Crustless sandwiches, ham and cheese as the two basic ingredients for a happy life, pizza, and pasta—this is not a sixth grader’s dream lunchbox but what you’re going to eat in Buenos Aires.

Crustless white-bread sandwiches

Let’s start with bread. Yeah, well, sorry, I’m French. Pan miñón is a bit like the French baguette but nothing to write home about. Brazil has way more types of bread, I was spoiled.

Now, Argentina offers an interesting twist on your basic white-bread sandwich—sándwiches de miga, crustless ready-to-eat sandwiches you can buy in any bakery for about 1,000 to 2,000 pesos ($1-$2 at the current exchange rate that will probably change by tomorrow). The top combinations are ham and cheese, ham and tomato, cheese and tomato, eggs and cheese, Roquefort and ham but you can also get ingredients like bell peppers, chicken, salami and more.

Delicious empanadas

Now, my favourite—empanadas, these delicious baked turnovers you’ll find throughout Latin America (but not in Brazil!). The Argentinian version is most often baked, not fried, and they are much smaller than Chilean empanadas.

Typical choices are ham and cheese (can you see a pattern here?), Roquefort and ham, meat (often ground meat but occasionally sliced meat), chicken, corn, spinach, and tomato with cheese.

Empanada prices are all over the place but expect to pay between 350 pesos and 1,700 pesos (40 cents to $1.70). You can buy empanadas in any bakery but also in Buenos Aires’ ubiquitous pizzerias like La Americana or Kentucky (nothing to do with the American colonel!).

Which brings me to pizza. Buenos Aires loves pizza. The same ingredients as for the empanadas, thick dough, and tons of cheese. Tired of pizza? Have a thick slice of quiche. You’re gonna eat savoury pies, no matter what.

Fresh pasta

Argentinian supermarkets are pretty disappointing compared to Brazilian supermarkets, at least in Buenos Aires—small selection, questionable refrigeration, and long lineups. It took me a couple of days to understand there was no point in trying to buy vegetables in supermarkets, it’s best to buy from greengrocers.

I had zero appetite after the stomach bug but I had to find something to cook so I picked fresh ravioles and it became my new addiction. Quite a few stores sell fresh pasta by weight or by the box so I get hand-made ravioles for about 2,200 pesos ($2.2).

Dulce de leche

Something sweet after so much ham and cheese? Dulce de leche is waiting for you! This spreadable milk jam is everywhere—dulce de leche yogurt, dulce de leche pastries, or just giant jars of dulce de leche.

I… kind of miss chocolate. I’m not a huge fan of dulce de leche.

Facturas

If you’ve ever stepped into a bakery with me, you may have noticed it takes me forever to choose. Sorry. Everything looks so good!

I don’t have this problem in Argentina, thanks to facturas, the generic name for bite-size dough-based pastries (viennoiseries in French). The big star is the medialuna, shaped like a croissant but with more sugar and with egg and honey baked in the dough. Medialunas can be sweet (de manteca, with butter) or savoury (de grasa). They can also be filled with dulce de leche (obviously!) or cream.  Dulce de membrillo (quince jelly) is another popular filling. Whatever you buy, expect sticky fingers.

The going rate is about 350 pesos (40 cents) for a pastry and you’d better come early enough but these trays empty fast.

Pies are also popular, mostly the  jam-filled shortcrust pastry kind—the portions are huge!

So, hungry now?