Cuisine of Montevideo refers to the food cooked and served in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. The cuisine served in this city is similar to the one served throughout the whole country of Uruguay, with beef being a staple of the diet along with the torta frita , a pan-fried cake.
In recent years the number of restaurants and the diversity of cuisine has increased considerably, Lonely Planet describes the Montevideo culinary scene as "just starting to get exciting" with a variety of restaurants within the city, expanding from traditional Uruguayan cuisine to Japanese cuisine and Middle Eastern cuisine. [1]
A torta frita is a pan-fried cake consumed in Montevideo and throughout Uruguay. It is usually circular, with a small cut in the centre for even cooking, and is made from wheat flour, yeast, water and sugar or salt. [2] Beef is very important in Uruguayan cuisine and an essential part of many dishes. Many of the restaurants serve beef steaks, pork or chicken dishes. [3] Given that Montevideo is a coastal city, it has a plentiful supply of fresh fish. Some restaurants, like Che Montevideo on the Rambla Gandhi in the Pocitos area of the city, specialise in fresh seafood. [4]
The historic centre of traditional food and beverage in Montevideo is the Mercado del Puerto ("Port Market"), which contains restaurants and cafes catering to international visitors. The La Palenque restaurant serves Uruguayan and Spanish cuisine with a variety of lamb, pork and cold meats dishes with vegetables, paella, rice and shellfish. [5] Additionally, the market is host to various cultural events on Saturdays. [6]
The Mercado del Puerto is the city's most famous area for parillas (barbecues). [7] [8] The open-aired building which houses the market was built in 1868. [7] While originally a venue for fresh produce, it is now filled with parillas. [9] The structure was built in the style of a nineteenth-century British Railway station. [10] It is listed among "The Best Markets" in South America by Frommer's. [6]
Montevideo has a variety of restaurants, from traditional Uruguayan cuisine to Japanese cuisine such as sushi. Western fast-food chains such as McDonald's, [11] and Burger King [12] are present in the city.
The Restaurante Arcadia, on the 25th floor of the Radisson Montevideo Victoria Plaza Hotel, is considered Montevideo's best restaurant. [13] [14] El Fogon is more popular with the late-night diners of the city. Its interior is brightly lit and the walls covered with big mirrors. [13] Officially a barbecue and seafood restaurant, it serves grilled meat dishes, as well as salmon, shrimp and calamari. [13]
Kokoro is a Japanese restaurant located on Viejo Pancho in the barrio of Pocitos. It serves traditional Japanese cuisine, mainly dishes with meat and fish to suit the Uruguayan palette. [15]
Panini's is a notable Italian restaurant located in the Ciudad Vieja historical area of the city, just off the Plaza Independencia. It is noted in particular for its "degustación de pastas", described as "a veritable smorgasbord of noodley delights." [16]
Also of note is Rara Avis in the east wing of the Solís Theatre, [17] [18] a branch of the Uruguayan chain of restaurants called La Pasiva in the Centro area which serves pastas and meat dishes, and the restaurants in the Mercado del Puerto [19] [20] and the Mercado de la Abundancia. [21]
Many of the notable bars in the city are located in the barrio of Pocitos near the sea.
Many bars and pubs are located inside community markets. Customers at markets may sit at bars to order sausages, offal, asado, and other meats that are being grilled right in front of them. Meats, especially cheap cuts of beef and pork such as sausages and organs, are a large part of the ordinary diet in Montevideo. The various meats are served with simple side dishes such as crusty bread, tapenades, fried potatoes, and tapas. During lunch, local lager beer is the most common choice of accompaniment, although soft drinks such as colas are widely available. In addition to having bars and pubs, markets in Montevideo also sell fresh produce, mate, coffee, kitchenware, and other basic consumer goods.
On 13 April 2008, 12,500 cooks in Montevideo together grilled 12 tonnes (26,500 lb) of beef, setting a new Guinness world record. [22] The event required a grill nearly 1.6 km (1 mi) long and 6 tonnes of charcoal. The barbecue surpassed the previous record of 8 tonnes, which was set by Mexico in 2006. [22] [23] Montevideo's record held until March 2011, when 13.713 tonnes (30,232 lb) of beef were grilled in General Pico in Argentina. [24]
Argentine cuisine is described as a blending of cultures, from the Indigenous peoples of Argentina who focused on ingredients such as humita, potatoes, cassava, peppers, tomatoes, beans, and yerba mate, to Mediterranean influences brought by the Spanish during the colonial period. This led to cultural blending of criollos, Indigenous, and sub-Saharan African in the cuisine. Later, this was complemented by the significant influx of Italian and Spanish immigrants to Argentina during the 19th and 20th centuries, who incorporated plenty of their food customs and dishes such as pizzas, pasta and Spanish tortillas.
Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and Maya who domesticated maize, created the standard process of nixtamalization, and established their foodways. Successive waves of other Mesoamerican groups brought with them their cooking methods. These included: the Teotihuacanos, Toltec, Huastec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, Purépecha, Totonac, Mazatec, Mazahua, and Nahua. With the Mexica formation of the multi-ethnic Triple Alliance, culinary foodways became infused.
Spanish cuisine consists of the traditions and practices of Spanish cooking. It features considerable regional diversity, with important differences between the traditions of each part of Spain.
Kebab, kabob, or kebap or kabab is roasted meat that originates from the Middle East but has been popularised by Iranian cuisine & Turkish cuisine. Many variants of the category are popular around the world, including the skewered shish kebab and the doner kebab with bread.
Latin American cuisine is the typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to many of the countries and cultures in Latin America. Latin America is a highly racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse with varying cuisines. Some items typical of Latin American cuisine include maize-based dishes arepas, empanadas, pupusas, tacos, tamales, tortillas and various salsas and other condiments. Sofrito, a culinary term that originally referred to a specific combination of sautéed or braised aromatics, exists in Latin American cuisine. It refers to a sauce of tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, garlic, onions and herbs. Rice, corn, pasta, bread, plantain, potato, yucca, and beans are also staples in Latin American cuisine.
Asado is the technique and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries, especially Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay where it is also a traditional event. An asado usually consists of beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, and morcilla, all of which are cooked using an open fire or a grill, called a parrilla. Usually, red wine and side dishes such as salads accompany the main meats, which are prepared by a designated cook called the asador or parrillero.
A churrascaria is a place where meat is cooked in churrasco style, which translates roughly from the Portuguese word for "barbecue".
Churrasco is the Portuguese and Spanish name for grilled beef prominent in the cuisines of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The term is used in other Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries for a variety of different meat products.
The milanesa is a variation of the Lombard veal Milanese, or the Austrian Wiener Schnitzel, where generic types of meat breaded cutlet preparations are known as a milanesa.
Salvadoran cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of El Salvador. The indigenous foods consist of a mix of Native American cuisine from groups such as the Lenca, Pipil, Maya Poqomam, Maya Chʼortiʼ, Alaguilac, Mixe, and Cacaopera peoples. Many of the dishes are made with maize (corn). There is also heavy use of pork and seafood. Eurasian ingredients were incorporated after the Spanish conquest.
Torta is a culinary term that can, depending on the cuisine, refer to cakes, pies, flatbreads, sandwiches, or omelettes.
Barbecue varies by the type of meat, sauce, rub, or other flavorings used, the point in barbecuing at which they are added, the role smoke plays, the equipment and fuel used, cooking temperature, and cooking time.
Chivito is the national dish of Uruguay. It is a sandwich of sliced beefsteak (churrasco), mozzarella, ham, tomatoes, mayonnaise and black or green olives. A chivito commonly also includes bacon and fried or hard-boiled eggs. It is served in a bun, often accompanied by French-fried potatoes. Other ingredients, such as red beets, peas, grilled or pan-fried red peppers, and slices of cucumber, may be added.
Manchego cuisine refers to the typical dishes and ingredients in the cuisine of the Castilla–La Mancha region of Spain. These include pisto, gazpacho manchego, Manchego cheese, the white wine of La Mancha, and the red wine from Valdepeñas (DO).
Uruguayan cuisine is a fusion of cuisines from several European countries, especially of Mediterranean foods from Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. Other influences on the cuisine resulted from immigration from countries such as Germany and Scotland. Uruguayan gastronomy is a result of immigration, rather than local Amerindian cuisine, because of late-19th and early 20th century immigration waves of, mostly, Italians. Spanish influences are abundant: desserts like churros, flan, ensaimadas yoo (Catalan sweet bread), and alfajores were all brought from Spain. There are also all kinds of stews known as guisos or estofados, arroces, and fabada. All of the guisos and traditional pucheros (stews) are also of Spanish origin. Uruguayan preparations of fish, such as dried salt cod (bacalao), calamari, and octopus, originate from the Basque and Galician regions, and also Portugal. Due to its strong Italian tradition, all of the famous Italian pasta dishes are present in Uruguay including ravioli, lasagne, tortellini, fettuccine, and the traditional gnocchi. Although the pasta can be served with many sauces, there is one special sauce that was created by Uruguayans. Caruso sauce is a pasta sauce made from double cream, meat, onions, ham and mushrooms. It is very popular with sorrentinos and agnolotti. Additionally, there is Germanic influence in Uruguayan cuisine as well, particularly in sweet dishes. The pastries known as bizcochos are Germanic in origin: croissants, known as medialunas, are the most popular of these, and can be found in two varieties: butter- and lard-based. Also German in origin are the Berlinese known as bolas de fraile, and the rolls called piononos. The facturas were re-christened with local names given the difficult German phonology, and usually Uruguayanized by the addition of a dulce de leche filling. Even dishes like chucrut (sauerkraut) have also made it into mainstream Uruguayan dishes.
Chilean cuisine stems mainly from the combination of traditional Spanish cuisine, Chilean Mapuche culture and local ingredients, with later important influences from other European cuisines, particularly from Germany, the United Kingdom and France. The food tradition and recipes in Chile are notable for the variety of flavours and ingredients, with the country's diverse geography and climate hosting a wide range of agricultural produce, fruits and vegetables. The long coastline and the peoples' relationship with the Pacific Ocean add an immense array of seafood to Chilean cuisine, with the country's waters home to unique species of fish, molluscs, crustaceans and algae, thanks to the oxygen-rich water carried in by the Humboldt Current. Chile is also one of the world's largest producers of wine and many Chilean recipes are enhanced and accompanied by local wines. The confection dulce de leche was invented in Chile and is one of the country's most notable contributions to world cuisine.
Texas Barbecue refers to methods of preparation for barbecue unique to Texan cuisine. Beef brisket, pork ribs, and sausage are among the most commonly known dishes. The term can also include side dishes that are traditionally served alongside the smoked meats.
The cuisine of Chiapas is a style of cooking centered on the Mexican state of the same name. Like the cuisine of rest of the country, it is based on corn with a mix of indigenous and European influences. It distinguishes itself by retaining most of its indigenous heritage, including the use of the chipilín herb in tamales and soups, used nowhere else in Mexico. However, while it does use some chili peppers, including the very hot simojovel, it does not use it as much as other Mexican regional cuisines, preferring slightly sweet seasoning to its main dishes. Large regions of the state are suitable for grazing and the cuisine reflects this with meat, especially beef and the production of cheese. The most important dish is the tamal, with many varieties created through the state as well as dishes such as chanfaina, similar to menudo and sopa de pan. Although it has been promoted by the state of Chiapas for tourism purposes as well as some chefs, it is not as well known as other Mexican cuisine, such as that of neighboring Oaxaca.