El Chivito

Many people ask us about the variety of food that Uruguayans eat, usually assuming that they eat spicey foods somewhat akin to Mexican food served in the States. Well, Uruguayans don't have a huge variety, and they generally don't like spicy. I've even been to a couple of restaurants that don't offer salt and pepper (a bit on the extreme side). What Uruguayans do well is beef. Like Argentina they are huge beef producers/exporters to the U.S., Europe, and Russia. So, generally all the restaurants have a parillada (barbecue pit), and just about everywhere you go has the standard Uruguayan cuts of meat like Entrecot, Lomo (your basic steak), and Matambro on the menu.

But the king of Uruguayan uniqueness in culinary exploration has to be the Chivito. A Chivito is simply a combination of all the things that Uruguayans like to eat (it saves on ordering them separately)... a thin slice of lomo, topped with ham, cheese (Uruguay does have some excellent cheeses due to the large mix of Italian and Swiss immigrants), bacon (sometimes), boiled eggs (naturally), olives, tomatoes, lettuce, red bell pepper, mayonnaise, and of course the bread.

It sounds way over the top on cholesterol among other things, honestly tastes decent enough, yet I usually feel ill for about two days after eating just a half (I refrain from downing a whole one for fear it may blow a precious heart valve). And here is an action shot of my lovely wife.