Siga La Vaca
Several friends and I were in search of a somewhat authentic parilla that was both inexpensive and conducive to groups. Our guidebooks pointed us to Siga la Vaca, a "tenedor libre" (free fork, i.e., all you can eat) restaurant frequented by groups of young porteños, usually to celebrate a special occasion. The phrase "all you can eat," let alone the notion that the restaurant was geared toward "young" people, should have tipped me off that this would not be an enjoyable meal. We showed up at 9:30 without a reservation and sat amongst children with their parents, and groups of overly touchy high school couples, before being seated half an hour later. Our small group of five was brought to a table in-between a group of 14 and a group of 10. Our waitress explained that everything was included (salad, appetizer, meats, drinks, and dessert) for 40 pesos (13 U$D). We started off at the salad bar to warm up, before making our way over to the parilla where the real action happened.
At the parilla, there was a lot to choose from. A chalkboard on the wall broke the menu down as follows: Embutidos: chorizo y morcilla Achuras: molleja, riñón, rueda, chinchulín, tripa gorda. Carne vacuna: asado, vacío, colita de cuadril, matambre. Cerdo: carré, pechito con manta. Pollo: con o sin huesos. Especialidades: bife de chorizo o de lomo, entraña, brochettes, carré de cerdo a la ciruela o a la mostaza, solomillo y matambrito de cerdo. Pídalas al parriillero.
I started with some cordero (lamb) because it looked the rarest and most tender of the selection. Unfortunately my earlier suspicions were confirmed: it was overcooked, dry, and tough. Since this was a tenedor libre, I cut my losses and went up for another round. This time I helped myself to some Morcilla (blood sausage) and pork ribs. The morcilla was surprisingly bland, and the ribs had nearly no meat. Another disappointment. The waitress offered us some bowls of french fries which, ironically, became my dinner. For dessert, I selected the puff pastry. It was engulfed in dulce de leche. Kind of hard to dislike dulce de leche; but there was nothing particularly exciting about this. After the tenth bite, I started feeling a little queasy.
Despite the impressive amount of meat, and the cheap bill, I would skip this place. There are better restaurants for the same price if not cheaper.
