It's a long day on the pampas — or even at the office — and you and your gauchos are ready for a rest, a drink and some perfectly grilled beef fresh off the parilla. That's what you get at El Puerto Argentinean Grill, a small restaurant located in the converted 1929 Licata Grocery in Ybor City. Though the bright lighting and freshly painted tones of celery and gold evoke Better Homes and Gardens more strongly than the dusty plains of Patagonia, the food at this new eatery is as authentic as it gets. The cuisine of Argentina should prove familiar to anyone enamored of classic American fare. Argentina's cultural history, like our own, romanticizes the cowboy, the cattle drive and steaks grilled over an open fire. Argentines, however, appreciate the whole cow; El Puerto's menu features flank steaks and sweetbreads (the thymus gland of a calf) as well as basic sirloin. Less adventurous diners are reassured with pasta dishes and Mediterranean-style sauces on steaks that speak to Argentina's strong Italian influences (Argentine Spanish is spoken with an almost Italian accent). El Puerto embraces its spaghetti-Western flair.
The wine list features a sparse selection of native Argentine vintages supplemented with cabernets from neighboring Chile. During our trip, however, my dining companion and I sampled the sangria ($17/pitcher), which came highly recommended by our waitress. The practically purple concoction was strong and fruity but not too sweet to drown out its significant bite, and possessed enough liquor-soaked bits of fruit to tempt me to take a spoon to the mix.
Appetizers are the most imaginative items on the menu. I particularly enjoyed the sensational homemade chorizo sausage ($3.95). We sliced it, put it on warm Cuban bread and added to our makeshift sandwiches a verdant oil-and-herb dip our ever-helpful waitress recommended. Though not as spicy as other chorizos, El Puerto's moist, lightly colored grilled version had a hearty flavor that matched perfectly with the almost minty mix of fresh herbs and garlic in the dip. Another excellent appetizer was the shrimp-stuffed tostones ($4.95). Chunks of crunchy, fried green plantains sat upright on a plate in a pool of red sauce. Their tops were split like blossoms, each revealing its bright stamen — a single sautéed shrimp.
Moving on to the entrées, we learned to appreciate the value of Argentine beef. My enormous, medium rare sirloin steak ($19.95) was not only cooked to rosy red perfection, it also proved more tender than that cut usually has any right to be. (Ditto for the flank/skirt steak.) We have no dearth of steakhouses here in Tampa Bay, but if you're looking for a nice hunk of meat and don't want to deal with crowds or overblown price tags, El Puerto is a good option. Our other entrée, grilled salmon ($12.95), had the same seasonings as the steak, though the milder flavor of the fish didn't hold up as well to the strong spices. Though perfectly grilled, the salmon possessed a slightly salty tinge that covered up the natural flavor of the fish. Each entrée came with a choice of one side, which disappointed me because I would have preferred to sample both the yellow rice and the black beans with my entrée. Though the various steaks and filets are generous enough to keep folks satisfied, in the interest of dietary balance a few greens with the rice would not be amiss.
At lunchtime, all the meals come with a choice of two sides, and I think that would greatly improve the dinner options. Lunch at El Puerto is a significant deal, with meals ranging from $4.50 for a pasta platter to $6.90 for a steak and two sides.
For dessert, we tried another Argentine specialty, panqueques de dulce de leche ($4.50), a long, fluffy crepe filled with gooey caramel, topped with ice cream and rum and flambéed tableside. The highly rich sweet was almost too large for two people to consume. I recommend at least three diners (or one hearty child) tackle this dessert.
El Puerto has plenty to recommend it, and once it gets past a few growing pains (stingy side dishes and a weak wine list), it's a strong contender in the field of local lunch and dinner spots. Though the restaurant is owned by Cuban-Americans Yanko and George Maceda, it's Argentina native Ricardo Rojas's skill at the grill which truly sets the little grocery-that-was apart. With steaks par excellence, delicious appetizers, sangria that hits the spot and an inexpensive lunch menu, El Puerto is one Ybor arrival I hope is here to stay.
Freelance writer Diana Peterfreund dines anonymously and the Planet pays for her meals. She may be contacted at diana.peterfreund@weeklyplanet.com. Restaurants are chosen for review at the discretion of the writer, and are not related to advertising.
This article appears in Aug 19-25, 2004.