JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — No need to travel to Buenos Aires for an authentic Argentinian meal. Pampas Steakhouse in Johns Creek has you covered.
Chef Giovanni Bassi recently sat down with At the Table ATL to share his insights on traditional Argentinian fare, complete with his chosen dish.
“How does this dish represent Argentina?”
“Our sweetbreads, our churrasco, our lamb chops, and our sausage," Bassi said. "We have right here the parrilla mixta from Pampas."
The dish is a notable one for Argentina, given its nod to the gauchos.
"The gauchos are the cowboys who work in the countryside," Bassi said. “Those are the ones that take care of all our meat, all our cattle out there. Parrilla is: after a long day of work, you get a parrilla.”
According to Bassi, parrilla is what you'll see upon a visit to a steakhouse in Buenos Aires. But no need to travel that far. The Johns Creek restaurant has you covered.
“Usually people eat parrilla in Argentina on Fridays and Saturdays," he added.
“How does this dish represent Atlanta?”
For Bassi, the opportunity to represent Argentinian food in the metro is especially meaningful.
"People would not understand Argentinian culture if we did not have Pampas," Bassi said. "Everybody comes to Pampas to try Argentinian food.”
“I’m very happy for bringing in Argentinian food for other people, and then they’ll understand the culture that we have,” he said.
At the Table is a digital series produced by 11Alive's Matt Pearl and Liza Lucas. Metro Atlanta features the food of dozens of nations. We want to eat through them all! Follow us on Facebook and share your favorite food stories.