This is the third post in the Hello Argentina Series detailing my week-long trip in Beunos Aires, Argentina. Other posts include Hello Argentina and La Cabrera (Argentina Steak).When I look back at my trip to Beunos Aires, I am a little bewildered at how much beef I managed to consume in one week.
People in Argentina love their beef. It's everywhere. It was part of our tango show meal. I had it when I went out to lunch with local colleagues. It was the pinnacle course of our fancy, high-end dinner (post coming soon!); and Bryan said he ate it every night at his work conference. On top of all that, Bryan and I sought out a few steak restaurants ourselves too (how can you not??!).
Despite all the fanfare around the parillas (grill) restaurants in Beunos Aires, I actually think my favorite steak experience came from a simple lomito, a beef tenderloin (a.k.a. filet mignon) sandwich from this little cafe tucked in a corner right around one of the most popular tourist spots in Beunos Aires.
La Rambla is a quaint cafe-like restaurant not too far from Recoleta Cemetery (worth visiting!!). La Rambla has old world charm. Sit down at one of the wooden tables and find yourself surrounded by locals reading the morning paper, chatting with their friends, or just stopping by for a bite.
La Rambla is most known for its sandwiches, and the Lomito Completo was my favorite. Not by chance, this also happens to be the restaurant's own recommendation ("our suggestion!"). Lomito Completo is a beef tenderloin sandwich topped with ham, cheese, tomato, and lettuce between two lightly toasted pieces of bread.
It was absolutely phenomenal. The steak was cooked a perfect medium rare. I loved the combination of the ham with the steak. The bread was nicely toasted and just the right thickness. The entire sandwich was delightfully juicy and supremely satisfying.
For the sake of variety, we also got a Sandwich de Milanesa de Lomo, which is the same meat (tenderloin) but pounded flat and breaded. This Milanesa style comes from Italy and is very popular throughout Argentina. We ordered the De La Casa (of the house), which came with tomatoes and lettuce.
We liked how they cut all the sandwiches in half, so it was easy to share. This one had great flavor too, and the breaded and fried beef was definitely more unusual. I found this sandwich to be a bit drier than the other one, and I wished I had ordered it with more toppings, like maybe ham!
We enjoyed a simple salad with arugula, tomatoes, palm hearts, ham, and cheese. I love fresh palm hearts, and you can find them all over the place in Beunos Aires.
I think at the end Bryan was taking parts from this salad and sticking in into the Milanesa sandwich, which I'm sure was really delicious.
This place is closed on Mondays. We initially came by on a Monday (the day we visited the cemetery) and were so sad to find that it was closed. Believe it or not, we actually came back the following day to seek it out.
So worth it.
I leave you with some photos from Recoleta Cemetery, which is most certainly worth a visit. In terms of sites, I think it was one of my favorites in Beunos Aires. I have visited quite a few cemeteries in both Europe and the US, but I've never seen anything quite like Recoleta Cemetery.
And of course, once you've spent a relaxing morning exploring the cemetery, you can stop by La Rambla for lunch.
Crazy tall trees.
The most famous one - the site where Eva Perón (Evita) is buried.
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