The restaurant, located on Calle Conde de Altea, addresses this date with a series of dishes designed to be shared. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, a date on which gastronomy becomes a gift to enjoy disitinctive and individual menus. However, the ‘Cruz Pampa’ steakhouse champions just the opposite, following the Argentinian tradition of enjoying and sharing the asado around the table.

In Argentina, the asado is conceived as a collective ritual in which meat is served in the center and the fire marks the timing of the meal. A practice that, according to the restaurant located on Calle Conde de Altea, 29, makes particular sense on dates like Valentine’s Day. “We usually associate these celebrations with closed experiences, which last one night and little more,” explains Hernan Sale, one of the owners at the head of the renovated Cruz Pampa, which last November celebrated the first year of its new trajectory. It is for this reason that during this week they want to send the opposite message: the real gift is the warmth of the fire, the one that goes hand in hand with the wait, time, and the value of sharing with your partner, family, or friends.

A menu for the centre of the table

Numerous changes came to Cruz Pampa after its first year, including the revitalization of the space and the presentation of a new menu with meat and grilled dishes as protagonists. Within it, quality European and Argentinian cuts, in addition to starters and side dishes prepared in the clay oven.

For Valentine’s weekend, Cruz Pampa recommends ordering for the center of the table, sharing different bites from here and there, which will allow the diner to take away a more extensive souvenir of the experience. An experience that, as they indicate from the restaurant: “Should be like an authentic Argentinian asado, a ritual without haste, where the rhythm is marked by the flame.” Among the dishes that cannot be missed during the evening:

🍽 To start, the house’s provolone cheeses. There is the classic one with oregano and the one with Serrano ham, arugula, and cherry tomatoes. Also, the country bread basket which, although simple, does not go unnoticed due to the accompanying sauces: homemade chimichurri butter, salsa criolla, and chimichurri.

🍽 The ribeye steak (ojo de bife) and the striploin steak (bife de chorizo). Both are 350-gram pieces of Argentinian Black Angus sirloin. The first is a flavourful and juicy cut, rich in marbled fat, while the second is a lean cut covered with a thin layer of fat.

🍽 The breaded striploin steak milanese, a recent addition, which is a more gourmet version of the icon of Buenos Aires’ gastronomy. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

🍽 And, finally, a sweet dessert that also goes through the grill. It is pineapple with homemade berry reduction and vanilla ice cream.

In short, an asado based on a careful selection of European and Argentinian cuts cooked over the fire on its grill, open to the dining room and glazed, which is joined by a clay oven for the preparation of the embers and some dishes on the menu.

The Valentine’s Day experience is recommended to be completed with a carefully selected wine selection, which highlights the Cabernet Franc, a variety that the restaurant considers especially distinctive and versatile to accompany the meats. Although, being a special occasion, Cruz Pampa invites you to try Angélica Zapata, one of the most internationally recognized Argentinian wines and a regular feature in industry rankings.

This is how Cruz Pampa proposes to celebrate this special date, from a different perspective, recovering the asado as a ritual in which the fire, the wait, and the shared table become the centre of the experience. A way of understanding gastronomy in which time and company do matter.

Report by ’24/7 Valencia’ team

Article copyright ’24/7 Valencia’

www.asadorargentinovalencia.es

@cruzpampa_asador