Best and Worst of RTW Eats: South America edition
I saved the best of the best for last. And the worst of the worst. All from South America.
The Best
I've already written about the bife de chorizo I had at El Desnivel, as the "best of Buenos Aires." Well, four months later, it's still on top. It's the simplicity of the meal - really it's just one ingredient, grilled - that made it shine.
I was the first customer the day I went, and I'm always a bit worried being the first customer - what if the grill's not heated up? What if the meat's been sitting around on the grill just waiting for the first person to walk in? So I was a bit apprehensive when the waiter came with his silver platter, used a fork to place the steak on my plate, and drizzled the leftover juices from his plate to mine.
Cut it open, and there's this beefy beef that just melts away with a bite or two.
Even the sign's really cool, in an old-school Argentina sort of way. "Desnivel" means "step" in Spanish, and the letters step downwards! Remember it: El Desnivel at Defensa 855 in San Telmo.
The Worst
The worst meal in the entire world was in Sao Paulo. There were actually quite a few meals in Brazil that vied intensively for the title of "Worst," from overly salted feijoada at Brasil a Gosto to soggy, lukewarm, and gooey noodles at a weekly Japanese food fair.
But this meal actually came with anticipation. In my walks around Sao Paulo my first day, I noticed at lunchtime that it seemed like everyone was eating this dish which I later learned was stroganoff. Well, maybe not everyone, but at least everyone who was pretty and looked like a model. So I thought, it must be worth a try.
And what better place to try stroganoff than at a place called "Strogonophy's." It sounded just so perfect. But what it turned out to be was fatty salt served with pellets of salt, topped with fried salt sticks. There was no flavor at all except for table salt. Plus the nauseating texture and look of yellow goop.
