Buenos Aires Pizza Roundup

Someone in the hostel from London said "the only problem with Buenos Aires is that there are only 2 choices for food: pizza and steak". I punched him in the face and he didn't say much after that.

Argentina's largely (although not solely) a country of immigrants and large portion of those were of Italian origin so as you can imagine there's a lot of very good Italian food here, including my chewy crust obsession. Here's a brief overview of the pizza I had the chance to try (and there were countless places I did not have a chance to try - most notably La Mezetta and El Cuartito - which are on the list for the next trip).

Romario Pizza

I was not expecting to eat at a chain in my stay in BA, but Romario Pizza is not your grandfather's chain. First off, the woodburning brick oven pizzeria only has locations in BA. Secondly, it was heavily recommended by a number of locals as their place to pick up a pie. And last, well, I was quasi-lost (and although it was on my list for a later visit) and ended up making a pit-stop for a couple of delicious slices.

Highs: best fugazza I had in BA (thicker, pan style pizza with onions), excellent thin chewy crust on the plain pizza, cheap (2 slices and 2 beers for $5).

Senor Telmo

Situated in San Telmo, off the very busy Defensa street, this rustic cafe serves up some good pie. I got seated in here after wandering Defensa for several hours. Service was spotty but the pie was good and the beer cold.

Highs: good crust and robust sauce, cheap

Lows: too much cheese and not a huge cubed ham fan - just something about the texture doesn't work for me.


Pizza Guerin

When a pizzeria has been around since 1932, you figure it has to be pretty darn good. And in the case of Pizza Guerin, "pretty good" is an understatement. I ended up coming back to this pizza institution twice in one day.

Highs: delicate red sauce, "especial" with marinated red bell peppers a work of art, great faina (chickpea based crust) and supremely cheap (80 cents for a slice - are you kidding me?)

Lows: verduras (veggie pizza) good, not great. Crust is very good but on the thicker side (a cross between pan and thin)

The Verdict - I would visit Romario or Guerin any day of the week but I would have to give the edge to (gasp!) the chain. The crust was thinnner which was more to my liking. I also like the fact that they made the individual slices when I ordered them as opposed to it being part of a larger pizza that was simply reheated.