Restaurant awards season is almost upon us, and with it, the prizes that really get gourmands scrutinizing Argentina’s dining scene.

The Michelin guide, arbiter of culinary excellence and conferrer of stars, stealthily slipped into Argentina in 2023. Their inspectors — an elite and highly-trained eating squad — are so low-profile they could lead lives as double agents. This gastro gang rapidly made its way around the two regions that had paid to be included in the prestigious French-run guide. Restaurants in Buenos Aires and Mendoza would get their due and form part of the prestigious constellation.

There had been talk of Michelin coming for a decade or so. It was a question of cash. In 2019, City Hall scraped together enough to host Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony. And a sparse one it was: few wines, fewer canapés, an after party at San Telmo’s La Trastienda — a far cry from a fancy Copacabana Beach hotel gala. Believe me, I’ve been to dozens: it was frugal.

Finally, the email arrived: the Michelin guide would indeed roll out in Argentina. The news fulfilled the ambitions of dozens of chefs who trained at starred establishments in the Old World. Eateries here, built with their blood, sweat, and tears, would finally get a shot at the restaurant Holy Grail.

The rumors flew: the inspectors are from France! The inspectors are Spanish! Someone dropped their napkin on the floor three times! (A supposed trick of the inspection trade.) They’re men! They’re women! No one really knew. One thing was for sure: for months, the........

© Buenos Aires Herald