Pick Up The Fork

A Serious Eater's Guide to Buenos Aires and Beyond

About

That home video is of me, Allie Lazar, 4 years old, in 1989 at my grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary (yes, I was a large kid). Ever since a young age, growing up in the mean streets of suburban Chicago, I’ve been a good eater — intensely devouring all things edible like a possessed chubby demon child. Since I’ve always spent my days eating, cooking, dreaming about food and travel, reading and writing about food, and planning my next meal, it was only fitting to channel this food obsession in the form of something a bit more socially acceptable: make it into a profession. Plus, working in food is a legit excuse for never going on a diet.

Here’s my story: I came to Buenos Aires in 2006 to study Political Science at the Universidad de Buenos Aires during a semester-long exchange program, and five ten fifteen (!) years later I’m still here, crazy enough to have fallen in love with this wonderfully chaotic country. I started writing Pick Up the Fork food blog in 2009 as a hobby to document my love-hate relationship with food in Argentina, attempting to liven up traditional restaurant reviews with a little bit of honesty and a lot of bit of silliness. Living far away from home isn’t always easy, but writing helped me work through my homesickness. My hobby turned into an obsession, which eventually transformed into a profession, and here I am, still on an endless quest to eat delicious things and find interesting stories behind those foods.

I have been grateful to see lots of hungry people enjoy and use the blog, and have received chubby praise for my Buenos Aires food expertise with features in publications like the New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, New York Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, The Travel Channel, The Food Network, BBC, and the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil and Street Food.  I even helped President Obama and Justin Trudeau choose restaurants when they were in Buenos Aires! (I’m sorrynotsorry, but I had to throw in that humble brag because, well, it’s the OBAMAS!!)

Professional Experience:

For nearly two decades I’ve traveled around the world eating, drinking, writing, and telling stories about food and culture. I’m currently the Head of Content and Story Producer for YesChef, we make documentaries and cooking classes about great chefs around the world (think Masterclass meets Chef’s Table). My writing and photography have appeared in publications like The New York Times, Bon Appetit Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Eater, The Guardian, Food & Wine Magazine, Saveur, New York Post, National Geographic, Vice Munchies, Lucky Peach, Serious Eats, La Nacion, Clarin, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, Roads & Kingdoms, BBC Travel, New Worlder, Travel + Leisure, The Infatuation, among many others. I’m the former Food & Drinks editor of Time Out Magazine Buenos Aires (RIP), and back in the day hosted a TV series about restaurants in Buenos Aires. Sometimes I organize customized Buenos Aires food tours when food-obsessed travelers come to Argentina, work as a fixer when production companies come to film in Latin America, and offer consulting services for restaurants, hotels, and the travel and food industry.

From street food vendors to top chef tasting menus, I don’t think I’ll ever stop my endless voyage discovering the great foods in Argentina and around the world. I hope you enjoy reading my labor of love and find it useful, because I sure have a blast (most of the time) eating and writing. And if you don’t like it, go suck a chorizo.

Yours Truly,

Allie

George Napkin

P.S.

– All of the reviews are my honest opinion based on personal experience, even if you think they are wrong. You don’t owwwwwn me, restaurant owner, chefffff, Yelp elitist, or press dude.
– I took all of the photos on the site (unless otherwise noted), so please don’t steal them. Or if you do, give me credit for being the fab photog I pretend to be.
– I’m also one of THOSE PEOPLE who post photos of food (and maybe sometimes cats, dogs, and Seinfeld references).  So feel free to twatme, likeme, and insta-assme on da worldwide social media webz –> @pickupthefork
– Questions, comments, complaints, all welcome. Feel free to tell me if you want to be my new best friend…. or if you think my drivel is full of shit. I just may not respond.

Comment below or shoot me a fax —> imhungry@pickupthefork.com

EAT IT:

Comments

  4. I’m here to echo the praise in this thread! My (foodie) boyfriend and I are here for 6 weeks on a working holiday. We live in Melbourne. Australia and are obsessed with trying new restaurants and more generally, eating and drinking well. This blog has been my bible since arriving 10 days ago, we went to Aipim for the brunch degustation this morning, A-MAZING. Thank you for all your rigorous ‘research’ – keep up the good work!

    Reply

      • Loved Chan Chan, Baraka, Aipim, A Nos Amours. Got burned ordering pizza at La Fachada (didn’t see your note about going for empanadas NOT pizza). Not on your list is Bar 6 on Armenia, they have awesome bagel sandwiches and lemonada is all sorts of flavours. Buena onda tambien!

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  5. I simply want to mention I am just beginner to blogging and certainly enjoyed this web blog. Most likely I’m planning to bookmark your site . You definitely come with very good articles and reviews. With thanks for revealing your website.

    Reply

  8. I have not found many blogs that deliver such consistently readable and informative content, that’s also funny. you rock!

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  10. Words cannot describe how much I love this video, this makes me laugh every time I watch it. Somewhere in the depths of the Lerner basement, there is a video of me around my 4th or 5th birthday where I am literally shoving chocolate birthday cake into my mouth with my fist (and getting my entire face while I’m at it). I looked like I got into a fight with a swamp…and lost. Great minds think (eat) alike.

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  11. I just arrived here in Buenos Aires and discovered your blog and it has become my go to for finding decent food in this town! I knew it had to exist, but have been having a hard time finding it! More Palermo Hollywood tips, please!!

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  14. Thank you so much for this blog!

    I just love it. I am exchange student from Germany and I am really into cooking (i have a small catering startup back at home) and I was kind of frustrated about the quality and or taste of the food here… The kitchen in my apartment is not really equipped for great cooking so I love to go out for dinner every now and then. I always hoped that there is more than awesome parillas, average sushi and pizza & empanadas. I got lucky a few times but i was starving for decent bread, fresh vegetables and something tasty!
    Thanks to you blog i tried marfa delivery today and it saved my life after an 10h day at university. I will probably regret this post in a few weeks when i have tried more of your recommendations and won’t fit into my jeans anymore ;)

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  15. You have an attractive blog, but I take exception in your interview in the BA Herald to your general statement that Argentine food is “boring.” Your blog concentrates on Buenos Aires. BA is not Argentina – it has it’s own cultural/culinary influences. I’d also suggest that you not equate restaurants with the national cuisine. One’s business and the other cultural. http://www.travel-with-pen-and-palate-argentina.com/argentine-food.html

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  18. Hola, no has ido a El Palacio de la Papa Frita? Me gustaria mucho que revindicaras o destruyeras a uno de los mitos porteños. Sorry, i don´t speak english.

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    • Nunca tenía ganas de probarlo porque si voy a comer la comida que ofrecen ahi, me parece que hay muchos lugares mejores donde hay comida parecido, a un precio mas razonable.

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  20. Estaria bueno que empiece a hacer las criticas en Espanyol así la gente de España o países de habla española puedan empezar a saber a que restaurante ir.TE FELICiTO por tener el coraje se comensal una vida nueva en un país totalmente desconocido… Saludos

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    • gracias Facundo! Si, la idea es empezar a escribir en español para que mas gente en Argentina pueda entenderlo. Lo malo es que tarda mucho mas tiempo escribir en castellano y muchas veces no es tan facil traducirlo!

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  24. Gracias por este blog! Soy argentina, porteña porteña… y hay lugares que ni conocía!!!
    Buena data para divulgar también a nuestros alumnos!!
    Saludos y que disfrutes en BA!

    Reply

  26. Honestly girl, 30 seconds before I clicked on your A/S/L (22/F/BK,NY btw…) I said aloud “I want to be this girl’s best friend.” . So heres your ego stroking comment you asked for. ;)

    In all seriousness though, I must have visited your blog via google links 15 times this past week. Every time my boyfriend or I have googled any restaurant or cuisine we’ve been interested in eating your blog has popped up. We’ve taken your advice on places such as Malvón and La Crespo. After reading about Melão here we’ve been not-so-patiently awaiting their return from vacation and are going to eat the shit out of that place tomorrow for lunch. And then there was just now a few minutes before we leave for Bi Won I google it and you show up yet again. So, really, THANK YOU!

    P.S. I’m here until Saturday evening if you’d like to grab a drink sometime before then!
    xx
    Ella Fitch, fellow food blogger and maybe soon to be fellow ex-pat?

    Reply

  28. Hey girl!!
    Just love your blog! your pics are great and you’re giving me a very long list of places to visit….and some other recipes to try. Cheers
    PS: Merry Xmas and Happy 2012

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  29. Wow…I’ve only just begun reading your blog and I am excited! It seems my husband I are moving to BsAs after the beginning of the year. I have talked to many down there but no one with as an extreme passion for food as Rafa and I. So thank you! I guess I am kinda doing the same thing here in Costa Rica (if you are interested in reading too). I am hoping maybe I can bend your ear about a few food concerns we have. Would that be to presumptuous? Let me know. In the meantime, I am gonna tuck in and read the rest of your blogs.
    Dawn

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  30. Your blogs are great! Keep it up. I like hearing an authentic and funny voice about BsAs from a fellow estado-unidense. I live in NYC, but own a place here and come back when I can … So I try to keep up on things here … Almost all the blogs about Buenos Aires by expats, about the food or whatever, are either a dorky embarrassment or an incredible annoyance … Yours is far from either! Dale!

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  31. Love the blog, I’m so happy to have found it, you have no idea! Photos are great and you are a hilarious writer. Really talented. But PLEASE update more!!!

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  32. Wait…I’m confused…you say this is a “guide to Argentine good food” but all the food you recommend is distinctly UN-Argentine (mostly American things like burgers, bagels, french toast but also food from other cultures eg the Korean bbq place & Asian noodle recipe). I’m not complaining but I’m genuinely puzzled why you call this a guide to Argentine food? Especially when you seem to dislike typical Argentine food immensely!

    (You wrote: “food in Buenos Aires S-U-C-K S at times can be very disappointing due to a lack of variety and affordable ethnic food.” This is a great guide but I think it’s misleading because I don’t see that you appreciate or recommend “Argentine food” anywhere. Just my opinion.)

    Reply

    • Hi Antoinette,
      Thanks for your opinion and hopefully I can clear up some of your confusion. From my point of view, the blog is about food in Argentina, which I consider to be the same as Argentine food. The majority of the blog is about restaurants you will find in Buenos Aires and while it’s true that I have included food that is not just from Argentina (USA, China, Peru, Mexico, Japan, just to name a few), in no way does that mean I don’t appreciate traditional Argentine cooking. On the contrary – if you take a look at the restaurant guide (https://pickupthefork.com/restaurant-guide), you’ll find more than HALF of the restaurants included are considered “comida argentina” ex: empanadas, parrilla, pizza, minutas, comida del norte, de patagonia, etc.
      The first 3 years of living in BA I loaded up on “Argentine” food (the cuisine) – loving (almost) every minute of it. But in recent years, just as I was starting to get frustrated and bored with the lack of variety, there has been a great influx of new restaurants popping up, which has really been an exciting and positive change to the Buenos Aires culinary scene, and thus fun for me to eat and share with other readers who are interested in all culinary aspects of the city. Who wants to eat (and read about) strictly traditional Argentine cuisine? That’s not interesting to me and probably not to other followers of the blog.

      Reply

  34. I’ve left a note on your equally terrible blog on ‘life in Buenos Aires’. You do not live porteña life, ‘Forkyou’. You are so condescending, and you clearly don’t like Argentina. A plausible reason would be that Buenos Aires, los porteños and Argentina probably don’t like you either.
    I just don’t get you silly yanquis, travelling across the world only to critize and claim ‘bay-ack houhm, in the stades, it’s ahl soo much beda’. I say – off you go, back houhm.

    Reply

  39. I’m so happy to have found your blog. Though as a vegetarian in this city my relationship to Argie food tends more to the hate than the love end of the spectrum, some of your posts are giving me hope!

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  43. so glad I stumbled upon your blog… I just started mine a few weeks ago, but I feel like I’m all over the place right now. Seeing your blog, made me really see the direction that I want to go in.

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  44. Hey I just found this website while looking for some nice restaurants to eat at over the next few days. Great blog!! Can’t wait to try some of these places out!

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  45. Hola from Auckland!
    I stumbled upon your blogs when I was looking for BA restaurants and I love them! Im a big fan (if you didnt know you had fans you now have one, which is one away from a fan club)

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  46. I love this blog, was searching for a decent pizza joint in Bs As (there’s a lot of rubbish out there – I’ve been living here for a while myself) and stumbled across your blog! I, as a vegetarian living in the city understand exactly what you mean by the love-hate relationship you share with argentine food!

    Reply

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