Great catch, VPescado!!! Thanks for bringing back that thread from so long ago... ^ :D

Too late...:(

thanks.
I had saved it on a word document for my travels to buenos aires and could not remember where it came from.

La Brigada was closed when I went by yesterday. :( Possible remodeling? It said it was closed until March 23 or 24.

I have enjoyed several of the other recommended places, though. Great thread!

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I made a reservation at San Telmo La Brigada prior to arriving in BsAs. After reading the posts in this thread, I decided to switch to the other La Brigada.

At my request, the hotel concierge called Hugo (owner of La Brigada) to change my reservation from one restaurant to the other, but was told that the Barrio Norte (BN) restaurant is permanently closed. Hugo had asked his daughter to run the BN restaurant, but he ended up taking care of both restaurants. The stress led to some health issues for Hugo and he decided to close the BN restaurant. He is currently planning on expanding the San Telmo one.

This information is current as of March 18, 2008.

Hello everybody, I'm new to this forum. I've been reading comments from all of you and it's very educational and encouraging. Many people here in this forum including Gaucho 100K have been stating La Brigada is the best steak house in Buenos Aires. I have a plan to visit there in upcoming August. Anyway I've found that their el 'corte especial' has been mentioned numerous times as their best as well as the kind of top secret cut. I'm wondering if any of you tried it there before and will really appreciate if somebody posts the description and the picture of it.

I was by there last weekend - it looks like a major expansion is going on, but the San Telmo one was open with quite a Sunday afternoon crowd out in front waiting.

The cut is indeed a sort of mystery... but if you ask me, its basically a rib-eye cut differently and with sides of additional cuts in the same general area of the animal. Also, please note that this mystery cut changes from cut to cut (if you ask me thats why they like to make it a secret). One additional issue to consider is that depending on who is at the helm of the grill the day you visit, this special cut may only be available in the super rare version that La Brigada is known for. This is usually OK with serious carnivores, but folks that like their meat (over)cooked had better ask if you can order this cut to your liking.

el 'corte especial'
 

Thank you very much for your sincere reply, Gaucho 100K. In one of Spanish websites someone described that it looked like a gigantic meatball, neither flat nor elongated while others said it's a 1.6kg of gigantic cut available for four persons or also for an individual(smaller cut). In one interview owner of La brigada Hugo said flavour-wise he thinks the mother of all cuts is 'la colita de cuadril' and it's much more flavourful than whichever other carne(meat) if you could make it special. And Gaucho 100K, when you visit La brigada again please ask them about it again. Someone even went ahead and mentionted that their steaks are great, but he only recommends their 'corte especial' and that's the best meat to order at la brigada. Their 'Tapa de ojo de bife' is another famous cut, isn't it?

Tapa de Ojo de Bife and Ojo de Bife (ribeye) are two of my favorite cuts. The colita de cuadril could be part of the mystery cut.... although as Ive posted above, the cut is never the same. This is not a bad thing, as no two animals are equal so a cut that is perhaps tough or overly fatty on one animal may be tender and have just the right amount of layered fat that is needed for grilling..... meat is not an exact science, the devil is in the details.

Many thanks!
 

Thank you again, Gaucho100K. As you implied, I think The colita de cuadril is the closest answer to the mystery cut. I've been reading you always highly recommend El Pobre Luis along with La Brigada. I've heard that their Pamplona de cerdo is especially great. By the way, could you briefly describe what their another specialty Bife Uruguayo is like?

The Bife Uruguayo is basically a Bife de Chorizo (or comparable cut)... but its presented in different manners (depending on where you order it), but usually sliced in three with different side dishes.

Having just returned from 10 days in BsAs, I'd rate La Cabrera as hands-down best among the places I visited, although it was also pricey. We also loved La Dorita, which was simpler, cheaper, and had great service. We ate there twice because we really liked the waitress. La Brigada was quite good, but we felt rushed and had to make it very clear that we wanted to take our time. We also ate at El Mirasol, which was good but not as good as the others I mentioned.

At all these places we (party of 7) tried several different cuts of steak, plus a variety of organ meats and sausages, so we got a good feel for what was available.