In Buenos Aires, meals don't follow the French starter-main-dessert grid. The big moment is the asado, the Sunday barbecue where meat is grilled slowly over embers and everyone helps themselves at the pace of conversation. On weekdays, you eat on the go—an empanada in hand, standing up. In the afternoon, you stop for merienda: mate passed from hand to hand, and dulce de leche to sweeten the mouth. Astor Piazzolla, born to Italian immigrants, added pasta and espresso from his Roman years.

Two absolute markers of Piazzolla's Argentineness: yerba mate, the bitter herb shared in a circle, and slow cooking over embers (parrilla). On the Italian side, the strong espresso that eventually replaced mate in Rome.