Gastón Riveira sits across from me at his new Coconut Grove restaurant. “We will start with the meat, then the appetizers,” he states. “We will do things in reverse.”
I don’t know why we’re doing things backward. But when you’re sitting down for a meal with the world’s most famous master of the Argentinian asado, you don’t question the order of things.
Riveira is the owner and chef of La Cabrera, a chain of Argentine restaurants that stretches from the Philippines to Spain. He’s recently added two outposts in Miami—Coconut Grove and Sunny Isles—with a third coming soon in Midtown.
Riveira opened his first La Cabrera in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires in 2002. The concept was to stay true to a parrilla, an Argentine tradition similar to a Brazilian steakhouse but generally without all the skewers parading through the place. Since then, Riveira has penned several cookbooks and his restaurant has collected many awards, including landing on at least one list of the world’s best steakhouses.
Our first course arrives, a strip steak sliced thick in a cast-iron platter, seasoned with salt and pepper. Riveira and I stab slices and slather on chimichurri as he talks about his abuelo, his hero and mentor, the man who taught him how to cook meats over an open flame. Growing up in Argentina, the asado was how holidays were celebrated, or just the conclusion of a week. It’s a grill-out, essentially, usually with sausages and various cuts of meat and a vegetable here and there, for humor.
I ask him how many restaurants he plans to open on these shores. “A lot,” he says with a laugh. But then he corrects himself and says coyly, “These three in Miami are enough.” Although he’d like to open one in Disney, a place he adores.
Bespeckled and messy-haired, Riveira wears a white polo and gives lots of instructions to the waitstaff, who slice things as they arrive tableside: deeply flavorful morcilla, a cheesy empanada dotted with caramelized onions and grilled Argentinian provolone. When the shortbreads arrive, Riveira stands and takes the knife from the server, slicing them for us. They’re smoky and decadent, as soft under the blade as a birthday cake.
Whatever his plans are for expansion, Riveira says there’s one thing he knows for sure: The concept of La Cabrera will not change. “All my life, I had the thought that the restaurant I made in Buenos Aires will work everywhere in the world,” he says.
I mention how much I loved choripán sandwiches when I visited Argentina years ago, and so he orders four of them, a secret off-the-menu item they’ll make for those who know. It’s simple: crusty bread, chimichurri, house-made hot sauce, chorizo—just like I remembered.
We try a sample of the sides: mashed squash, potatoes, grilled veg, a halved pear covered in savory cheese and nuts. A flan arrives and squares of salty cheese with jelly cubes, his play on a dessert eaten by Argentine cab drivers.
I ask if he thinks he’s surpassed his abuelo at this point. “Oh, no!” he says with exasperation. Who’s better at barbecue? “Mi abuelo!” With his restaurants across the globe, it’s hard to believe. But what’s better than the memory of watching a grill master slice up a meal, just for you?
La Cabrera Coconut Grove is located at 2895 McFarlane Road. For more information, visit www.lacabreramiami.com.