Argentine Fare in Pasadena – Malbec
Located in between the shopping areas of Lake Avenue and Old Town, sits a nice little restaurant, Malbec. An Argentinian restaurant that, as most others do, they specializes in beef. My only other experience, an unfortunate one, was with Gaucho Grill.
I expected a menu full of beef, steak, and other meats, the cowboys of Argentina are known for. The Lomita Sandwich at Malbec, a signature dish of beef and ham, was no different. This is an unusual combination of meats in a sandwich, but it is quite tasty. I did like it. Though I didn’t like the hard bread and the texture of the beef – it was a bit chewy. I thought the savoriness of the ham mixed in well with the beef. I would order it again, but maybe not at Malbec.
My companion choose to get the steak meal. Not exactly a typical order for lunch, but she does like steak. I tried it, it wasn’t special. It was that good either. It didn’t have that great of flavor. In fact, it reminded me of my experience at Gaucho Grill, in which I remember a bland food experience.
I know I did like the starter appetizer of bread with olive oil/garlic spread. I thought it was quite good. The salad was ok, nothing special. Though did remember the large pieces of shrimp. The empanadas were pretty good.
At the end of the day. I thought the restaurant itself was a nice place. If I remember correctly, they only had beer and wine. I don’t think I had a very good experience, but perhaps I should not gone for lunch at a typical dinner restaurant.
