Palermo Food Tour

Argentine food is more than steak, and a food tour is the quickest way to find out. This three-and-a-half-hour walking tour in Palermo, according to the ticket listing, includes a tasting of more than nine traditional Argentine courses, with snacks, alcoholic drinks and a meal, led by a live guide who speaks English, Portuguese and Spanish. The group is limited to fifteen people, which keeps the tour personal and lets the guide talk about the dishes, the immigrant history behind them and the neighbourhood you are walking through. The meeting point is on Gorriti street in the Palermo Hollywood area, and the booking page shows an 11:30 start. Palermo is the city's largest barrio, and this corner, with its low houses, converted warehouses and busy restaurant streets, is where much of the modern food scene has grown up. Expect to meet staples such as empanadas, grilled meat and provoleta cheese, and the sweets, alfajores and dulce de leche that Argentines treat with near-religious devotion, along with wine and other drinks along the way. Exact stops vary, and does not name them, so treat the list as a guide to the style of the tour rather than a promise.

That makes your later restaurant choices sharper, and it is especially useful if you do not speak much Spanish. A good guide also explains the immigrant waves, Italian, Spanish and others, that shaped porteño cooking, so the food becomes a way to understand the city.

One more reason to take a tour like this early is time: restaurants in Buenos Aires keep late hours, and a daytime tasting gives you a base of knowledge before you spend your evenings at the table. Keep notes of the dishes and places you like, and ask the guide for recommendations, since local guides tend to know the best parrillas, bakeries and ice cream shops that never appear in guidebooks.