GOOD FOOD IN MEXICO CITY: arrachera

5/22/12

Carnivorous Cravings: ...to The Bloody Last Drop - part III

This is the third and last installment of the poor Sr. de la Torre's bovine ramble through our fleshy steakhouses...

10 Dias, 9 Parrillas: A Trilogy (Part III)

DAY 8: Gardel Grill

We have this theory that parrillas, like certain other things, must be cheaper outside Roma/Condesa. But the online menu for La Evita on Reforma proves our theory wrong. And when I find the online menu for La Rural on Insurgentes in Colonia Napoles, they don’t even list prices, which brings to mind the old saying, “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”

So we head for Rio Lerma in Cuauhtemoc instead, home to Quebracho (which is pretty good for a chain restaurant parrilla by the way), the mass-market airplane hangar-like Don Asado (such a shame what that franchise has become), the unknown quantity that is Berretín and Gardel Grill, which I went to once a couple years ago with some friends and I remember being pretty good. We opt for Gardel Grill, and as we enter, something is different from how I remember this place…it’s kitted out for office workers.

We order the 600 gram bone-in asado de tira to share because at 185 pesos it’s the most economical steak on the menu, cooked to medium-well. There’s an impersonal feeling here I can’t quite put my finger on. The meat is still crackling when it arrives and it’s definitely fattier than the asado de tira at Los Uruguayos. This is not necessarily bad in and of itself, but as we proceed eating, the cut becomes progressively fattier, to the point that I’m finding some bites that aren’t even edible.

VERDICT: The lowest cost cut of meat is no excuse for serving the cheapest value. For what it’s worth, I saw quite a few customers ordering pasta. We won’t be back.

Gardel Grill

Rio Lerma 171 between Guadalquivir and Ebro, Colonia Cuauhtemoc

5533-3466 | 5514-0714

Arrachera: 350 grams / 190 pesos

Asado de tira: 600 grams / 185 pesos

Vacio: 400 grams / 190 pesos

DAY 9: La Parrilla Argentina

We didn’t realize until we were ordering that La Parrilla Argentina is a chain; we just came here on the recommendation of an acquaintance whose office is nearby. This place is cantina large, with a capacity of easily 200 people and a preference for old bolero music—when we walk in, José José’s voice is manhandling the sound system. There’s a very old-school feel here and I have no doubt that during Friday happy hour this place is thumping. The waiter assures us the asado de tira is not too fatty and we order it medium-well. The meat explodes with flavor to the point that I forget that there’s chimichurri, picante or any other condiments on the table because really, this doesn’t need anything extra on it.

VERDICT: This place is great if you can get your boss or sugar daddy to pay for it.

La Parrilla Argentina

Lafragua No. 4, corner of Monumento a la Revolucion, Colonia Tabacalera

5566-5542 | 5566-5667

Arrachera 350 grams/154pesos, 700grams/303pesos

Asado de tira 350 grams/173 pesos, 700 grams/308 pesos

DAY 10: La Biela

Luisa says this is the last we eat parrilla for a long time so I should order carefully. I’m picking vacío. The prices here (not to mention the previous two places) raise the question of how Roma and Condesa parrillas could be the cheapest priced in the city and our temporary theory is that the Roma and Condesa parrillas are a) competing with each other and b) where the Argentines and Uruguayans go to eat, versus out here in middle-class colonias, like Napoles, where Argentine grill is considered something exotic, and therefore priced accordingly.

There’s an old maxim in journalism: “Show, don’t tell.” So why don’t I just show you how juicy the vacío is here:

Unfortunately, juicy in this case doesn’t necessarily equate to more flavor. The vacío at Escarapela was definitely better, and in contrast to the previous parrilla, I find myself leaning a lot on the chimichurri here to enjoy the meat.

VERDICT: This is a relaxed old-school mom-and-pop outside of Roma/Condesa. It’s pricy, but I like the atmosphere here. Also, Chiandoni’s famous homemade ice cream is two blocks away.

La Biela

Dakota 305, corner of Pennsylvania, Colonia Napoles

1107-6549 | 5687-9763

Arrachera 350 grams / 215 pesos, 600 grams / 320 pesos

Vacío 350 grams / 215 pesos, 600 grams / 320 pesos

Asado de tira 600 grams / 290 pesos

When he’s not eating meat, Ulysses de la Torre is an emerging markets consultant and maintains a blog about finance and economics in developing countries at www.divergingmarkets.com.

END PART III

To see part I click here

To see part II click here

5/1/12

Carnivorous Cravings: where's the beef?

For the first time in the history of Good Food in Mexico City, I turn the podium over to a guest writer, while I explore the Good Food of various points of mysterious Eastern Europe and the more familiar Occident.

This three part series on where to eat the best arrachera in el D.F. will give any good vegetarian nightmares worthy of a George Romero film. But this one ain't for the rabbit food set. Read on, bloody meat-eaters:

10 Dias, 9 Parrillas: A Trilogy (Part I)

By Ulysses de la Torre

The idea was to find the best Argentine arrachera steak in Mexico City. But anyone familiar with this corner of the food universe should already see problems with the premise. First, although arrachera is served at many Argentine parrillas here, it’s a northern Mexican cut; second, there are too many Argentine parrillas to try them all by deadline; third, what about Uruguayan parrillas?

With those caveats in mind, my wife, Luisa, and I set forth to see what we could find.

DAY 1: El Hornero

This wasn’t supposed to be anything like the movie where the guy eats McDonald’s every day for a month, but that’s what I’m thinking of right now. We’re beginning at El Hornero because we’ve been here enough that the two Argentine owners know us and it’s intimate enough—capacity is three dozen—that if you catch it at the right time, the owners might sit and chat. Tonight turns out to be one such night.

Matias says what he serves as “arrachera” (what I ate) is called entraña back home. Since opening three years ago, I’ve tried everything here, but never with the aim of comparing it in a meat-off. So what about the arrachera/entraña tonight? It has the requisite smoothness of a decent arrachera, plus the added punch of a marinade. Also, Matias says it’s kosher. Over dessert, we tell him of our parrilla challenge and ask which meat is a must-have for any worthwhile parrilla. Matias says asado de tira. He also says there’s no difference between Argentine and Uruguayan parrillas. So what’s already apparent on day one is that this is about more than just arrachera.

VERDICT: El Hornero is one of our standbys. And whenever I finish a meal here, I’m always kind of sad it’s over.

El Hornero | Cordoba 148, between Zacatecas and Guanajuato, Colonia Roma

5584-5413 | 044-55-3948-7088 | Monday – Saturday 13:00—21:00, home delivery, cash only

Arrachera: 350 grams/140 pesos

Asado de tira: 350 grams/145 pesos

DAY 2: Quilmes

For breakfast, I ate all fruit, and for lunch, all vegetables. So guess what it’s time for?

We’re determined to avoid chain restaurants, but we made an exception for Quilmes on a friend’s recommendation. It’s cavernous—two floors—and unlike El Hornero, where even the clientele was Argentine, Quilmes targets Mexicans. I’m sure Sunday brunch is busy, but tonight, Friday, it’s more empty than full. Quilmes has been in Condesa since the pre-hipster days and as if to accentuate this fact, we watch a hipster walk in with his girlfriend, look around, and murmur to her, “aquí no está padre güey.” But the girl insists and they take a table.

Prices are higher and the music is disastrous (Phil Collins, El DeBarge…need I go on?). The walls are absent of the Che/Maradona/Evita/Gardel montage typical of many parrillas, instead plastered with futbol jerseys and flat screen televisions. The arrachera is unmarinated and uniformly smooth and I can taste the charcoal. Nothing exciting about this, but it does the job. I don’t usually pay attention to the quality of picante sauce, but its watery taste compels me to take note.

VERDICT: Not bad, but given this city’s proliferation of parrillas, I see no need to return. And there’s no way the owner would ever sit with us for a chat.

Quilmes | Alfonso Reyes 193, between Cholula and Saltillo, Colonia Condesa

5516-1438 | 7 days

Arrachera: 350 grams/165 pesos

Asado de tira: 350 grams/235 pesos

DAY 3: Cuareim 1080

Fate has delivered us here. We were headed elsewhere in Polanco, but while looking for a parking spot, wound up in front of Cuareim 1080, an Uruguayan parrilla named after a Montevideo artists’ commune closed by the military dictatorship in 1978. Since it’s Uruguayan, instead of Che/Diego/Evita is artwork from the original commune and Uruguayan folk rock on the stereo. Here’s how real Cuareim keeps it: arrachera isn’t even on the menu. The waiter says their closest meat to arrachera is entraña, so I order it medium (as I generally do) and when it arrives, it has no side dish, which is fine considering I’m up to my neck in vegetables the rest of my waking hours.

The meat has slightly more fat and some skin and I can taste the grill. Also, it’s clear Quilmes was missing last night—there, the meat was smooth and decent quality, but it tasted diluted, like the picante sauce. Here, the flavor is jumping off the plate.

VERDICT: This place is cool, and rather understated for Polanco. Like El Hornero, I’m hearing a lot of southern cone accents, and also like El Hornero, it’s cozy—good for a private party where you want to be able to take over the joint.

Cuareim 1080 | Newton 105, between Masarik and Lamartine, Colonia Polanco

5531-7448 | Monday – Saturday 13:00-21:30, Sunday 13:00-19:00

Entraña, Asado de Tira: 300 grams / 150 pesos, side not included