by MARK SLUTSKY

An Argentine cousin to the American cowboy, the concept of the gaucho dates as far back as the 17th century (though the term wasn’t coined until 1790), during the time of the leather trade. After the cattle were sold and the skin stripped, these rough-and-tumble plainsmen would cook the carcass over an open fire, and thus, it’s said, the Argentine passion for grilled beef was born.

Casa Gaucho sits inconspicuously on that strange strip of restaurants and empty storefronts on Parc just above Bernard. Argentine grill is its specialty—actually, there’s not much besides grilled meats to be had here. Inside, the décor is pleasant enough, if unremarkable, save for some stretched cow skins on the walls and lots of fake plants. On a recent weekday night the restaurant was sparsely populated, seemingly with regulars, though it seems to fill up on weekends, when you might want to make a reservation.

To start our meal, my two dining companions and I were curious about the restaurant’s empanadas, so we ordered one ($3.45) to share, though in hindsight we probably should’ve got one each. The empanada was different in shape from its Chilean counterparts sold elsewhere in the city—longer and narrower. It was no less tasty, though. Inside was a simple mélange of ground beef and spices, and it made for a savoury pastry.

The empanada was accompanied by two sauces, highlights of the meal. The first was a straight-up hot red pepper seasoning, which was extremely spicy. The second was the chimichurri, a delicious green sauce made with lemon, garlic and lots of parsley. This was addictive, and would end up all over everything we’d eat that night.

Soup was included in our meals, and though billed as a lowly vegetable and beef concoction, it confounded our expectations by being one of the most memorable dishes of the night. It was rich and hearty (though not a stew), containing beef, potatoes, carrots, noodles and, astoundingly, a whole section of a corncob, which added a lot of flavour to the broth. Incidentally, it was a chicken broth, which made a nice contrast to the beef. The result was refreshing and vitalizing. Great soup.

For our main courses, we chose the veal milanesa ($16.95, including soup, coffee and dessert), and the asado (grilled steak) and sausage plates ($17.95 and $11.50, respectively, and same deal as above). The sausage, and the milanesa especially, betrayed the cuisine’s indebtedness to European cookery.

The milanesa was a flat piece of veal, lightly breaded, and it bore a strong resemblance to Wiener schnitzel, down to the accompanying quartered lemon. The only non-grilled main course we had, it was solid, if not outstanding. Like the other two plates, it was accompanied by a standard fresh green salad, and some mushy rice.

The sausage (there was only one where two would do the job a little better) had a taste, as my friend put it, that was very “central European,” resembling a knackwurst, though there were some elements of chorizo flavour in there as well. A beef and pork combo, it went especially well with the red sauce and had a nice crunch to it.

As for the asado itself, it was long, thick-cut and cooked, according to my friend’s specifications, a perfect medium-rare. Big and satisfying without being intimidatingly huge, it was more or less a classic, juicy grilled steak.

The meal’s only disappointment was that we’d hoped to taste dulce de leche and yerba mate. A traditional Argentine dessert and tea, respectively, they just weren’t on the menu. Too bad. But for a restaurant so reliant on grilled meats, Casa Gaucho provides a well-rounded meal that actually felt pretty light—amazing considering what we ate.

CASA GAUCHO
Address: 5834 du Parc (just above Bernard)
Phone: 270-1300
Hours: 4:30PM–midnight, daily
Best features: Beef and vegetable soup
Alcohol: Yes
Vegetarian friendly: Slim pickings
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Yes
Non-smoking section: Yes
Price: $15–$20 per person before tip, booze
Rating:**1/2 out of ****