Pampas Argentine Grill, 8690 Aero Drive, San Diego, California 92123
By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — Nestled into a little strip mall in Kearny Mesa, across from Montgomery field, is one of the best Argentine restaurants in town. The restaurant is small, with as many tables as they could comfortably fit into the space, so the noise level is pretty high, and chances of having a really private conversation are low. The walls are adorned with cow hides and photos of various scenes from the lives of the gaucho (Argentinian cowboy).
As you can imagine, there are a lot of different ways on the menu to eat cow. We started with a couple of ground beef “Empanadas” (little meat pies). They were pretty good, but once you add the “Chimichurri” sauce they’re amazing. Pampas does such a good job with their chimichurri sauce that they have to sell it by the jar because everyone wants to take it home. It is one of those things you could dream about, having just the right mix of savory flavors. For those who haven’t yet heard, Chimichurri sauce is made from finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and red wine vinegar. Super yummy.
Both my companion and I got the “Entrana” which is a piece of skirt steak. I asked for mine to be prepared as a sandwich (with extra extra chimichurri on the side), and so it was. The lunch special also came with a choice of a side. All of the choices were carb based – either rice, garlic fries, potato salad, or creamy potatoes. The creamy potatoes are chunks of potatoes that are covered in a creamy sauce. I don’t know what it tastes like though because 1) I was trying to keep this “kosher style” and 2) I don’t really like potatoes and figured the fries were more likely to get eaten by the kids later.
The steak was grilled pink as I asked, and the attentive waiter managed to keep up with all my requests. All in all, the only complaint I have was how loud it was once the restaurant got crowded. I understand that sometimes they also have live music or dancing, so I can only imagine what the din must be like then. I give them an 8.5 out of 10.
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Sandi Masori is the restaurant and food critic for San Diego Jewish World. If you have a favorite restaurant you would like her to review, please email her with details at sandi.masori@sdjewishworld.com