasted red pepper, along with caramelized onions. Wrapped around the entire side is a thin layer of panceta. The side is Patagonian papas, although these ones are much larger then I've had with this same dish at other parrillas.

Photo quality sucks but the food was perfect...

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Pastrami in Buenos Aires

Not what I'm used to in the US, but pretty good.

Pastrami on dark rye (toasted)
topped with caramelized onions with paprika

Sides:
2 types of kinishes: potato and onion w/potato.

I bought this all  from Ciervo de Oro in Villa Crespo in Buenos Aires. A large Jewish population in the neighborhood, so an ideal location to find quality deli.

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Milanesa de Pollo Napolitana

This will likely be the first of many posts about milanesa.

Milanesa is essentially a chicken-friend steak you'd find in the Southern United States. Insome places, you can get the Milanesa style for chicken and some fish.

Here's a quick shot of one I had recently from El Club de Milanesa in Palermo.

It's a pounded flat piece of chicken, lightly breaded and fried. It's then topped with a razor thin piece of smoked ham, topped with a tomato sauce and then melted mozzarella. So it's basically a pizza with meat instead of dough. I'll take it over a US style "chicken parm" any day.

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Recommend Food

Want to educate us on a type of food you recommend or perhaps a cuisine we've missed the boat on? Let us know via the comments section below!

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