A Family’s Dedication to Beef Lives On at Don Julio in Buenos Aires

Was at Don Julio’s five years ago and found the steak to be amazingly delicious. I will be in Buenos Aires next week and have reservations for another wonderful meal.

I love that the writer used “susurrus” to describe the sound. Such a descriptive but underused word!! (And it’s used in Spanish & Portuguese, too.) Very interesting article.

Nothing like a good piece of beef salted on both sides to help your cardiologist afford his/her next Mercedes. Still, having visited Buenos Aires, I can attest to the pleasure of eating Argentinian beef that's well prepared.

Crikey, I’ll take one of everything!!! I do love a good Argentinian Malbec with grilled beef. Great article!

Are those sides of beef or mid-sections? Here in Georgia, USA those chunks are known as mid-sections.

OMG! I am so hungry for a really good steak right now! Fortunately, we have a lot of great places in Chicago, but, apparently, they are considerably more expensive than this place is. I wonder how much a ticket to Buenos Aires is right now?

Don Julio never disappoints. There are plenty of places to eat great Argentinian typical “asado” but Don Julio is more than just a tasty tender piece of meat or the inexcusable provoleta. Don Julio is on top of a great asado is a whole experience. The ambiance, the excellent wine selection and the elegantly engraved knifes are some of the reasons to keep on coming. For sure one knows you’re on a unique place distinctive among the places of its kind. Every time I visit Buenos Aires is incomplete if I don’t dine there.

One more thing, is not only at Don Julio’s that they serve grass fed beef... that is standard in Argentina.

This is a singularly well written and cogent food travelogue that brings to the unfamiliar reader to the very doorstep of this apparently world class restaurant where we can smell the beef fat dripping and hear the sizzle of the grill and the murmur of a contented dining room. Reminds me of a Hemingway missive from a Cuban bar or a George Orwell letter from abroad. Great stuff.

This article feels out of touch when we are fighting climate change (beef, a major culprit), and when the whole Amazon rainforest is being burned down in Brazil -- and those opposing it are being murdered. Come on, NYT, get with the times...

Maybe Don Julio’s good, but then any simple to super fancy restaurant in Argentina is great. Hopefully you guys can write an article about The pizza in Argentina.

Booking a flight.

Thanks NYT for showcasing the beautiful earnestness of Argentine cuisine. “Farm to table” is a recent trend in North America, but a way of life down (way) south where it’s the quality of the food and the company that counts above all. A timely piece for myself and my siblings, who just decided to host an awesome choripan dinner tonight to give respect to the often overlooked ‘street food’ that is a delicious meal in its own right! A tidbit many readers may not know is that at a traditional Argentine asado (BBQ ), the griller (‘asador’) is usually given a round of applause for his efforts—three hours tending to hot coals to feed your guests an abundant mixed grill of perfectly cooked meats is certainly worth high praise!!!

In Mendosa, I went to a butcher shop and bought a selection of sausages. Then, I took them to a restaurant and asked them to cook 'em for me. They did a fine job--no charge.

Living in Mendoza for several years, I noted that most natives prefer beef ribs, marinaded and slow cooked for hours. (while guzzling Malbec in quantity.)

I lived in Buenos Aires for several years during the 1960’s and again during the terrible time of “ the disappearances” in the mid 1970’s and have visited on and off since then through the present. Never, ever had a mediocre meal and I still rate any steak against the ones in Buenos Aires. The Argentines still take pride and great enjoyment from their food. I miss that living in the US. Despite pockets of interesting, even excellent restaurants scattered throughout the US this country’s food culture seems to be mainly mediocre.

Currently digesting a Don Julio meal back at the hotel in Buenos Aires while reading this article! Steak - superb. Wine - excellent. Great service. Waiters really friendly and genuine. My favorite? The sausages! Pork sausages and then a spicy lamb. It's hard to compare the "best" steak, but hands down this is the best sausage I've ever had. Three cheers for Don Julio!

I am certain that the me of today could not finish the meal that the me of 10 years ago had in Buenos Aires. But the thought of 2 hours, with a bottle of malbec and a large steak with an unrealistic number of sides makes me smile to this day. When I heard that the Argentine economy was having another rough spot, I felt bad for the residents, but certainly tempted for another bargain visit. So much great food, so much wonderful wine, such a fun city.

Give me La Carniceria on Calle Thames in Palermo any day over the tourist lines at Don Julio. It's uniformly fabulous, with the ubiquitous frilled provolone and pesto for an appetizer and perfect gin tonics with the mate-infused Apostoles gin. They also opened Choripan about two years ago and the tiny bright yellow shop, with counter service and bar stool seating, takes the chorizo and bread street snack up a few notches with fabulous sides.

Sounds great. Did I miss any extensive tasting and commented upon by the author of the article? Lots of discussion, but how does it compare? Good is good, but does it rise to exceptional? 113 degrees seems a wee bit to rare for me. And I know there are those who say the only way to eat a good steak is with the whole thing only slightly warm. What happens if the customer insists on medium rare, just to raise the temperature a bit? Are customers with tastes that don't meet the owner's dismissed and escorted out?

There is a romance to beef. I love how this owner prides his establishment at not gilding it, but striving to just give us a taste of the wonderfulness of honestly raised and prepared beef. I am curious about the sausages, though. As someone of German and Italian descent, sausages are a mainstay, and, I would argue, can be equally sublime. All rise for the modest sausage! In the right hands, it can be an amazing thing the equal of any cut.

Don Julio feels like an Old World beef emporium, with lovely well-trained staff, and ... well ... the best beef on the planet. I have always had a completely perfect experience there, including the chocolate mousse after the beef euphoria. I hope that it continues to delight us for many more years to come!

I have been to BA a couple of times. Both times, I went to restaurants recommended by NYT for beef. There is nothing in the world like Argentine beef. I now live in Bogota and Colombians also have pariila etc - but nothing compares like Argentine ones. Just reading this article makes me him in the plane to BA. One thing for Americans, I wish the writer had noted - these restaurants in BA or for that matter in most of Argentina - none serve before 12:00 pm. The best time is about 1:30 pm. And for dinners, about 9:30 pm at the earliest.

Ate some meals at Don Julio's a few years back-- it was near our place, and accepted credit cards! The food was uniformly delicious, but what I remember most is a salad which featured green olives and strawberries!

We have eaten at Don Julio's on both of our trips to Buenos Aires. It is wonderful, and compared to steakhouses in Chicago or New York, it's about a quarter of the price! About $40-50 for dinner for two, with a good bottle of Great Argentinian Malbec. BA is a bargain!

No doubt Argentina still has great beef. Personally, I like the Buenos Aires street vendors selling choripan grilled on coals in a barrel cut in half. Next time when you head to La Boca, don't eat in the tourist eateries, step out to the side and buy a choripan grilled by a smiling local, grilled fat sausage on a bun with freshly made chimichurri and a soda. Squat on a stoop and feed the crumbs to the pigeons, it's not the vintage that counts, it's the company.

Channeled grating to direct fat away from the heat source and meat is a common feature of Argentine grill surfaces. Common as well are no grill lids, the use of lump coal and/or wood (along with lighting the coal/wood to the side of the grill surface, and only placing non-flaming embers as necessary below the grill surface), angled grill surfaces, and the ability to adjust the height of the grill surface.

A wonderful story about great food -- steaks! But it is a long away To Argentina ...

I used to have many meals at Buenos Aires "parrillas" years ago. Meat was certainly on my menu, both at home and on outings with friends. It was truly delicious, calves were allowed to stay with their mothers all the time they needed. All cattle roamed freely on the pampas. I'm glad that Don Julio only uses that sort of meat, as well as the best wines. Most of us have to make do with feedlot cattle's meat. The high cost of good meat is not accessible any more. People buy from supermarkets or else the neighborhood butcher, if there's still one around. My point is that I begn to find meat disgusting, even poultry and some fish. So many Argentines are now vegetarians or vegans. In Bariloche, a ski resort near which I live, there are vegetarian menus all over the place, even home delivered. A large portion of Argentine meat is sold to China, where they don't mind feedlots because their population is so large and needs to be fed. Especially pork and chicken go to China. I'm glad tourists can enjoy the best that Argentina offers. For my part and a growing percentage of Argentines, we have become vegetarian. Surprise?!

A wonderful story. Two questions: - How is hanging beef for seven days to tenderize by gravity (i.e.: the fluids draining) not dry aging? Is it just less time so that no mold develops? -What is the design of the grill grating that channels away fat drippings?