Rincon Argentino

Walk into Rincon Argentino with any doubts about the restaurant's philosophy and they'll quickly melt away. The reason? The gigantic fire pit in the middle of the dining room that's usually covered with dripping racks of sausage, beef, and sometimes a whole pig. Argentine cuisine is all about the carne, baby. An Argentine barbecue special brings a sizzling iron grill right to your table, with juicy flank steaks, kidneys, sweetbreads, and blood sausage simmering atop white-hot coals. Italian-Argentine appetizers such as queso proveleta Argentina (a giant hunk of grilled, fresh cheese) and mozzarella Caprese with prosciutto are delicious warmups. Then comes the main attraction: a whole menu of steaks, ribs, chicken, offal, and sausages spitting hot off the grill and washed down with fishbowls of perfect, best-value-in-the-world Malbec. Quiet your inner carnivore with the media parrillada, or half Argentine barbecue, a gut-busting rack of steaks and sausages. The Coral Gables location, a warm space two blocks from Miracle Mile, has been around since 1987. A second spot opened in Kendall in 2001. Both restaurants feel as close to Buenos Aires as the Magic City can get. And that, che, is close.