Gaucho country in Jackson Heights at the La Portena Restaurant. The decoration of leather and horse paraphanelia remind you of the cowboy mystique that is Argentina though the name Portena means a person from Buenos Aires. Having spent a month there in 2000 this restaurant is an authentic interpretation of the gorgeous carne plus lots of pasta and pizza options common in restaurants throughout the country. There is bread and sort of a chimichurri salsa on the table when you walk in with lots of red wines available. I ordered the skirt steak with potato salad for $18.95. The steak was a huge buttery cut cooked to perfection rating very high on the yum factor. My accompanying potato salad was merely servicable and the darkly cooked french fries are the better option. Here meat is the star and the green sauce worked quite well with the juicy steak. Bathrooms are ordinary.
Go!
