'What kind of food?' Recipes and Food

DaConciousChick from Over the Rainbow - 03/08/07 21:42

When I go on vacation I spend a lot of time finding the best places to eat. So I would like to know about the food in Uruguay. What's the main type of food people eat in Uruguay?

Comment #1 Lee from Pocitos - 03/09/07 05:13

Lots of beef. It is excellent and inexpensive. For example, Old Maz where many people meet on Sundays offers these steaks. The price INCLUDES the 23% tax.

Entrecot a la Plancha 150 pesos (US$6.33). This is way too much to eat, I prefer the Petit Entrecot 120 pesos (US$5.06) which is about half as much meat. Milanesa 90 pesos (US$3.80). Escalopes con Salsa de Cebollas 135 pesos (US$5.70). Filet Mignon a la pimienta 180 pesos (US$7.59). Their menu mentions that these are all cuts for export.

Pasta and Pizza are up there too. Most places serve "pizza" and "muzzarella" the both being pizza, the difference being whether it has cheese or not.

Seafood, fish including Salmon is also common.

Portions are usually on the too big side for all food.

Lots of locally made wine, but I haven't delved into that yet.

Comment #2 Feathers from A lovely boa - 03/09/07 21:32

You're making me very hungry. And those are great prices. How are foods typically prepared? What kinds of spices and sauces are used?

Comment #3 Lee from Pocitos - 03/10/07 05:37

Usually meat is cooked over a wood fire. Unfortunately they don't use a lot in the way of spices so if you eat out a log you have to figure out which restaurants will use spices on request.

There are a variety of sauces which I can't possible explain in English.

Comment #4 snowbird from the north - 03/10/07 08:48

Sounds like my kind of place to visit! I love beef, and cooked over a wood fire, to get that smokey flavor! I'm getting hungry thinking about it. So I take it the people in Uruguay don't each alot of spicy foods?

Comment #5 TexasGal from Dallas, Texas - 03/11/07 16:09

I'm with snowbird, except for the spicy food. We Texans like it HOT. And the hotter the better. :-) But we also love our beef and cooked over a wood fire sounds perfect. Yep, I'm drooling.

Comment #6 Lee from Pocitos - 03/11/07 18:18

Old Maz where we have our Sunday lunch is one of the few places I've found that will make it hot. If you want to sweat or cry they can crank up the spice for you.

Just remember in Spanish Spicy Hot is "Picante" and "Caliente" is simply hot.

Comment #7 TexasGal from Dallas, Texas - 03/12/07 20:18

Yep. I do know that one. When I was a little girl I misunderstood my big sister once. We went out for burritos in a place where the food was often a little on the cool side. When she asked me if I wanted mine "hot" I said yes. Duh! I don't want it cold. It was spicy and I was too young to want spicy food yet. I sure do love it now!

Comment #8 Elizabeth26 from Dazeville - 03/12/07 23:34

TexasGal, I love spicy food! I was eating spicy foods when I was kid even though my mom didn't like it. My mom use to hide the hot sauce bottle from me.

Comment #9 Elizabeth26 from Dazeville - 03/12/07 23:37

Lee, Old Max sounds like a good eatery. I like that Old Maz gives you big portions and the prices are cheap. Thanks for the recommendation!

Comment #10 Lee from Pocitos - 03/13/07 06:08

Really the biggest problem with eating out in Uruguay (regardless of the price) is that you get too much food!

Comment #11 Milly from Wisconsin - 03/13/07 07:59

So the food is not mexican? I guess I just assumed that a latin american country would be mainly hispanic and the menu would mostly consist of mexican food.

Comment #12 Lee from Pocitos - 03/13/07 09:46

There are some mexican restaurants here but generally they are not spicy.

There are vast differences between the Latin countries and unfortunately many equate them all the Mexico. Uruguay has much more of a European flavor.

In Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Peru, standing on the street corner most people would recognize me as "American" (Canadian in Colombia). Simply by my body, skin and hair color.

During a recent trip to Bogota in one of the smaller residential neighorhoods when an American friend and I went out every stared at us... we *really* stood out as not being from there. That is not something that has happened anywhere is Uruguay.

In Uruguay the assumption is that I am Uruguayan. Of course if I attempt to speak all is lost. Many Uruguayans are lighter skinned and blonder hair than me.

There are many other differences in the cultures of different Latin Americans countries.

Comment #13 Elizabeth26 from Dazeville - 03/16/07 08:46

Local food" in Uruguay, especially along the coast, is primarily beef, fish, and Italian. It is not like some other South American countries that might have strong indigenous influences on their cuisines.

Comment #14 Lee from Pocitos - 03/16/07 09:26

Yes, there is a big Italian influence on food. Having lived in Costa Rica and Colombia before Uruguay I thought I was pretty good with a menu. In Uruguay I didn't have a clue what anything was!

I think the lack of an indigenous influence is mostly the result of a lack of indigenous people as the Spanish pretty much killed them all, a long time ago.

Comment #15 Hippie from free love - 03/16/07 21:44

Oh my heavens. The world is not that small. Latin America is FAR larger than Mexico. Some Latin Americans are darker and a lot are lighter. Mexican food is delicious and spicy. TexMex is even spicier.

Comment #16 Lee from Pocitos - 03/17/07 07:03

USA: 9, 826, 630 sq km pop: 298, 444, 215

Canada: 9, 984, 670 sq km pop: 33, 098, 932

USA/Canada: 19.8 million sq km, pop: 331.5 million

Mexico: 1, 972, 550 sq km pop: 107, 449, 525

Argentina: 2, 766, 890 sq km pop: 39, 921, 833

Bolivia: 1, 098, 580 sq km pop: 8, 989, 046

Brazil: 8, 511, 965 sq km pop: 188, 078, 227

Chile: 756, 950 sq km pop: 16, 134, 219

Colombia: 1, 138, 910 sq km pop: 43, 593, 035

Ecuador: 283, 560 sq km pop: 13, 547, 510

Peru: 1, 285, 220 sq km pop: 28, 302, 603

Paraguay: 406, 750 sq km pop: 6, 506, 464

Uruguay: 176, 220 sq km pop: 3, 431, 932

Venezuela: 912, 050 sq km pop: 25, 730, 435

Suriname: 163, 270 sq km pop: 439, 117

Guyana: 214, 970 sq km pop: 767, 245

South America 17.7 million sq km, pop: 375.4 million

Comment #17 New toys from toy chest - 03/21/07 23:05

What incredible statistics, Lee. I guess that proves Hippie's point. Mexico's a part of Latin America, but certainly not all of it. Just as the United States and Canada are different from each other, so too are the countries that comprise Latin America.

Comment #18 usagigirl from neoearth - 04/09/07 23:21

I never knew just how different they were. I am a big spicy food fan myself and love anything that is hot. In my opinion the hotter the better.

Comment #19 Marcey (63.176.159.128) - 10/02/08 15:58

You will also find that although Uruguay is "Latino" its visual appearance is one of "White". There should be an additional requirement to be President or any politician in the USA. The requirement that one have lived at least a year in 5 different countries.

Comment #20 fvansan from pennsylvania - 10/02/08 16:28

When you can't eat all the food, is it typical to ask for a "Doggie bag" or what ever they call it there? They don't throw what food is left over away do they?

Comment #21 Lee from Pocitos - 10/03/08 06:22

Yes.. doggie bags are common... no idea what they are really called in Spanish... maybe Santiago can help out!

It is also very common for restaurants to deliver.

Comment #22 Santiago Torres from Montevideo, Uruguay - 10/04/08 15:09

Just "la bolsita para el perro". If you're at a "parrillada" you can say that silly thing ("para mi perrito"). In other places you just ask the waiter to put it in a bag to take it home.

Comment #23 tim (63.176.159.122) - 11/26/08 11:08

what are some other unique dishes served in uruguay?

Comment #24 Lee from Pocitos - 01/11/09 06:57

Don't forget the fresh produce.... See my blog post on that topic...

• Fruit in Uruguay

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