Kev
04-21-2006, 08:27 AM
Yum yum :celb (23):
A TASTE of the pampas will be introduced to Liverpool today with the opening of the city's first Argentinian steakhouse.
Adding to Merseyside's increasingly cosmopolitan and diversely different range of eateries, this will be the first of its kind outside London and Manchester.
The appropriately-named Meet, in Brunswick Street, is manned entirely by South American and Hispanic staff, although the idea has its foundations based firmly on the banks of the Mersey.
It is the creation of business partners, 40-year-old Gary Hincks from Walton and Alan Jones, 55, from Wavertree.
Both seasoned travellers abroad - Gary is a former cruise-line purser, while Alan served in Europe with the British Army - they have seen how popular such restaurants are in the US and on the continent.
They believe that it cannot fail to be a success in Liverpool, especially since Rafa Benitez took over at Anfield, drafting on the sizeable contingent of Spanish players, including the likes of Garcia, Alonso, and Reina.
"Rafa even parked his car outside the other day; we were talking and he said how much he loved Argentinian food," said Gary, who added that a number of Liverpool players were due to pop in for last night's preview bash.
"But it's not just Liverpool's Spanish players who are interested. A party of footballers, including Lee Carsley and James Beattie from Everton, have come around to ask when the restaurant was opening," Gary added.
All the beef is specially imported from Argentina by Hogan's of Huyton - and Gary maintained that you can taste the difference in meat from cattle raised on the rich pampas grasslands immediately.
"The cattle feed purely on grass with no pellets involved. There's less fat on the meat and the knife cuts through it like butter."
The steak portions are not "a la carte dainty little bits of meat" either, but range between 10 and a heavyweight 26 ounces. Chicken, fish, lobster, chops and ribs will also be specialities of head chef Juan Hidalgo from the Canary Islands, making Meet, below, a no-go area for vegetarians. He also makes the Chinichurri marinating sauce which Argentinians consider a necessity with their meat.
Composed of a potent mix of vinegar, peppers, spices and garlic it has, explained Gary, "a taste all of its own."
Brahma bottled beer from Brazil, and a wide selection of Spanish and South American wines completes the package.The restaurant is open for bookings from noon today, and the last meals are served at 11pm.
mikechapple@dailypost.co.uk
A TASTE of the pampas will be introduced to Liverpool today with the opening of the city's first Argentinian steakhouse.
Adding to Merseyside's increasingly cosmopolitan and diversely different range of eateries, this will be the first of its kind outside London and Manchester.
The appropriately-named Meet, in Brunswick Street, is manned entirely by South American and Hispanic staff, although the idea has its foundations based firmly on the banks of the Mersey.
It is the creation of business partners, 40-year-old Gary Hincks from Walton and Alan Jones, 55, from Wavertree.
Both seasoned travellers abroad - Gary is a former cruise-line purser, while Alan served in Europe with the British Army - they have seen how popular such restaurants are in the US and on the continent.
They believe that it cannot fail to be a success in Liverpool, especially since Rafa Benitez took over at Anfield, drafting on the sizeable contingent of Spanish players, including the likes of Garcia, Alonso, and Reina.
"Rafa even parked his car outside the other day; we were talking and he said how much he loved Argentinian food," said Gary, who added that a number of Liverpool players were due to pop in for last night's preview bash.
"But it's not just Liverpool's Spanish players who are interested. A party of footballers, including Lee Carsley and James Beattie from Everton, have come around to ask when the restaurant was opening," Gary added.
All the beef is specially imported from Argentina by Hogan's of Huyton - and Gary maintained that you can taste the difference in meat from cattle raised on the rich pampas grasslands immediately.
"The cattle feed purely on grass with no pellets involved. There's less fat on the meat and the knife cuts through it like butter."
The steak portions are not "a la carte dainty little bits of meat" either, but range between 10 and a heavyweight 26 ounces. Chicken, fish, lobster, chops and ribs will also be specialities of head chef Juan Hidalgo from the Canary Islands, making Meet, below, a no-go area for vegetarians. He also makes the Chinichurri marinating sauce which Argentinians consider a necessity with their meat.
Composed of a potent mix of vinegar, peppers, spices and garlic it has, explained Gary, "a taste all of its own."
Brahma bottled beer from Brazil, and a wide selection of Spanish and South American wines completes the package.The restaurant is open for bookings from noon today, and the last meals are served at 11pm.
mikechapple@dailypost.co.uk