The southern Andes teeter at the edge of the map—a pristine land of windswept plains, deep lakes and giant glaciers

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At the southern reaches of the Andes the land is pristine, with unending windswept plains, deep-water lakes and gigantic glaciers. Traversing the deep valleys and ancient forests of Chile and Argentina among the guanacos, pumas, and wild horses is an engulfing, humbling experience in the best of ways. Ride at the edge of the map alongside South American cowboys through glacial lakes and mountain ranges, experiencing the full splendor of Patagonia’s diverse landscapes.

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__This article is part of a Buenos Aires story collection, each story exploring a cultural expression emblematic of the Argentine capital. The other two stories deep dive on [tango](https://priorworld.com/editorial/tango) and [asado](https://priorworld.com/editorial/Asado).__

There are many inventions of which Argentine people are proud — the ballpoint pen, the coronary artery bypass, the *alfajor* — but few are as enchanting as fileteado porteño. Marked by swooping ornate brushstrokes, bright colors, and signature motifs imbued with movement, the art form is an emblematic part of the Buenos Aires landscape, visible on buses, signage, and building walls. If tango is the soundtrack of Buenos Aires, then fileteado is its iconography — a style shaping the streets themselves. Despite its iconic status, it narrowly escaped being lost to the sands of time. Today? It’s a universally-recognized style that’s testament to Argentine resilience and creativity.  

Though its origins can be traced to the late 19th century when Italian immigrants developed it to paint horse-drawn carts, fileteado transformed into a greater symbol. “\[Fileteado] came about in Buenos Aires as a simple decorative style that grew more complex over time, due in part to the architectural influence of the city’s buildings,” says *fileteador* [Gustavo Ferrari](https://www.instagram.com/ferrarifileteados/?hl=en).

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/ofvM7PHnOLDtn3BVbudwm/6c1e8d010f8d50bc5528e2ff9b5e58ec/5.03.25-Buenos_Aires-Fileteado_body_1.png"/><figcaption>Interior of the Bar El Federal with Fileteado Porteño details.</figcaption></figure>

Initially, the painted carts were intended to signify commercial prosperity. Fileteadores drew inspiration from classic elements — ribbons, flowers, birds, and dragons — while painting in a three-dimensional style with long ox hair brushes. Employing symmetry, gradient block and cursive lettering, and symbolic imagery, the style became known as *filete*, derived from the Latin filum meaning “fine line” or “threadlike.” *Filete* migrated from the carts to trucks and buses, solidifying its ubiquitous presence in *porteño* life.

“More than just an aesthetic choice, fileteado is a sociocultural artistic expression,” fileteadora [Silvia Dotta](https://www.instagram.com/silvia_dotta/?hl=en) explains. Phrases used in the designs were a mix of popular wisdom or phrases, a barometer of Argentine social attitudes featuring jokes or popular tango lyrics. At the time, however, fileteado still wasn’t seen as central to the cultural fabric. 

When animal traction was outlawed in 1963, thousands of carts were burned, and along with them the first examples of fileteado. “\[The style] was part of the urban landscape, yet there wasn’t awareness about its artistic or patrimonial value,” Dotta adds. Another blow came in 1975, when fileteado was banned from city buses by the military government to ‘reduce visual contamination.’ Artists realized: keep painting or risk losing the form forever. 

To ensure fileteado’s future, the old guard began teaching classes and women were welcomed into the fold, after historically being excluded from the male-dominated body shops and garages where the craft was learned. The first fileteado gallery exhibit took place in September 1970, “forcing \[us] to see it through different eyes,” Dotta explains. City buses expanded into storefronts, facades, household objects, and international brand campaigns. 

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/LuRUxPsjrp2bZ7bnNWoZu/f6887e59f646b406dde8c361c32d0afe/5.03.25-Buenos_Aires-Fileteado_body_2.png"/><figcaption>Fileteado Porteño painted by Alfredo Genovese.</figcaption></figure>

The *Fileteadores* Association was founded in 2012, consolidating the sense of belonging fueled by the community’s love for porteño culture. Three years later, UNESCO would declare fileteado part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Social media and digital tools have ushered in a new era, and activists like [Fileteadorxs del Conurbano](https://www.instagram.com/fileteadoresdelconurbano/) remain true to its roots of social expression, using the art form to honor the 30,000 disappeared during Argentina’s last military dictatorship or recent victims of gender-based violence. Today, fileteado is found at every turn, often personalized with names of loved ones, pets, or favorite soccer players.

Weathering crises, embracing adaptation, and pushing innovation — fileteado is more than just an art form. Not only has fileteado been rescued, it’s now revered. It’s a reflection of Argentina’s deepest social and cultural identities, adding beauty and meaning despite almost being cast aside entirely.  

### Where to See & Interact with Fileteado in Buenos Aires:

Barrio del Abasto: This neighborhood is closely linked to tango’s most iconic figure, Carlos Gardel, and maintains a vibrant, bustling essence. In 2004, a handful of fileteado facades were painted along the #700 block of Jean Jaures street where the [Carlos Gardel House Museum](https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/en/otros-establecimientos/carlos-gardel-house-museum) is located. 

[La Filetería](https://www.instagram.com/la.fileteria/): Looking for the perfect fileteado souvenir to bring home? Visit this bright San Telmo workshop run by Ceci Calvet — current president of the [Fileteadores Association](https://asociacionfileteadores.com/) — to discover hand-painted signs, mate cups, and postcards. If you’re feeling particularly inspired, on Fridays a local master artist teaches intensive classes where participants can take on projects of their own.

[Ferrari Fileteados](http://ferrarifileteados.com/): This workshop in the Caballito neighborhood is run by Gustavo Ferrari, who has spent nearly 25 years perfecting the art of fileteado. In addition to providing custom services to local businesses and clients, Ferrari’s team hosts both hands-on courses where visitors can design and paint their own plaque under expert guidance and demonstrations with in-depth historical context. 

[La Casa del Filete Porteño](https://www.instagram.com/filetesdariorego/) - Dario Rego: For over 15 years, Rego has made it his mission to share *filete* culture with both locals and tourists. From his workshop at the city’s Mercado de las Pulgas in Palermo Hollywood, he produces unique combinations with contemporary motifs while conserving traditional stylistic elements. Clients can commission practically anything, from a personalized canvas or thermos to a foosball table or even a taxicab. Closed Sunday & Monday

[El Taller de Fileteado Porteño](https://www.instagram.com/fileteado/) - Alfredo Genovese: When he’s not designing custom logos and marketing materials for brands or completing commissions for private clients, maestro Alfredo Genovese uses his Caballito workshop space to stage immersive fileteado classes for beginners and advanced artists alike. 

[Bar El Federal](http://www.barelfederal.com.ar/): The San Telmo neighborhood is home to dozens of examples of fileteado, and El Federal is a classic bar notable (a Buenos Aires café or bar recognized for its historic, architectural, or patrimonial value) where you can take it in. Open since 1864, its signage and window displays are beautifully designed, and the imposing wood bar — complete with stained glass accents — never ceases to amaze.

[Carlos Gardel Subway Station](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Dn21sWwxo8AU6Jkm8): Buenos Aires is home to Latin America’s first underground, inaugurated in 1913. The B line’s Carlos Gardel station houses fileteado murals and decorative accents scattered throughout, including a portrait of Gardel himself, “eternal in the soul and in time,” painted by maestro León Untroib.

[Museo Conventillo de Marjan Grum](https://maps.app.goo.gl/GSxmcrorGHqHMDt86): To visit this space — part museum, part cultural center, part art sanctuary — you’ll need to make an appointment. Just around the corner from Caminito in La Boca, this conventillo, a communal boarding house for immigrant families, was saved from demolition in 1987 and restored by its owners, plastic artists Beatriz Corvalán and Marjan Grum. Today, it’s a living, breathing gathering place for students, creators, and tourists that reflects the bohemian essence of the barrio. Contact: museomarjangrum@gmail.com 

[La Perla](https://maps.app.goo.gl/AtF3fAnD1UyRqGM9A): While exploring the colorful and historically significant area around La Boca’s Caminito, La Perla offers the perfect opportunity to discover the café culture of Buenos Aires hand in hand with fileteado. Both the interior and exterior — as well as parts of the menu — are dripping with highly stylized and visually impactful elements of filete design. 

[Buenos Aires Bus](https://www.buenosairesbus.com/en): The city’s hop-on, hop-off tour bus unveiled a new design featuring fileteado at the end of 2024. Showcasing work by different local artists, it provides an even larger stage to celebrate the art form as visitors explore Buenos Aires.   

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/6Baa5T8nMGTbdJLC7oM8tL/d651bfd83ba4359ef89bfb77318544f1/5.03.25-Buenos_Aires-Fileteado_body_3.png"/><figcaption>A Sewing machine decorated by Silvia Dotta.</figcaption></figure>


5.03.25-Buenos Aires-Fileteado HERO

5.03.25-Buenos Aires-Fileteado INDEX

The Buenos Aires Art Form Spelling Out Its History? Fileteado Porteño | PRIOR

A folk tradition turned cultural emblem, the forms adorning buses, signage, and walls tell a tale of urban resilience and evolution. 

The Buenos Aires Art Form Spelling Out Its History? Fileteado Porteño.

__This article is part of a Buenos Aires story collection, each story exploring a cultural expression emblematic of the Argentine capital. The other two stories deep dive on [asado](https://priorworld.com/editorial/Asado) and [fileteado porteño](https://priorworld.com/editorial/fileteado).__

Of all the cultures unique to Buenos Aires, tango is perhaps its most emblematic. More than merely a dance, it represents one of Argentina's most significant cultural exports and continues to thrive as both a performance art and a social practice throughout the capital. With its precise technique, aching music, and complex etiquette, tango embodies the Porteño character: elegant, passionate, and deeply connected to its immigrant roots.

Originating in the late 19th century, tango developed from an unlikely fusion of influences. African candombe rhythms merged with European musical traditions — Italian melodies, Spanish guitar, and German *bandoneón* — creating a distinctly Argentine expression. The dance evolved in *conventillos* (tenement houses) and port neighborhoods where immigrants gathered, initially viewed as provocative before gaining widespread acceptance.

"Tango emerged as a raw, passionate expression of longing, identity, and resilience — a dance of the soul shaped by the city's immigrant roots and smoky milongas," says Carlos Copello, internationally renowned dancer at [Rojo Tango](https://www.rojotango.com/). Though initially rejected by Buenos Aires' elite, tango was embraced by Parisian high society in the early 1900s, returning to Argentina with newfound respect. By the 1940s, the peak of tango’s Golden Age, any given night in Buenos Aires meant that orchestras were packing grand ballrooms, and records of Carlos Gardel’s signature baritone were crooning over the speakers.

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/3zIlO1yn6pHdWMj5GfhbMd/597792c784cec69e8e07045c8a589ccd/5.03.25-Buenos_Aires-Tango_NEWSLETTER_A_body_1.png"/><figcaption>Tango dancers holding a frame mid-performance.</figcaption></figure>

Experiencing tango in Buenos Aires today means navigating its myriad forms. Walking through San Telmo on Sunday afternoons, you'll find couples dancing beneath violet jacaranda trees in Plaza Dorrego, their movements precise and controlled despite the informal setting. From there, many tango shops and museums can be explored before nightfall, when tango shows and milongas begin. But it’s the latter where the dance’s true social character is visible. At milongas, Porteños with decades of experience share the floor with young professionals and international devotees. The dimmed lighting, careful seating arrangements, and unspoken codes of conduct preserve rituals that have structured these gatherings for generations.

"Tango is difficult to define, yet it’s quintessentially Argentine," reflects Diego Braude, tango dancer and teacher at [Gallo Rojo](https://www.instagram.com/practicagallorojo/?hl=en). "For some, it's part of their memories from when they were kids, their older relatives listening to tango all day long, singing the lyrics. For others, it's having discovered a passion later in their lives. Either way, it's a place where many have found a second home and where they have rediscovered themselves.”
Even as tango evolves — with nuevo tango incorporating modern movements and queer milongas breaking stayed gender roles — its essence remains rooted in connection: two strangers meeting in embrace, moving as one across the floor. During a visit to Buenos Aires, it’s practically a requirement to visit one of the city’s milongas.

But before you go, understanding milonga etiquette is a must.

Upon entering a milonga, you'll notice that the seating is typically arranged by gender. Men and women sit on opposite sides or at separate tables, facilitating the cabeceo system: a subtle head nod or eye contact from across the room, the traditional invitation to dance and a practice that preserves personal agency in a crowded venue. If you agree, you’ll join dancers and navigate counterclockwise around the floor in what's called la ronda, maintaining a steady flow and respecting the line of dance to prevent collisions.

Appropriate attire matters, too, as most milongas expect smart dress, with many Porteños wearing suits and elegant dresses even midweek. Music plays in tandas (sets of three to four songs by the same orchestra) with cortinas (musical interludes) signaling when couples should return to their tables — remaining with a partner through an entire tanda is expected. It may seem like a lot of information to keep track of, but if visitors respect the traditions and approach tango with humility and appreciation for the culture, they will be met with generosity.

Over 100 years after its inception, tango remains a vital cultural heritage of Buenos Aires. Like the city itself, tango continues to evolve while honoring its roots, offering visitors a genuine connection to Argentina's past and present through movement, music, and community.

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/7kGVBFQN2NmejfJDVlm2f0/338522f8af4c4e76096aaa01d6c0e441/5.03.25-Buenos_Aires-Tango_NEWSLETTER_A_body_2.png"/><figcaption>The bandoneón — a key instrument in traditional tango music.</figcaption></figure>

### Where to Experience Tango Culture in Buenos Aires

[Rojo Tango](https://www.rojotango.com/)
Set within the plush crimson interiors of the Faena Hotel — a Philippe Starck-designed property set in one of Puerto Madero's converted granaries — Rojo Tango offers Buenos Aires' most intimate and sophisticated tango experience. Visitors are treated to an avant-garde interpretation of traditional tango, with just twenty tables surrounding a small stage where dancers perform mere feet away, all while a gourmet dinner paired with Argentina’s finest wines is served.

[El Querandí](https://querandi.com.ar/en/)
Tucked inside a 1920s Belle Époque mansion in San Telmo, El Querandi preserves the authentic spirit of tango in one of the city's oldest continuously operating tango houses. Visitors dine during the show and, at the end, they even have an opportunity to join professional dancers on the floor.

[Maldita Milonga](https://www.instagram.com/malditamilonga/?hl=en)
From seasoned dancers with decades of experience to curious beginners, Porteños of all ages gather at Maldita Milonga, a dance hall housed in a former warehouse. Within the dimly lit space, classic tangos intersperse with electronic tandas, creating a uniquely modern milonga experience that breaks from conventional codes.

[Salón Marabú](https://www.instagram.com/salonmarabu/?hl=en)
Stepping into Salón Marabú offers a glimpse of what life was like in 1930s Argentina, as it is one of the longest-running milongas in the city and retains its original splendor with soaring ceilings, dramatic columns, and a massive chandelier illuminating one of the city's largest dance floors. Unlike tourist-oriented shows, this milonga attracts predominantly Argentine dancers who arrive impeccably dressed in suits and elegant dresses.

[Milonga Tango Queer La Marsháll](https://www.instagram.com/tangoqueerba/?hl=en)
This San Telmo milonga unites Buenos Aires' longest-running inclusive tango traditions that both launched in the early 2000s: La Marsháll, established by Augusto Balizano as a milonga for gay men, and La Milonga Queer, founded by Mariana Docampo for lesbian dancers. Every other week, participants gather for an instructional session, a welcoming community for newcomers, before the floor opens for more traditional milonga dances.

[Gallo Rojo](https://www.instagram.com/practicagallorojo/?hl=en)
A more relaxed alternative to traditional milongas, Gallo Rojo in the Palermo neighborhood offers a welcoming ambiance that’s perfect for beginners who want to become dedicated tango students and professional dancers who come to experiment with movements. It’s more about focusing on technique refinement under the guidance of experienced instructors who organize regular workshops and specialized classes, rather than the pressure of established social codes.

[Comme il Faut](https://www.commeilfaut.com.ar/index.html)
Tucked within Recoleta is Comme il Faut, an appointment-only atelier that’s achieved legendary status among female tango dancers worldwide. Within the boutique is a kaleidoscopic collection of stilettos, each handcrafted to perfectly balance artistic expression with technical performance — made with buttery Italian leather and specialized cushioning for proper support.

[Museo Casa Carlos Gardel](https://buenosaires.gob.ar/cultura/museos/museocasacarlosgardel)
In the Abasto neighborhood stands a modest casa chorizo — a style of architecture with an elongated floor plan that became popular in Buenos Aires in the late 19th and early 20th centuries — that once sheltered Argentina's most beloved tango icon, now transformed into Museo Casa Carlos Gardel. Within, visitors can trace Gardel's remarkable journey from humble immigrant origins to international stardom through his personal artifacts, vintage photographs, and the haunting recordings that still capture his magnetic charisma nearly a century later.

[San Telmo](https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/otros-establecimientos/mercado-de-san-telmo)
Nostalgia is alive and well each Sunday in San Telmo, when the neighborhood’s Sunday market arrives in Plaza Dorrego and antique stalls brim with weathered treasures. Meanwhile, musicians croon tango tunes and play the melancholic notes of the bandoneón as couples dance tango beneath jacaranda trees.

[La Boca](https://turismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/es/recorrido/la-boca-0)
Though it can be touristy, La Boca’s pedestrian alleyway Caminito is alive with colorful façades developed by early 20th-century Genoese immigrants, who painted their conventillos (corrugated metal homes) with leftover paint from the nearby shipyard. But the area’s real allure is tango, and the dancers who put on impromptu shows alongside the street’s cafes and restaurants. Caminito was even named after a famous tango song by Juan de Dios Filiberto.

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/4F47AeLCVJWVHs2OiqK2kh/bd28871292fd49686724f894f0dfb6f6/5.03.25-Buenos_Aires-Tango_NEWSLETTER_A_body_3.png"/><figcaption>Traditional tango shoes are stilletoes for her and leather-soled shoes for him.</figcaption></figure>


5.03.25-Buenos Aires-Tango NEWSLETTER A HERO

5.03.25-Buenos Aires-Tango NEWSLETTER A INDEX

The Melancholic Magnetism of Tango | PRIOR

To understand the soul of Buenos Aires, look to its most emblematic dance form. 


 The Melancholic Magnetism of Tango 

__This article is part of a Buenos Aires story collection, each story exploring a cultural expression emblematic of the Argentine capital. The other two stories deep dive on [tango](https://priorworld.com/editorial/tango) and [fileteado porteño](https://priorworld.com/editorial/fileteado)__.

In Argentina, asado is synonymous with all-day beef barbecues, a moment to tune out the daily grind and do nothing more than languish over a table crowded with steaks, sausage, and bottles of wine. The meal is inextricably linked to the country’s history. In 19th century Argentina, freshly independent and desperate to expand agriculture through the vast central plains into Patagonia, Argentina built its literal and cultural currency on the backs of cattle. 

While the developing world industrialized, Argentina fueled the globe with raw materials. A booming leather trade made beef a gluttonous by-product. At the turn of the century, the average family spent nearly as much money on rent as they did on beef, adorning dinner tables with a consumption that peaked at 119 kilos per capita in 1937. Meat and fire unified the throngs of immigrants who left war and poverty for a new life, becoming symbols of prosperity and connection. Grilling was also practical, requiring little more than meat and a handful of salt. Whether toiling in the countryside or working in a Buenos Aires factory, cooking outside additionally meant fresh air over a sweltering kitchen — the outdoors allowing for a kind of blur between preparation and pastime. 

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/26XdDRcEfkzpSVttOpKNVy/e2738c8b3066f382efbe3f5cbbfe65c4/5.03.25-Buenos_Aires-Asado_body_1.png"/><figcaption>Pasture-fed grilled steak at Corte Comedor.</figcaption></figure>

The ritual’s open air nature remains crucial. Today, Fridays are perfumed by *asados de obra*, when construction workers build makeshift grills on Buenos Aires’ sidewalks and laborers, managers, and contractors share a meal. On the weekends, you’ll spot people happily walking the quiet streets, a bag of coal and discarded vegetable crate in one hand, meat in another. Afternoon asados can go late into the evening — build the fire, pour a fernet and Coke, move on to wine, slowly serve as each cut is ready (start with sausages, then the offals, and bookend with steaks), lounge in the lowering light, and eat the leftovers. Is meat a core ingredient? Yes. But the real spark of asado lies somewhere in the alchemy of flame and the gathering itself. 

“There is an idea that Argentina doesn’t really have its own cuisine,” says Hernán Sondereguer, head chef at the freshly opened Raix. “Asado is the most identifiable food but there are regional cuisines up and down the country and fire is foundational to them all. There’s something emotional about getting together, building the fire, and hanging out that’s almost more important than the food itself.” Sondereguer points to chef Francis Mallmann as a turning point. Trained in classic French cuisine, Mallmann was instrumental in encouraging cooks to move away from copycat European recipes to embrace Argentine cuisine’s basic elements — fire, smoke, salt — in his popular television program, newspaper column, and nearly a dozen restaurants.

<figure><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/1xHVhtYHEBFBtmJVrca33m/9c7cd5a3a15bfa9ec80b28bb24c0f8b5/5.03.25-Buenos_Aires-Asado_body_2.png"/><figcaption>Char-kissed vegetables at Fervor Brasas.</figcaption></figure>

While for a period his material was meat, Mallmann drew from a wealth of regional cooking styles — wood in the country, coal in the city; whole lambs in the south, goat along the northern Andes, prime cuts of beef and viscera everywhere else. In more recent years, he even turned his attention to plants, releasing a cookbook in 2022 entitled *Green Fire: Extraordinary Ways to Grill Fruits and Vegetables, from the Master of Live-Fire Cooking*. The subject matter changed. 
The heat and humanity remained. Indeed, in my own travels across the country, I’ve prepared fish stews over a campfire on the banks of the Parana River, held watch over empanadas in wood-burning ovens across the northern Andes, and cooked mandioca bread chipá mboca on a stick over a bonfire in the eastern Litoral region. Regardless of the food, each moment drew from the social magnetism of a booming fire. 

Back in Buenos Aires, flames are gaining protagonism in a restaurant scene that refuses to stay stagnant — the country’s capital becoming the most exciting testimony to both the enduring and evolving nature of asado’s spirit. While meat is often central to the equation, the ritual of cooking with fire has never been hotter in its interpretations. You’ll find newfound attention to quality ingredients at hand-selected pasture-fed beef in hyper-traditional grills at places like the streamlined, red-lit Corte Comedor in the Belgrano district, but also a return to cooking breads and pizzas with open flames at spots like the electric Cancha, and a newfound curiosity for boisterous Middle Eastern, East Asian, and Latin American flavors, industry favorite Gran Dabbang being a stunning example. In the country’s capital, asado becomes a frontier that pushes forward — a flame that burns anew, again and again. 

### Where to experience asado’s influence in Buenos Aires

[Gran Dabbang](https://www.instagram.com/DABBANG_/): This lowkey cooks’ favorite adds a welcome dose of citrus and spice to the dining scene, pulling references from Argentine, Indian, and Southeast Asian cuisines. The common thread is char. Chef Mariano Ramón loves to burn, whether he’s adding a crackly layer to seared pork matambre or gritty bubbles to handmade *kulcha*. 

[Don Zoilo](https://www.instagram.com/donzoilo.ok/?hl=en): This neighborhood joint fulfills the three B’s of Argentine dining: *bueno*, *bonito*, *barato* — good, cute, cheap. That’s why you’ll find a line down the block on weekend afternoons when locals head out en masse to dine with friends and family. No one’s reinventing the wheel here: start with swiss chard *buñuelos*, order a vacio (flank steak) with french fries, and top it off with a flan *mixto* served with whipped cream and dulce de leche.

[Nuestra Parrilla](https://www.instagram.com/nuestraparrilla/?hl=en): Christened by locals as “Lo de Freddy” (Freddy’s place), this hole-in-the-wall sandwich stand is a time capsule of the San Telmo Market before it started gentrifying. Run by Freddy Simone and his kids since 2001, the correct order is a *choripán* — pork sausage on a crusty roll painted with tangy salsa criolla and an herby-garlic kick of red and green chimichurri. 

[Franca](https://www.instagram.com/francarestaurante_/?hl=en): Chef Julio Martin Báez’ sophomore restaurant plays with the boundaries of minimalism with his aesthetically restrained dishes. Yet bold pops of cumin seed, orange zest, or toasted koji surprise the palate. Every dish features an element that gets the grill treatment — not just the obvious sweet breads and rib eye. Even the cured Duroc is served with butter blackened by vegetable ash, while slightly burnt Nashi pears add depth to fish crudo. 

[Corte Comedor](https://www.instagram.com/cortecomedor/?hl=en): There’s seasonal cuisine, and then there’s anatomical. Here, every pasture-fed steer is hand-picked and broken down in the adjacent butcher shop, giving the team creative freedom to play with cuts based on every haul's unique shape, age, and fat distribution. One week it’s a Shorthorn skirt steak, charred just right; the next, a tenderloin paillard that barely needs a knife. 

[Raix](https://www.instagram.com/raix.ba/?hl=en): Past the sleek U-shaped bar and Nordic wood interior sits a centurion brick oven that measures seven meters in diameter. It’s a show of the many lives of this neighborhood bakery turned restaurant, where embers are central to the seasonal menu. One example: a whole fish tossed into the oven until the skin crackles like velcro. 

[Cancha](https://www.instagram.com/canchapizza.ba/): Old-school wood-burning pizza ovens all but disappeared when gas installations were added to bring down expenses. Nowadays, stacks of logs are like breadcrumbs leading to a serious pizza master. Wilson Rodríguez throws everything into his oven — braised lamb to smear into open-faced *lehmeyun*, scorched Basque cheesecake, and a mix of nostalgic (white pizza with onion and mozzarella *fugazzeta*) and seasonal riffs (like summery calahorra peppers and arugula) — until bubbled and charred. 

[Fervor](https://www.instagram.com/fervorbrasas/?hl=en): For gourmands in search of pampering, this wonderfully ostentatious steakhouse pulls out all the stops — think red leather booths, tuxedoed waiters, and glimmering steak knives. Although the stars are sausages and dry aged steaks done in house, pescatarians can choose from more than a dozen fish from across the southern Atlantic. 

[SAMPA](https://www.instagram.com/sampa99v/?hl=en): Vegetarian asado tends to translate to tofu and seitan imitations. At this casual bar, veggies get the grill treatment with nods to Latin American sazón (a savory spice blend often used as a rub before grilling). My favorites are the lion’s mane anticuchos, carrot mole, and labneh with grilled pears.

[Maure Parrilla](https://www.instagram.com/maureparrilla/?hl=en): The first thing you’re served at this quiet corner grill is a cold vermouth spritz. Not surprisingly, the menu leans into friendly, no frills dishes. Think *matrimonio* (matrimony), a plate of pork and blood sausages, grilled cheese provoleta, and cuts you’d spot at any backyard asado, like asado banderita (short ribs) and entraña (skirt steak).

<figure><img src="![5.03.25-Buenos Aires-Asado body 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6alb7q886wpg/2FFhJlg3gh1XBiqp03ebTI/f5aa738fa9fb53c1cf1cac5e504f2250/5.03.25-Buenos_Aires-Asado_body_3.png)"/><figcaption>A Chef watches the flames at Corte Comedor.</figcaption></figure> 


5.03.25-Buenos Aires-Asado HERO

5.03.25-Buenos Aires-Asado INDEX

 When it Comes to Asado, the Spark of Reinvention Keeps the Flame Alive | PRIOR

 In Buenos Aires, the tradition of open fire barbeque exists in many forms, both enduring and evolving through time. At its core? The simmering spirit of community.

Chile & Argentina

Explore Chile & Argentina

The Buenos Aires Art Form Spelling Out Its History? Fileteado Porteño.

The Melancholic Magnetism of Tango

When it Comes to Asado, the Spark of Reinvention Keeps the Flame Alive

Oh... and also

Horseback ride through the Chilean Wine Country, which sits amidst the backdrop of the Andes. Visit La Chascona, owned by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, its architecture representing his strong connection with the sea.

Explore Easter Island, a remote territory 2,300 miles off the coast of Chile, home to nearly 1,000 moai stone figures created by the early Rapa Nui people, which remain scattered throughout a landscape of sandy hills, beaches, craters and volcanoes.

Sip the highly coveted wine varieties of the Casablanca and Colchagua Valleys, origin of a rich history of Chilean wine-making in the 16th century introduced by Spanish conquistadors, which in the 19th century was further developed as French varietals like Carménère were produced.

Chile & Argentina