El Sanjuanino, Argentinian restaurant in Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina
El Sanjuanino is a restaurant in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires that focuses on cooking from San Juan province in northwestern Argentina. The menu centers on empanadas with a range of fillings, alongside other traditional plates from the region.
The restaurant was founded to bring the cooking of San Juan province to Buenos Aires at a time when regional food from the interior was rarely found in the capital. The recipes have stayed close to their provincial roots since the beginning.
Empanadas here are eaten by hand, as is the custom in San Juan and across much of northern Argentina. The menu is built entirely around this tradition, with different fillings that reflect regional tastes rather than Buenos Aires habits.
The restaurant sits on Posadas street in Recoleta, within walking distance of several parks and main avenues in the area. It tends to fill up on weekends and in the evening, so arriving early is a good idea.
The empanadas here are sealed with a folded edge called repulgue, and the pattern of the fold traditionally signals which filling is inside. Knowing how to read these patterns is a small skill that locals take for granted but that most visitors have never heard of.
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