All of this interrogation over a piece of meat? Ok. Fine
Three New Yorkers whose reservation was made via Amex a week in advance went into the restaurant slightly after 21:00. Were checked-in & seated by Hugo. Ordered empanadas, champignons, greens (I think it was sautéed spinach but don't remember), two bife de chorizo & a t-bone. All three done medium. Having heard lots of stories how Argentinian medium will be an equivalent of medium-rare I was rather disappointed that only one place got the temperature right and that was La Brigada. Meat was outstanding and we quickly realized that a round two is inevitable and that's how skirt steak (the one they cut with a spoon) came about. Two bottles of Malbec accompanied the cow that night and the only thing I remember that one of them was a Zuccardi and one of them cost around AR$800. Panqueques dulce de leche and sabayon finished the night.
First night of the trip was supposed to have been La Cabrera N where Amex also did the reserving as well but once we arrived at the restaurant it was mayhem. A crowd of mostly older and visibly annoyed americans were b#tching at someone at the door. Turned out that we wouldn't be seated because the restaurant is overbooked. We turned around and walked to their location across the street from which they reserved us into La Cabrera Express. In retrospect, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. This was our first introduction to Argentinian beef and while we thought it was good, we weren't blown away (empanadas, however, are the best we've tasted). Two days later we ended up having lunch at original La Cabrera and it was a very underwhelming experience. Meat was forgettable, empanadas good. I rarely care about service, as long as everything is done in timely fashion and my waiter isn't an a$$hole, well, here it was almost both. It took 15 minutes to take our order, and while meat came out unusually fast (10 minutes tops), the process of getting a check and then waiting for the receipt took about 35. Flagging him down was impossible. Along with unmemorable food, that wait time and the gimmicky, TGIF feel of the place it's safe to say I'd not return there nor I'd recommend it. HOWEVER, if I were choosing between La Cabrera and Las Lilas, the latter would obviously be the loser. Worst meat of the trip and too overpriced.
Hope all of the questions have been answered and now it's your turn to tell me what your theory on La Brigada is and whether it's been/somewhat/if at all supported and once again. Once again, all three of us LOVED the place and it was totally worth the 14+ hours of travel time :-).