Now that I have job with a regular 9-5ish schedule in Buenos Aires I am forced to deal with the financial pain of buying lunch and not just cooking everyday at home. Although bringing a lunch from home is obviously the cheapest way to eat, complications in daily life don't always make it easy to plan ahead and pack a lunch. Eating out for lunch everyday adds up really fast in Argentina so I here are some of my suggestions to save money when forced to purchase lunchtime eats.
* Grocery store - Not suprising that the grocery store offers cheaper eats..however one can go to a local grocery store and take advantage of low cost snacks (much cheaper than a kiosco) as well as prepackaged lunch fares. Most grocery stores offer empanadas, sandwiches, milanesas sandwiches, etc that are ready to go. In addition many supermarkets have delis that feature salads, milanesas, etc that are decently priced.
*Bakeries - If you are looking for a light sandwich then you should pop into a bakery and buy the crustless "miga" sandwiches which come in flavors such as ham and hard boiled egg, chicken and ham, and ham and cheese. They usually set you back between just 2.oo-3.50 pesos per sandwich.
*Fruitstand - Take advantage of the local "chino" supermarket or other fruit stand and purchase an apple or banana to complement you meal. Not only is it healthier it is more filling. It's also cheap too ! : )
*Fast Food - The best thing about fast food restaurants (McDonalds, Burger King, etc) is that you can sit there for large amounts of time without anyone noticing you are not purchasing anything ! The "budget menu" with $4 peso sandwiches and fries also isn´t very expensive. Those that teach English in Buenos Aires generally have a lot of dead time between classes so hanging out McDonalds can be great option (and they have wifi too!) to kill time and avoid paying cubiertos or $7 peso gaseosas!
Please share your tips if you have any!!





