LandingPad Buenos Aires

I usually choose my Chorimobiles by the spread of condiments they have available. After your typical ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, large jars of sweet peppers, onions and tomatoes are there to complement your meat or sausage. Chimichurri , a red, oily sauce that is considered spicy by Argentine standards, is an absolute must. Even if I’m not going to use all of them, it’s always comforting to know that they’re there.

More importantly, however, is the kind of sandwich you order. Some of the carts by the Ecological Reserve have begun to offer things like chicken, hamburgers and french-fries, but to really experience the Chorimobile you should stick to the classics. Choripán , a chorizo sausage sandwich, is a classic, and can be ordered by simply saying “Un Chori, por favor .” Morcipan , a blood sausage sandwich, is also a solid option. But this sandwich is only for those of you who care most about good taste and don’t mind eating congealed blood. (Seriously though, it’s delicious.)

As for meat sandwiches, the menu can be diverse and your selection depends entirely on personal preference. Churrasco , or churasquito , is a thin skirt steak that goes especially well with the chimichurri . Bife de chorizo is a strip steak commonly served in traditional asados . Bondiola (a delicate cut or sausage made of pork muzzle) is also a good choice, especially if you have a very large appetite. Sometimes the smaller carts will only hold one of these meats at a time on a given day, so you may end up with whatever the friendly chef wants to give you.

Once you finally take your first bite, you will certainly be amazed with the results. A few minutes after you scarf down the rest of your juicy sandwich and sit there happily rubbing your satisfied belly, you will come to a great realization: you just paid 8 pesos for a steak sandwich. And a delicious steak sandwich at that.

This brings me back to my point about trying the lowest form of steak in a given country. In Argentina, the Chorimobile sandwich, as delicious as it is, is just that. The closest equivalent from the United States, for example, would be the Philadelphia cheesesteak. While cheesesteaks are known for their greasiness and munchy-quenching properties, they are not known for their quality of beef. You can buy a bife de chorizo at a Churimobile for the same price as, if not less than, a sandwich in the US. But your roadside Argentine sandwich will not come complete with the same paper-thin, often-microwaved mystery meat that needs to be covered in Easy Cheese to be edible. And that is what makes Argentine beef so good.

But the world of Chorimobiles is not all rainbows and unicorns. Be sure to check inside your sandwich when it is given to you, as eating undercooked meat could make you very, very sick. Also, like in many other situations in the city, it could help to keep your foreign accent down to a minimum, as it can often lead to inflated prices. I once saw an older Brittish couple charged 25 pesos for two bottles of water, but didn’t say anything because I had yet to be charged for my own choripán . It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, but if you make it all the way through, at least you’ll have a juicy sandwich waiting for you on the other side.

Sam Ginsberg
LPBA Staff