¡Un Aplauso para el Asador! Seven Phrases that Explain Argentinian Food Culture

Guests are sitting around a large table when they see the host coming, carrying a platter of freshly grilled food. As soon as he sets it down, one of the guests says, "!Un aplauso para el asador!" (applause for the grill chef), and everyone claps their hands in unison.

It is a way to thank the person in charge of the grill that day. Enjoying a barbecue with friends or family is one of the most widespread culinary traditions in Argentina, and so it is an honor for the grill chef.

For Argentinians, drinking maté tea is a ritual that should be shared. It is the perfect excuse to spend time with others, chat, tell stories, and laugh. When someone arrives to visit a friend or relative, the phrase cebate unos matés (fill up the maté) is inevitable.

In Argentina, cebar means to serve the maté or, more specifically, to pour water onto the infusion. By using this phrase, the guest is asking the host to start a round of maté, to let the conversation flow, and enjoy good times together.

This is an ironic phrase referring to a very rare piece of meat. Lo pinchás y muge (prick it and it moos) is a play on words and makes reference to meat so raw that, when pricked with a fork, it moos like a cow.

What this phrase doesn't convey is that, in Argentina, it is not very common to eat meat served rare, as is conventional in other countries, like France. The Argentinian diner tends to eat their meat well done, with the exception of prime cuts of steak.

This is the most traditional way of ordering a coffee in a bar (and generally shouted from a distance). Cortado is the name given to a very small cup of coffee, with a small amount of milk added.

Many Spanish speakers would only recognize the term mozo as referring to a young person, but in Argentina it has a different meaning. This localism is used by Argentinians to refer to waiters, irrespective of their age.

Though it may sound strange, in Argentinian gastronomy, the phrase a caballo (on horseback) is used for dishes that are served with two fried eggs on top. The dishes most commonly served this way are fries, schnitzels, and steaks.

Sale a caballo is the phrase waiters use to indicate to the chef that an order should be prepared with two fried eggs on top.

When people organize dinner parties at private homes, it is common to allocate items for each guest to bring: drinks, snacks, dessert, etc. If someone says llevo unos tintos (I’ll bring red wine), that means they will be in charge of bringing the wine.

The country’s strong culture of winemaking, and prolific production, means there are a great variety of good-quality wines available at reasonable prices. Tinto actually means red wine but often functions as a synonym for wine in general.

A classic question asked by Argentinian diners when perusing a restaurant’s menu. Excepting personal preferences, spicy food is not common in Argentinian cuisine, apart from in some northern provinces.