GLUTEN FREE BUENOS AIRES

GLUTEN FREE BUENOS AIRES

I have been eating gluten free for the past 7 years (this is Gina).   Eating gluten-free in Central and South America has been somewhat more of a challenge than I anticipated.     This has been especially true in Argentina, with a huge portion of the population descended from Italian immigrants.  Italian dishes such as Milanesa (either beef or chicken pounded, breaded and fried, usually covered with red sauce and mozzarella) and pasta have become Argentine staples available on every menu in every city we have visited.  AND every Argentine adult starts their day with café con leche and medialunas (half-moon shaped crescent rolls) with dulce de leche; a total wheat-fest, which has left me hungry in more than one hotel/hostel along the way!  But, in my quest to stay on track and feeling healthy,  I have discovered some gluten-free gems that I thought I would pass on to the next celiac or wheat-allergic traveler coming to Buenos Aires.

Gluten-Free Empanadas from Celigourmet

The most complete gluten-free Mecca I have discovered is Dietetica 100% Natural in Alto Palermo, located at Bulnes 2042, Buenos Aires, phone number 4821-1674 (on Bulnes between Santa Fe and Arenales), around the corner from the Alto Palermo mall.   You can take the Subte D line  and the Bulnes stop drops you off almost at their front door (look for their big red sign)!  This shop has the most complete assortment of prepared gluten-free foods I have seen anywhere in the world!   Their freezer section has breads, pizzas, pizza dough, medialunas (crescent rolls), empanadas (meat-filled turnovers), raviolis and other artisanal pastas, quiches, tortas, and various other tempting delights, both savory and sweet.  On the shelves you can find locally made budines (“puddings” to the Brits or loaf cakes to us Americans) in various flavors,  and cookies, including another Argentine staple, the alfajor (shortbread cookie sandwiches, filled with dulce de leche and either dipped in chocolate, white meringue, or just plain with coconut around the edge of the dulce de leche).   They also have a large selection of ready-made boxed GF cookies and crackers, rice cakes, GF pastas and a few packages of mixes to make your own GF bread, cookies or cakes.  Additionally they have a large selection of GF flours to make your own flour mix for scratch cooking and baking, as well as GF soy sauce and other sauces.  I have not seen Xanthan Gum anywhere in South America, so for those travelers coming long term, bring some with you!     For all you Americans missing peanut butter, you can also find an organic brand of peanut butter here (not as tasty as Jif or Skippy, but with honey or jam hits the spot).  There is also a large selection of organic products, bulk nuts and dried fruits, gourmet oils, sauces, sushi making supplies, herbs, supplements and essential oils.   If you eat gluten-free, organic, or are just a foodie this is the store for you!  For more information you can call them at 4821-1674 (I believe they even deliver), email them at 100xcientonatural@fibertel.com.ar or try their website at www.100xcientonatural.com.ar.

Within walking distance from our apartment in Palermo Viejo I have found a few other stores that have a few gluten-free items as well.

Celigourmet, located in Palermo at Charcas 4787 (on Charcas between Godoy Cruz and Fray Justo Sta. Ma. De Oro), phone 4776-5448, is a store solely dedicated to making gluten-free products.  This find was pure delight!  This store has the most complete assortment of baked goods like muffins, small budines (puddings or loaf cakes), cookies and ready-made gourmet cakes and tortes, as well as prepared foods such as pizzas, pizza crusts, empanadas, tartas (a cross between a quiche and a calzone), crepes, canelones and sandwiches.  Their torta menu includes cheesecake, brownies, tiramisu, chocolate mousse cake, lemon mousse cake, and many more.  Prices for these range from $38 pesos for the small (about $10 US) to as high as $85 pesos for a large (just over $20-something US).  They also have small rolls (these are delicious!), pita breads and small baguettes…alas, no loaf bread!   Another find here was tortilla chips!  Celigourmet has another location at Paunero 1927, Martinez, and phone 4798-2990.   They are open Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.  You can also email them at celigourmet@hotmail.com or visit their website at www.celigourmet.com.ar.

La Esquina de las Flores, located in Palermo at Gurruchaga 1630 (Gurrauchaga and Honduras), Buenos Aires, phone 4228-5000, is a combination café and health food store that sells 100% organic certified products.  It is located just a few blocks off the rotunda in Palermo.    The selection of gluten-free foods here is limited to GF pastas, boxed GF cookies/crackers, a few ready-made mixes, plus they have fresh, locally made loaf bread (pan de molde) on Thursday mornings at 9am.  They also have a large selection of alternative flours such as bean flour, rice flour, and quinoa flour (although they don’t appear to be  certified gluten-free like they are at Dietetica 100% Natural, so eat at your own risk).   If you are looking for cocoa for baking or peanut butter, this is the place to find it!  You can email them at info@esquinadelasflores.com.ar or you can visit their website at www.esquinadelasflores.com.ar .

For a quick GF pasta or cookie fix, Diet-Cer, has 3 locations.  I have personally visited the one located in Palermo on Jorge Luis Borges 2433, phone 5786-0257.  You can take the Subte D line to Plaza Italia, then head away from the Plaza on Jorge Luis Borges for this shop.  They have two other locations I have not visited at Ave. Scalabrini Ortiz 2174, phone 4832-2870, or Guemes 3961, phone 4832-7707.   They have a decent selection of GF pasta, boxed cookies/crackers and a few boxes of bread mix, cake and cookie mixes.

Jumbo supermarkets have a small selection of gluten-free cookies/crackers and boxed mixes, but no pastas.   The Wal-Mart in Corrientes had a  very nice gluten-free and organic section, so I will go out on a limb and say that the Wal-Mart in Buenos Aires does as well, but I haven’t been there to verify this.  They also had a delicious American-style crunchy peanut butter.    Most  “dieteticas” carry at least gluten-free pasta and cookies, so pop into one in your neighborhood and check it out.

You can find gluten-free rice cakes in almost every supermercado as a fall back.  And, if you are lucky, you can find chipas near where you are staying in Buenos Aires.  Chipas are the Argentine version of indigenous mantioca-cheese bread.   You can find variations of this in many countries in South America (pan de yuca in Ecuador, pao de quejo in Brazil).   I had my first chipa on a bus in Missiones, Argentina – they are very common bus food in much of Argentina and in many cases made in a Chiparia, dedicated to making only chipas, which means, gluten-free!  The ingredients in a traditional chipa are mantioca flour (a version of tapioca/yucca flour), cheese, milk and butter).  They can be round, like a bagel, in sticks or in little balls.  They also sell them as snacks in the movie theaters here in Buenos Aires!   Outside of BA they will cost you $1 peso per chipa, here in BA they will cost $2-$3 pesos per chipa.  My local panaderia here in Palermo (located next door to the GluHotel on Godoy Cruz and Honduras) makes them daily but usually sells out by the afternoon.  (Plus, they are made in a regular bakery so celiacs will be contending with cross-contamination.)  Many stores sell a chipa mix in the flour section in a little blue bag so you can make them yourself, or many of the above-mentioned outlets sell the raw ingredients and you can google the recipe.

I hope you have as much fun shopping and eating here as I have!  To my fellow wheat-allergics or celiac friends in Buenos Aires, Buen Provecho!