Justo Corrientes - Puerto Madero

A fairly new parrilla, at the corner of Corrientes and Justo in Puerto Madero (thus the name) a few doors down from Cabana Las Lilas. On Tuesday night a friend and I passed on Cabana because it was packed to the gills, and we didn't fancy waiting a hour for a table. We decided to try this place instead, which was about half full (not always a good sign, admittedly) However, the food was all top-notch (steaks, of course) and the English-speaking server went out of her way to be helpful, even obtaining three Marlboros from one of her colleagues to help quench my companion's nicotine addiction.:) Recommended if you are in Puerto Madero - on a similar quality and price level to El Mirasol and Estilo Campo, a bit cheaper than Cabana.

(Also reviewed, positively, by Hunt99 on 11/21/05)

Last night, when the popular places were too popular, and many places were completely emply at 10:30, I decided to try Justo Corrientes. Maybe in the back of my mind I was recalling Hunt99's review.

It was about 1/2 full. Menu struct me as pretty sparse but it had what I wanted, lomo. The menu was at least bi-lingual and maybe tri-lingual. I think that at least bi-lingual is pretty common in Puerto Madero. They have a non-smoking section which I appreciated. The atmosphere was OK but in my opinion nothing special.

They brought a basket of breads and a paté of some sort almost immediately. I thought the paté was pretty good. Between my few words of Spanish and the waiter's (Leonardo) few words of English we communicated adequately. The salad, ordered separately, was brought almost immediately. A bit much for one person I thought. I noticed a couple at a nearby table who were sharing what looked like the same salad that I ordered.

The waiter said that the lomo didn't come with vegetables. That's why I ordered the salad. And I thought I'd like a potato of some sort so ordered a potato and onion thing which the waiter said was sized for one person. But it was really plenty for two people, especially considering how large the piece of lomo was. I think according to the menu it weighed 350 grams and was more than enough for me, although half of it probably wouldn't have been quite enough.

Actually the lomo did come with a few small pieces of red pepper, a very small piece of corn on the cob (wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with that; I wasn't about to eat it with my hands but it was nearly impossible to cut off the kernels) and a lettuce leaf. The lomo was not melt-in-your-mouth tender but was certainly as tender as most filet. It was cooked exactly as I ordered it.

Total damage, lomo, salad, potato thing, one beer, one glass of red wine came to $75 pesos. In my opinion a good price performer.

Bob