Just a 10-minute walk from campus, Gaucho Parilla located off Penn Avenue and 6th Street serves more than what gives itsits reputation as a pricey South-American-themed steak house.
When I entered, the hostess asked if I wanted the bar, which would’ve been a smart seating option for my wallet. The pequenos, or starters, are half off at the bar during happy hour.
At full price, it was $15 for two empanadas whereas down the road at Arepittas, it would cost $10 to $13 for these. Although, the price makes sense when considering a larger overhead cost. In comparison to Arepittas, the outer shell was softer and doughier.
The dish also came with more ajo sauce than it did empanada, served with four containers on the side.
The chor y pollo empanada was triangular-shaped. The two meats blended to create a powerful flavor that tasted a little cheesy with a doughy and soft crust to complement. The meat was proportionately spread through its dough shell unlike that of the beef.
The beef empanada had a spicy kick to it and was round. The untraditional shape caused the meat to pile up in the center with less dough to balance the flavor. Although, the beef here was juicier than its chor y pollo counterpart and was spicier.
The waitress, who was the best one I’ve ever had in any restaurant, briefly explained that one of the sauces was a classic flavor, another was onion and the other two were other flavors that didn’t contain spice.
The main dish was Bondila for $18. It was pork shoulder flavored and slow-roasted with carrot, onions, celery and herbs. Piled on top of two hard-crispy, and painful, pieces of bread with Dijon mustard and caramelized onions.
The sandwich had fantastic flavor, and the first bite I took reminded me of my grandma’s southern cooking. The meat was moist, yet the sandwich bread fell short as it was painful, difficult to get through and injured the roof of my mouth.
The house salad it came with was fresh but was already tossed in balsamic vinegar to an inedible degree. It would have been bearable if the sandwich it was paired with didn’t leave an open wound for the vinegar to burn. I didn’t eat it.
Thankfully, there was one last thing to patch up the wound and coat the mouth in sugar. Refrigerated and delicious, don’t forget about the alfajores for dessert. At $10, these two macaron-like vanilla and chocolate shortbread cookies are chewy, well-balanced and might be nice to share with a valentine.
According to the waitress, the house favorite is vanilla. I agreed. It was chewy and the light outside cookie balanced the caramel-like dulce de leche inside. The chocolate had a strong flavor similar to the inside caramel filling, although both were still nice to end the night.
As for the edges of the cookie, they were rolled in coconut which couldn’t be tasted but added excellent texture.
Aside from the food, Gaucho nails the service and experience. Expect to open your wallet for a tip above 25% if you expect to dine here. However, because the restaurant is so pricey, I would only recommend attending after a playhouse performance with your parents or perhaps during happy hour for the half-off empanadas. Yet, that depends if you want to pay $5 to $8 for a beer.
Cassandra rated Gaucho Parilla 3.5 out of 5 Globes.
