The primal appeal of a flawlessly cooked steak has been expounded
upon at length by writers and gourmands alike, and I will not attempt to outdo
them here. I will only ask, as John Cleese did, that if God didn't intend for
us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat?
I love eating steak straight off the coals, almost still smoking;
fire crusted and dripping fat, with rusty red juices escaping at the first
touch of the knife. I also like it pan fried; seared in nutty butter;
caramelised, and drizzled with the deglazed pan residues. I have enjoyed it rare,
bloody and marbled with fat – and pink, tender and topped with a freshly fried
egg. No meal, perfectly done, is so satisfying; or poorly executed, as
disappointing as a simple steak. As Anthony Bourdain reminds us - when you eat
meat, something did die, and you have an obligation to value it.
Because of my preference for perfect porterhouse, I view
steakhouses with a somewhat jaundiced eye. Too often the steak is served well
done when you demanded medium rare, or the natural flavour of the meat is
hidden under cheap sauces or ill-conceived garnishes. Sometimes the meat is
cold, occasionally it is tough and generally it falls short of expectations,
leaving one feeling disappointed and cheated.
For these reasons, it was with a tremble in my step that I
approached Bar Ba Coa in Umhlanga on a recent Friday night. Bar Ba Coa calls
itself an Argentinian grill and bar – good start. The Argentinians are famous
for enjoying one of the highest per capita consumption rates of red meat in the
world; and the vast herds of cattle ranging on the open pampas form part of their
national psyche.
Interestingly, barbacoa from which the term 'barbecue'
derives is actually a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean – Argentinians
rather refer to their national dish as 'Asado', which is used to refer to both
the method of cooking meat on an open fire, as well as the social occasion
surrounding it (much like 'braai' is used in South Africa).
Bar Ba Coa is one of our higher-end steakhouse, and is priced
accordingly. Starters go for around R50 to R60 and steaks range from R115 to
R180. Their Facebook page features tables of smiling Sharks rugby players and
local minor celebrities, so it’s the kind of restaurant that you go to spoil
yourself a little.
The place is attractively decorated in a masculine style, with
wooden floors, more wood on the tables, plenty of leather, red walls and
elegant lighting. There’s an inside area, which is more formal, and an enclosed
outdoor area that is a little lower key (large screen TV screening sports), and
which is where we were seated. It’s a popular venue, so be sure to book in
advance.
We kicked our meal off with a portion of empanadas as well as the ‘dedos
de carne’. The empanadas (basically little Cornish pasties) were filled with
chorizo, corn and cheese and served with the restaurant’s signature chimichurri
sauce (parsley, garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil and vinegar). Torn
apart and dipped in the sauce, they were delicious, and the serving of four is
probably enough to share as a starter. The dedos de carne were somewhat less
satisfying – described as 'beef strips fried in a red wine jus' the carne
itself was pretty good, but the tortillas it was served with were a little thin
and uninspiring, and the garnish of a pile of limp shredded lettuce might have
felt more at home in a roadside burger house.
Obviously, though, we were there for the steaks, so we scanned the
menu carefully and weighed up our various options for the main course. We wanted
to maximise on the South American flavour, so we avoided the game options and
the monkey gland sauce (too South African), and settled on the carne Argentina
(naturally) and the carne Mexicana. Both are 300g sirloin steaks which come
topped either with streaky bacon, grated cheddar and ‘drizzled with chimichurri
butter' (Argentina) or nacho chips, melted cheddar, guacamole salsa, jalapenos
and sour cream (Mexicana). Yes, the Mexicana is basically a steak topped with a
portion of nachos – what’s not to like?
Sadly, like too many other restaurants, the fine print at the
bottom of the menu stated: '*All mains
are served with a choice of chips, baked potato, rice, mash or salad'. Is it
just me, or is that getting old? I don't come to a restaurant to design my own
dish – this was not supposed to be a choose your own adventure. To my mind, sides
should enhance the dish that they are paired with, the flavours, textures and
colours carefully chosen to complement the main feature, not simply tacked on
as an afterthought. I ended up going with chips, but honestly – one can get
chips with a steak at Spur. Here, in an upmarket establishment, it would be
nice to see something a little more thought through, perhaps a portion of verdurajo, the Argentinian
grilled vegetable dish made up of potatoes, eggplant, corn and onion cooked on
the grill.
The meat at Bar Ba Coa is advertised as ‘grilled on charcoal to
bring out the natural flavours'. Unfortunately, to me it tasted a bit like the
natural flavours of the charcoal, rather than the meat. It certainly wasn’t
overpowering, but the first taste that hit me as I started on the steak was not
the smoky, dark, woody flavour of an open fire under a starlit sky, but rather the
dusty taste you might find at the bottom of the charcoal bag. Honestly, I
couldn't quite work out what was going on here. The restaurant features a large
kitchen with a viewing area, and I could see the staff flipping meat over a
stack of coals, so it should have been great – but there was this insistent raw
charcoal taste hanging on the outer edges of the meat. Kind of like the taste that
results when you lose control of your Weber and resort to throwing water over
the flames, kicking up ash.
Inside, both steaks were lovely and juicy (almost verging on
underdone for a medium rare, with pink blood pooling on the plate) but I felt that
they were under seasoned, simply not enough salt or pepper. Now I understand
that Argentinians do not traditionally apply anything beyond the basics to
their meat, but I think a slightly heavier hand with the seasoning would have
helped to bring out the flavour of the meat.
The toppings were alright, but also not very inspiring – the
chimichurri was probably the best part, and the chips were very standard, I
might have preferred a more rustic, thick cut, skin on chip to better match the
big slab of beef.
Desserts consisted of a rather familiar looking line up: crème
brûlée; ice cream and chocolate sauce; an Argentinian take on tiramisu.
Something I did enjoy was the option of two scoops of Mozart’s ice cream served
in a sugar cone. A good way to end off the meal and you can even walk out with
it if you choose to – pudding to go!
All in all, Bar Ba Coa is not really a bad steakhouse – it’s just
that it falls prey to what bothers me about most steakhouses, with the added
issues that at their prices, I expect a lot more. Next time I’ll stick to my
Weber.
