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The Street Foods of Mar del Plata, Argentina

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at CUNY chapter.

Mar del Plata, Argentina, has some great steakhouses, Italian restaurants, and local mom-and-pop spots. But Mar del Plata also has the great tradition of sobremesa, also known as three- to four- hour meals. It’s great to enjoy each other’s company, but sometimes you actually have stuff to do. And that’s why there’s street food.

In New York, we have food trucks. It’s hard to rival halal chicken over rice, pretzels, and bacon-egg-and-cheeses. Yet while I love my corner guy, I have to admit that Mar del Plata has given NYC a run for its money with quick, cheap, and tasty #eeeeaaats. 

Pochoclo

In place of halal carts, MdP has pochoclo carts on almost every corner. For the equivalence of one US dollar, you can get a huge, overflowing bag of something reminiscent of kettle corn, but better!

Ham-and-cheese anything 

Here, ham and cheese is the equivalent of America’s PB & J. It’s in empanadas, medialunas, tartas, pan de miga sandwiches, and more. Pretty surprised it hasn’t been in a smoothie yet.

Pancho

No, not the poncho that you wear. The pancho is similar to dirty water dogs of home, but better. Longer, more flavorful, and with a host of great toppings like guacamole, fried onions, and salsa et al, the pancho is a quick and tasty snack to fuel a walk along MdP’s coast.

Churros

Churros aren’t just in Mexican restaurants or on subway platforms. In Mar del Plata, the rolling r’s of the sweet treat can be heard all along the beach. What makes them even better? The churros are filled with dulce de leche. They’re a must to fuel any street food adventure.

Pizza

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Pedro Alonso. on Flickr

Pizza seems to be just as big in MdP as it is in New York. This could be because many Argentines have Italian lineage–or just the fact that pizza is really good. The slices in Mar del Plata are significantly smaller with harder crusts and less sauce, but the flavor is amazing nevertheless.

Empanadas

Empanadas are always a good idea. Thanks to the Latino/Spanish population of NYC, empanadas are pretty easy to find here, but they’re nowhere near as accessible as they are in MdP. Every restaurant and café has them, even the sole Chinese restaurant in the area. Beyond the meat options, a popular filling is fugazzeta, a.k.a. mozzarella and caramelized onions. Unffff.

Medialunas

Translated as ‘half moon,’ medialunas are pastries closely related to croissants, but made better with a sugary glaze. As a prominent dietary staple, these can be found anywhere and everywhere that coffee is sold. Few things are as great as dipping a warm, sweet medialuna into café con leche.

Milanesa Sandwiches

These sandwiches are huuuuge, both in size and popularity. The base is either steak or dark-meat chicken that’s been pounded super thin, breaded, and fried. Then comes ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, garlic mayo, and sometimes even a fried egg. It definitely leads to a food baby, but hey, Milanesa is prettier-sounding than Chipotle burrito.

I honestly love Everything bagels with scallion cream cheese and lox more than I like people