Mendoza - 7 steaks in 7 days

As many of you know, I am fortunate enough to have a beautiful, witty and supportive vegetarian girlfriend. Going out with a carrot-muncher has had its health benefits for me as many of my days are spent diving into lovingly-made bean enchiladas or spanakopitas: tasty nutritious food that is filling and hasn´t involved any abbatoir slaughter in its making.

But in Argentina, steak is king. The cow is everywhere. Not just its meat, but its ribs, kidneys, intestines, sweetbreads and even brains can be brought to your table. And so, having tried a smattering of parilla restarants, we arrived in Mendoza. Not only do they have steak here, but it is the best climate in the world for producing Malbec wine - the best accompaniment for grilled meat dishes. What are the chances?!

And so it was, that I took the plunge, slackened my belt and stared cold and hard into my Mendoza days: it was to be steak, all the way. And for you veg. lovers out there, there´s a note on what Mhairi had too..

Day 1: Steak Me, I´m Yours

The Place: Maria Antonieta, 1069 Belgrano. www.mariaantonietaresto.com

Mhairi at Maria Antonieta

We stumbled into this new restaurant that sparkled with Soho cool. Its white-tile/black paint decor balanced with minimalist but comfortable wooden tables and bright, colourful napkins in a Cath Kidston style. This was not a grill restaurant, but the very latest addition to Mendoza´s eating establishments and run by the niece of the 1884´s owner Francis Mallman (see Day 5). She´s travelled widely in the big cities of the world so the food was modern looking, with a short menu of 5-10 starters and mains and a few desserts. Before we get into the real deal, the starters are worth a mention: my mushroom, fennel and parmesan salad was sublime, like a savoury cheesecake, with some lemon citrus flavours making it more-ish. Mhairi´s smoked aubergine and cheese dish hit the spot too, and was wonderfully presented.

Steak with fresh chimichurri salsa

The Steak: In keeping with the restaurant, this was a small (for Argentine standards) rib-eye steak at about 250g with a fresh chimichurri style salsa drizzled on it. The meat was tender and had been grilled well, to melt in the mouth. Though lacking some of the barbecue flavours from parrilla style restaurants, the seasoning and sweet roundness from the salsa made it top class.




Mhairi had: Linguine with pesto. Only a couple of options, but filling and high quality.

The Wine:  was a victim of iPod´s autocorrect, now listed only as "Sin fil". It was a good 2011 Malbec with dry fruit and a quality I still call "something of the farmyard"...


Day 2: Burnt at the Steak
The Place: Camping Suizo Grill. El Challao, www.campingsuizo.com.ar
Without a reservation for NYE we planned to grill. But with little recent barbecue experience, we had to practice, and check that the beef locally was up to scratch! So we went to our local little shop in El Challao and bought steak from the old man in the corner with his meat counter. Camping Suizo is mostly frequented by Argentines and other South Americans, so the grills were big, and ready to use, and we set ourselves up with a metric-ton of charcoal to generate some real HEAT. Cue singed eyebrows and burnt fingers as I cooked up a storm...

The Steak: It´s official... London restaurants aren´t scamming you, the chefs aren´t rubbish: simply - Argentine beef, fresh from the cows in the pampas tastes amazing. Nothing else can explain how my first attempt at a bife de chorizo on the camp grill ended so succulent, tender and tasty. 400g of barbecue grilled meat, done medium-rare with plenty of salt and pepper seasoning. The charcoal flavoured outer part gave way to a juicy and soft centre that filled the mouth and made my eyes roll back into my head with pleasure.

Mhairi had: Barbecued vegetables - red onion, aubergine and peppers with chilli and black pepper seasoning. 

The Wine: After a full day on the wine in Maipu, we opted for beer in the evening. A good cold Schneider lager...

Day 3: Steak control...

The Place: Andeluna Vineyards, Tupungato, http://www.andeluna.com.ar/

Andeluna tasting room

Part of the excellent, if pricey, tour through Ampora Wine Tours, lunch at Andeluna was set against the stunning backdrop of Andean mountains in the Uco Valley in a designer bodega. We met tourists turned away from the gates as they hadn´t booked in advance. Our little tour of eight people was up for a 5 course tasting menu, with Andeluna wine flight.  The restaurant was full of genteel wood and brick with big, plush tables and chairs. A high ceiling and views out to the valley lent a sense of grandeur to the place: the food was good but served as more of a focus for pairing the wine.

View out from Andeluna restaurant

The Steak: Filet mignon of around 200g. This was a good steak, don´t get me wrong. It felt like it had been pan-fried in a little butter, so more of a French style. Paired with a good wine, and as part of a longer tasting menu  it was tasty, filling and the good quality beef ensured it remained tender, if a touch overdone for rare. Overall, it couldn´t quite match the actual French steaks I´ve had in the past where fillet steaks are one of their culinary dark arts...

Mhairi had: Baked goat´s cheese on a bed of leafy greens.

The Wine: Pasionado Malbec, 2011. I´d had about 20 wines by this point. It was good, I remember, but no detailed description remains....

Day 4: Steak-ation
The Place: Camping Suizo Grill 
Well, you know the drill. Same grill, different day - New Year´s Eve and a national holiday the next morning for the World. And that meant better wine, and some luxe ingredients. Mhairi had hit up the central market in Mendoza for provoleta cheese and I also added a pork chorizo sausage to the steak ensemble. We fired up the grill, and toasted UK New Year at 9pm and local New Year 3 hours later.

The Steak: Lesson learnt. I´d tried to economise on charcoal, as last time the barbecue singed my eyebrows and burnt late into the night. With less coal, the colder barbecue took longer to cook the steak. It was still great: the quality doesn´t go away, but it was just a little less juicy than the first effort.

Mhairi had: Provolone cheese and barbecued mediterranean veg. The Provolone cheese is a revelation. Who has been hiding it from us? A very hard and chewy cheese when cold, it´s perfect for the barbecue as it softens, takes on the smoky flavors, and it a lovely gooey mouthful.

The Wine: Gimenez Riili, Malbec Reserva, 2009. Stunning wine, with its plum and cherry fruitiness lasting long in the mouth by strong tannins. Again, an UCO valley wine, so the notes of stone and dry spice from the higher altitude and thinner soil are present. We love this wine. http://www.gimenezriili.com/files/vintage/gr_ft_grr_ma09_en_0712.pdf

Day 5: Mis-Steak

The Place: Downtown, Avenida Sarmiento, to the right of Azafran as you look at it.

Not to moan too much about Azafran next door, but they told us they were fully booked and we then proceeded to watch their tables remain empty while we ate. We´d been chatted up by the waiter/fluffer guy on the door at Downtown the day before, and with hungry bellies we reasoned it couldn´t be too bad an option. We were more or less right. No pictures for this one...

The Steak: A massive hunk of cow, in true Argentine style - maybe 600g. I asked for medium rare, but it had mostly moved to medium-well, with some fleshy pink bits remaining in the middle - again traditional Argie style. The grill flavours came through nicely, and in any home cooked meal, this would be a feast. Thrown on the plate as it was, and with 3 great steaks already done, this one just didn´t cut it. Chips were awful.

Mhairi had: Margherita pizza. Her initial comment after seeing it then taking a bite: "This doesn´t taste as bad as I thought it would"

The Wine: Bianchi, Don Paulo Estate Malbec 3011. Again the plum, very light drinkable wine, with more top of mouth tannins than anything else and a slight medicinal aftertaste. Alright.

Day 6: Steak through the Heart
The Place: 1884 Francis Mallman, Godoy Cruz, http://1884restaurante.com.ar/

Mhairi - grill and oven behind. Check out how much wood!

Ok, it is full of American tourists. OK, it costs a bomb and actually if you get stuck inside rather than in the garden, the atmosphere ain´t anything special. But the location is incredible: walking through the huge vaulted gatehouse, right into a well stocked bar before having an aperitif on the lawn - well, it´s amazing. The black iron grill and oven are outside for you to marvel at as you sip your drinks, and dinner outside in the fading Mendoza light is beautiful. And the food? Well the starter for me was barbecued chicory and wild mushrooms fried in butter. A lovely smoky and bitter vs. rich and unctuous combo on my plate. Mhairi had a salted pear and burrata cheese dish - they agreed to take the bacon out just for her.

The Steak: An incredible rib-eye weighing in at around 400g. Real charcoal barbecue flavour deeply ingrained into the crust, with the perfect medium-rare flesh: sweet and soft inner meat balancing the salty-smoky outer. They kindly swapped the patagonian potato side for avocado salad too.

Mhairi had: pumpkin and mascarpone ravioli: which were excellent, so I stole one. Lots of veggie choices on the menu in general.

The Wine: Bodega Rutini - La Rural, Anthologia IX, 2001. Malbec, Cab., Syrah blend. Pushed the boat on this one. Great plum and violets with herbaceous and mint tones. Really complex and beautiful wine, but probably not worth the cash unless you´re really into your wines. http://www.bodegaslarural.com/fch_fr_antologiaIX.htm

Day 7: Steak-Out

The Place: Lagarde, , www.lagarde.com.ar

sexy starter...

Recommended for lunch by the Vines of Mendoza team, we were not disappointed. The small and intimate outdoor courtyard setting was exceptionally picturesque and relaxing. The seats all faced the middle where the small grill and tiny outdoor kitchen were in plain view, as the chef and his one assistant cooked and plated all the dishes for around 10 diners. Little amuse-bouche came out, as did some high quality empanadas. Mhairi´s vegetarianism was accommodated at every turn. Book in advance!

Watching the Lagarde steak being cooked...

The Steak: I watched the guy cook it, and it was great. A 300g sirloin steak served on a wooden block with grilled tomato. The more fibrous sirloin was a nice change after so many softer rib-eyes, and again the quality of those cows gave it what´s now called a good "mouthfeel" I think... Anyway, see the picture. Sorry it´s a bit out of focus, Mhairi took the photo and, well, she prefers the tomato.

Mhairi had: pan-fried gnocchi with corn and cheese. Much better than its simple description here, it was fried over the barbecue to add more smoky depth to its character.

Mhairi´s photo of the Lagarde tomato, with steak in background

The Wine: Lagarde, Guarda blend, Malbec/CabSauv/Merlot/Syrah. Somewhat skeptical of blends of large numbers of grapes, but we ended up preferring this to their Malbec DOC. A very full bodied wine that manages to balance all the grape flavours within it.








Missed-Steaks:
There is an army of steak offerings in Mendoza. With Downtown crashing an almost perfect 7 steaks, I could only swap in one other restaurant. If Azafran had been more reasonable, I´m sure it would have pulled out a good´un. Anna Bistro is also getting rave reviews but it was closed on New Year´s Day when we went looking for it. Next time Mendoza!
www.azafranresto.com/home.html
http://www.annabistro.com/

This was how we looked on the last night in Mendoza. Not too fat from all the steaks, clutching a Carmelo Patti bottle... Time to reduce the steak intake...