Perhaps my hearing was affected because I had just been drenched by the waterfalls at Iguazu in northeastern Argentina. But I thought I heard an American tourist complain that he hadn't come across any good beef on his trip. Too bad he missed the steak I had at El Quincho del Tio Querido, a restaurant in Puerto Iguazu.
This gorgeous piece of beef was juicy-rare, tender and perfectly seasoned. The only drawback was, it sat on someone else's plate, not mine. I had ordered surubi, a river fish that is a specialty of this watery area where Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina meet. But my neighbor took pity and handed me a slice. And that small taste was extraordinary.
El Tio Querido is an ambitious restaurant with several dining areas, a handsome display of Argentine wines (I drank Terrazzas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 with the steak), weekly tango shows and live music every night. But once it was small, like a backyard quincho, the place where one prepares barbecue at home.
As you walk to the entrance, the tempting aroma of meat grilling on the enormous parrilla outside is enough to explain why this restaurant has become so successful. The famous falls are some distance away, but Puerto Iguazu is the main city nearby, with plenty of hotels, shops and restaurants and a lookout point where the Parana and Iguazu rivers and all three countries come together.
El Quincho del Tio Querido, Bompland and Perito Moreno, Puerto Iguazu, Misiones Province, Argentina.
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