What Does A Typical Breakfast Look Like In Argentina?

If you were looking for the most underrated global cuisines, Argentine food is right up there with Filipino and Burmese as food cultures, which should see more significant global proliferation. Argentina's blend of Latin American and Italian influences leads to the creation of dishes that are both very familiar and totally unique. That's not even mentioning its profound love of beef, whether steak milanesa or barbecue in the form of asado. While the U.S. may be first in total cattle consumption, on a per capita basis, Argentina consumes more beef than any nation.

But you can't have steak for every meal (even if we might want to). Sometimes, you need something lighter for breakfast, and Argentine cuisine is no exception to that general rule. And when it comes to breakfast, the Argentine approach is a lot more like what you'd find in Europe than what American diners might be used to — but it's no less tasty for that.

Western and Southern European breakfasts are generally pretty different from American ones. Where Americans go for hearty meals like eggs and bacon with pancakes, breakfast is a time for light, sweet pastries in many countries. Argentina fits pretty neatly into this mold.

Two of the most common Argentina breakfast foods are pastries: Tostadas (yes, the kind you're familiar with, although here they're served with cream cheese or other sweet spreads) and medialunas, an Argentina variant of the croissant with a little more sweetness and density to it that can come filled with any variety of sweet or savory options. Though we think of churros as a dessert food, in Argentina, they're also a breakfast dish, typically dipped in dulce de leche (which can also appear in various other breakfast pastries).

For those who love more savory breakfast food, there is an option, though: Revuelto Gramajo, an egg hash involving ham, potatoes, and whatever else the cook feels like putting in there. It's typically regarded in Argentina as a hangover cure, so if you've been out drinking the previous night, this might be the breakfast for you.

Like anywhere else, breakfast drinks are also extremely important in Argentina. The familiar coffee and orange juice are common, but another drink deserves special mention: yerba mate. The national drink of Argentina is also one of the most common ways for people in Argentina to start their day. It's a caffeinated beverage not unlike tea, made from a plant native to South America and consumed either hot or cold. On its own, the resulting drink can be pretty bitter, so it's often flavored with milk, lime juice, brown sugar, or any number of other flavorings. There's even a specific kind of cup (called a "mate cup") you drink from that resembles a gourd with a metal straw coming out of it, and November 30 is celebrated in Argentina as National Mate Day.

Argentina has much to offer culinarily, whether it's food or drinks. If you ever have a chance to try medialunas, yerba mate, or revuelto Gramajo, don't pass it up.