One Of The Most Underrated Food Cities, According To Anthony Bourdain

For culinary hot spots in South America, Buenos Aires takes a lot of the spotlight. Steak, wine, and a strong café culture — what's not to love? But there's a contender city that quietly boasts an incredible food scene, and it actually can be reached from Buenos Aires by ferry. While Montevideo, Uruguay, might not be on your radar as one of the top food cities in the world, Anthony Bourdain considered this capital to be completely underrated.

Bourdain's favorite food capitals were throughout Asia, but he once described Montevideo in an interview with National Geographic by saying of the coastal South American city, "It's a very laid-back place, the people are really nice, the beaches are incredible, and there's great food. Tough country for vegetarians, though." If you're thinking, "Wait, what is Uruguayan food?" this might help paint a picture: The cuisine is rich in South American ingredients with strong influences from Spain and Italy. Think a variety of grilled meats and sandwiches filled with them, pasta dishes like ñoquis (basically Italian gnocchi), Uruguayan-style pizza, empanadas, milanesa, dulce de leche desserts, and fresh seafood, due to its ocean access. There are also incredible red wines made from Tannat grapes, which were originally brought over from Basque immigrants.  

Bourdain visited Uruguay for the first time in 2008, looking for a great-great-grandfather who had lived in the country and for his show "No Reservations." He returned 10 years later for a 2018 episode of "Parts Unknown." With these two visits, he had plenty of time to eat street food, including choripán sandwiches (a sandwich with chorizo sausage); stop at parrillas (this word translates to grill, but can also be used to refer to a steakhouse); and sample freshly caught seafood on the beach.

If you're going to Montevideo as someone with no dietary restrictions, there is no doubt you'll be eating asado, which is Uruguay's, and other parts of South America's, version of barbecue. On the grill, anything goes; beef, pork, chicken, and a wide variety of sausages are all fair game. Vegetarians don't have to completely miss out — vegetables and potatoes are also grilled as a side for the meat. Grilled provolone, served up gooey with a sprinkle of herbs, commonly accompanies the asado spread.

Trying the country's national sandwich is a must: the Chivito, which translates to little goat, is a massive meal for cheap. It comes stacked with a beefsteak, a fried egg, bacon, ham, tomato, lettuce, peppers, olives, mozzarella, and mayo. For a quick meal or snack, empanadas or pizza can be grabbed to go from a bakery. The most popular filling is seasoned ground beef and raisins, but vegetables, cheese, or ham and corn are also easy to find. Uruguayan pizza is a bit different than what you might be used to in the United States or Italy; most places serve it in squares. These often come with just sauce or with just cheese, but it is possible to add toppings; most of the time, pizza in Uruguay is eaten with a topping called faina, a chickpea flatbread.

Don't forget something sweet to snack on for late afternoon merienda, a light meal. This could be something like one of Milk Bar owner Christina Tosi's top international cookies: an alfajor (two shortbread cookies filled with dulce de leche). It's best paired with a coffee or the country's favorite drink, yerba mate, the highly caffeinated tea served up in a gourd.