What to Eat in Montevideo: Wood-Fired Asado, Chivito, Caruso Pasta and Tannat

Shaped by waves of Spanish and Italian immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries alongside the cattle-ranching traditions of the interior grasslands, Uruguayan cuisine in Montevideo revolves around grass-fed beef, wood-fired ovens, handmade pasta, and rich dairy sweets. Unlike neighbours who grill over charcoal, Uruguayan asadores burn seasoned hardwood logs (lena) in raised iron fireboxes (braseros), raking the glowing embers beneath a sloping iron grate to impart a clean woodsmoke aroma. Pair these dishes with a visit to Mercado del Puerto and a tasting at Montevideo's Tannat wineries.

Asado a la Lena, Provoleta and Medio y Medio

• Asado de tira, Vacio and Pulpon: Order cross-cut short ribs (asado de tira), juicy flank steak (vacio), or rich bottom sirloin (pulpon), preceded by pork-and-beef chorizo, sweet or savoury blood sausage (morcilla dulce with orange peel and walnuts or morcilla salada), crisp thymus sweetbreads (mollejas), and a skillet of blistered aged provolone cheese (provoleta) seasoned with oregano.
• Medio y Medio and Tannat: At Mercado del Puerto, open the meal with a chilled glass of Medio y Medio, a blend of sparkling sweet wine and dry white wine created in the late nineteenth century at Roldos bar, then pair your beef with a full-bodied Uruguayan Tannat red wine.

The Uruguayan Chivito, Faina and Pasta with Caruso Sauce

Despite its name meaning "little goat", the Uruguayan chivito contains no goat meat at all: invented in the 1940s when an Argentine customer requested goat and chef Antonio Carbonaro improvised with seared beef tenderloin (lomo), it is Uruguay's signature sandwich. A classic chivito canadiense piles thin griddled beef tenderloin onto a soft brioche-style bun with melted mozzarella, seared ham, crispy pancetta, lettuce, tomato, green olives, roasted red peppers, mayonnaise, and a fried or hard-boiled egg, served with French fries or plated without bread as a chivito al plato over Russian potato salad.

Wood-Oven Faina, Capeletis a la Caruso and Chaja

At classic neighborhood bars (bares notables) along Avenida 18 de Julio and in Pocitos, order a slice of rectangular pizza a la pala topped with a wedge of faina (a thin, crispy-edged Genovese chickpea-flour pancake baked in a wood-fired brick oven). On the pasta menu, look for capeletis or sorrentinos tossed in salsa Caruso, a velvety sauce of double cream, sautéed onions, mushrooms, ham, and meat extract created in Montevideo in August 1954 by chef Raimundo Monti in honour of Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. Finish with a dulce de leche alfajor or postre chaja, a sponge cake layered with whipped cream, crushed meringue, and peaches in syrup.