Chivito! Chivito! Chivito! “Have you had a chivito yet?” people would ask and then, when we shook our heads, “Oh, you MUST have a chivito! It’s the national dish of Uruguay! You MUST!” Truth be told, we were a bit scared of the thing. A giant grilled beef-ham-bacon-egg-mozzarella-olive-tomato-lettuce-mayonaise sandwich, usually eaten with a huge pile of fries on the side? There’s even a Chivito Canadiense! WHOA. Sounded like a gut bomb extraordinaire.
But how could we leave the country without an edible encounter with the mother of all meat sandwiches? And if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right which is why we made the epic journey on bus and foot to the legendary Bar Arocena, serving up no frills food near the sea in the fancy pants Carrasco neighborhood since 1923 and (according to Pick Up The Fork) “the alleged birthplace” of the chivito. Guess what? This thing was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! Like a Skookum Chief x 1000!!!! This divine meal was followed up by a stroll on the deserted beach on a perfect fall afternoon, one last cinematic gathering at Laboratorio FAC, and a beautiful farewell dinner in Tere’s gorgeous garden… The perfect last day in Montevideo.
