Pizza in Argentina

No other meal makes me as happy as a pizza. It’s easily my number #1 meal. The way I feel about pizza is a lot like the way I feel about MATE.

By the way, pizza is another Italian legacy. A different type of legacy, no doubt, but as powerful as the words that make part of our every day conversations.

I’ve never been to Italy, but when I finally visit a slice of pizza is the first thing my teeth will bite. That, and a ristretto. I love dark coffee, as strong as it can get.

The aim of this post is to help you to get ready for the pizza experience and to make sure you don’t miss the best pizza restaurants in Buenos Aires .

By the way, there is an episode on pizza in the podcast!

Tracking pizza arrival

Pizza is an Italian trademark. We all asociate Italy and pizza. That’s out of discussion. But how exactly did this came to be?

The modern pizza we know today—flatbread topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients—originated in Naples, Italy, in the 18th to 19th centuries.

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Naples was a thriving but overcrowded port city. Many of its residents were poor laborers, and they needed food that was cheap, fast, and filling. Street vendors sold flatbreads topped with ingredients like garlic, lard, anchovies, and eventually tomatoes—a New World crop that had only recently become widely accepted in Europe.

Side note: Tomatoes were once thought to be poisonous, but by the 18th century, they were being used more freely. This led to the development of tomato-topped flatbread, a key step toward modern pizza.

One of the most famous stories about pizza’s ascent involves Queen Margherita of Savoy, who visited Naples in 1889. Legend has it that a local pizzaiolo named Raffaele Esposito created a pizza in her honor, using ingredients that represented the Italian flag: basil (green), mozzarella (white), and tomato (red). The queen loved it, and the dish was named Pizza Margherita in her honor.

Best pizzerías in Buenos Aires

We call pizza restaurants ‘pizzerías’. Make sure you try at least three of these pizzas. Google them to locate them on the maps of Buenos Aires. Thank me later!

The Napolitan-style pizza has caught on in Buenos Aires in recent years, but in my opinion who really represent Argentinian style are several traditional pizza restaurants founded by Italian immigrants in the 1930s and 1940s. These aren’t just pizzerias, they are experiences.

• El Cuartito
• Las Cuartetas
• Güerrín
• Santa María
• Imperio
• La Mezzeta
• Los Inmortales
• El Fortín

If you’re into food porn, check the instagram accounts for them.

Useful vocabulary

• Grande / Chica | big/small
• Muzza | the quintescence of pizza: tomato sauce and mozarella.
• Zeta | (short for fugazeta) a modern favorite, with onion and olive oil instead of tomato sauce. If you like onions, don’t miss on it!
• Fainá | a type of pizza made with chickpea flour.
• Al paso | it means you are not going to sit down and eat, but literally eat standing on your feet.
• Por porción | when you eat al paso, you don’t buy a whole pizza for yourself. Instead, you buy as many portions as you want and get them served on a plate.

¡Buen provecho, amigos!

Until next time,

You might also want to read these articles:

• Hacer una vaquita
  I’m not going to argue how ridiculous this phrase may sound at first. Let me just tell you what it means in Argentina.
• Pizza in Argentina
  An appreciation post dedicated to pizza—specifically, Argentine-style pizza.
• Put your pen to ink
  Do you need some motivation and ideas to do some writing practice in Spanish? Click right here!
• The Paradox of Choice
  Today, I want to introduce the concept of paradox of choice, and show you how it’s detrimental to your progress.
• Argentinian Spanish Input (part 1)
  In this post, I included podcasts you can try to leverage your learning with natural input.
• El que te jedi
  Learn a fun way of saying you-know-who in Rioplatense Spanish.