Chivito

The Chivito was invented in 1946 in Punta del Este, Uruguay, at a restaurant called El Mejillón owned by Antonio Carbonaro. According to the now-canonical story, an Argentine tourist came in asking for chivito, Spanish for kid goat, which she had eaten elsewhere on her travels. Carbonaro had no goat in the kitchen, so he improvised with thin slices of beef, dressed it up with ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato on a buttered bun, and served it under the same name. The sandwich was an immediate hit. Within a few years it had spread from Punta del Este to Montevideo and across the country, growing more elaborate as it went, gaining bacon, fried egg, olives, pickles, and mayo as standard additions. The original was already substantial; the modern Chivito al Plato (chivito on a plate) version has become almost meal-sized, often served with French fries and a salad alongside the sandwich.

The Chivito is Uruguay's unofficial national dish, and Uruguayans take it as seriously as Argentines take steak. Every neighborhood in Montevideo has at least one chivitería, a restaurant that specializes in the sandwich, and the standard test of a good one is whether you can finish it in one sitting. The sandwich is closely associated with late-night eating, beach trips, and football match aftermath. A proper Chivito takes time to assemble and is considered a small ritual: the steak must be thin-sliced and properly griddled, the egg fried fresh, the bacon crisp, the bun lightly toasted. Asking for substitutions is generally frowned upon. The dish has spread to Argentina and southern Brazil as well, but Uruguayans are firm that a real Chivito only happens at home.