Mercado del Puerto, Montevideo
Food, Wine, and Shopping in Uruguay's Capital
Montevideo's Port Market is a great place to sample Uruguayan cuisine, check out local culture and shop for antiques and souvenirs of South America.
A short walk from the center of Montevideo, the Mercado del Puerto is a meeting and eating spot for locals (called Montevideanos) young and old alike, and is a frequent venue for local musicians. The indoor maze of a market houses shops selling books, clothing, crafts, textiles and souvenirs, and it’s a particularly great place to stop for a meal.
Typical Uruguayan Food at Mercado del Puerto
The aroma entices you as soon as you enter the tall, old structure of Montevideo's Mercado del Puerto: grilling meat. It wafts toward you on tendrils of woodsmoke that circle you seductively before floating up to hover around the scrollwork of the wrought-iron rafters several stories above. Stone-floored alleys are lined with simple luncheonette-style establishments consisting of counters and stools surround enormous grills.
As in Argentina, food in Uruguay is all about meat. White-clad cooks run back and forth poking, flipping, and plating enormous piles of sizzling chicken and steaks, links of spicy sausage (húngaras), blood sausage (morcilla) and chorizo, as well as kidneys (riñones), sweetbreads (mollejas) and other organ meats, and still more steaks. Try the parillada (pronounced in the local way as "pah-ri-SHADA" for an assortment of meats.
Sit-down restaurants are also available within the market building, each staffed with an enthusiastic host who will attempt to entice you in with sweet talk, menus and offers of free food and drinks. These can be pricier but are more relaxed.
Uruguayan Wines and Drinks at Mercado del Puerto
Those with a palate more adventurous than plain wine can satisfy might want to accompany a meal with a local specialty such as clericó - white wine mixed with fruit juice, or medio y medio - a mix of sparkling wine and white wine, or sangria, red wine with sugar and chopped fruit.
The Mercado del Puerto is a worthy tourist attraction for visitors to Montevideo, and it’s a favorite destination of the locals as well. Old men park on counter-stools for hours, smoking and talking, young people greet each other with kisses before a round of shopping. Scattered overheard conversations are in Spanish, flavored with the musically sibilant "sh" sounds also heard in Argentina. Here a visitor can feel fully immersed in Uruguayan life.
There are plenty of things to do in Montevideo, but don't go too far just yet. Outside the market proper, vendors sell antiques (and not so antiques), leather goods, jewelry and souvenirs from tables and portable stalls. Eat first, to fortify yourself for a good rummage, and don't be afraid to bargain. With a little persistence, you might end up with a real treasure. And if you spend enough time shopping, you won't have to wait until the next day to go back into the Mercado for another fantastic meal.
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