Aruba Eats: El Gaucho

El Gaucho, an Argentinian restaurant in Aruba, is well known for its Gaucho steak -- a 16-ounce tenderloin served with three sides -- as well as other meat-heavy dishes. Jeff and I went to El Gaucho on our first trip to Aruba, and it was one of the only restaurants in the downtown area that we truly enjoyed.

Going back with my family was a lot of fun.

When the mariachis came over, my dad thought he was being funny by asking them to play Led Zeppelin, but they immediately launched into "Stairway to Heaven." We all laughed at how the joke backfired and enjoyed the music.

When it came time to order dinner, I split a wedge salad with my mom and got the Gaucho steak. Almost everyone at the table ordered the Gaucho steak, but my dad got the T-bone.

I ordered my steak with mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms.

My steak was cooked to a perfect medium-rare. (El Gaucho uses different colored cow picks to indicate the doneness of the steak.)

I made it through about half of my steak and saved the rest to make a steak sandwich for lunch the next day. Because it's kind of impressive if you can actually finish the whole thing, I made everyone who finished hold up their plates for a picture.

Jeff

My dad

My sister Martyann

Not only did my sister polish off an entire 16-ounce steak, but she also ordered some German chocolate cake for dessert, and besides having my mom eat the frosting for her, she finished the entire wedge of cake.

I thought it was pretty impressive!

My mom and my sister Lindsay and I split some dulce de leche crepes. These were okay. The crepes were spongy, so I wasn't a huge fan of the texture, but the dulce de leche filling was rich and luscious.

El Gaucho is another restaurant I highly recommend to anyone heading to Aruba. The atmosphere is fun, and the steak is very good. But stick with the steak if you go, okay? My mom had lamb the first time she went and found it very underwhelming. (Chalet Suisse is the place to go for lamb chops on the island.) I doubt you'll go wrong with the Guacho steak.

What's your favorite steak house?