El Che BBQ opens in Eastport
The mixed grill, "Parrillada El Che," at the Argentinean eatery, El Che BBQ, in Eastport. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
With the opening of two churrascarias (Master Chef in Massapequa and Fogo de Chão in Huntington Station) in the last six months, Brazilian barbecue is ascendant on Long Island. But don’t confuse it with its Argentinian counterpart, parrillada — at least not when you’re talking to Fabian Diessler, proud son of Buenos Aires and the owner of El Che BBQ, a 3-month-old Argentinian barbecue restaurant and grocery in Eastport.
First, he noted, even Brazilians would agree that they cook their meat on spits; Argentines use a flat grill, or parrilla. Second, it’s the Argentines who created chimichurri, the raw, herbal green sauce that’s as essential for their grilled meats as ketchup is for French fries.
Third, it is Diessler’s distinct opinion that the cattle roaming the vast Argentinian pampas produce better beef than does the dominant Brazilian breed, the humpbacked Zebu.
I’m not in a position to judge, but the two cuts of beef on El Che’s mixed grill platter (“Parrillada El Che”), short ribs and flap, were full of flavor. And, combined with the pork loin, chicken breast, chorizo sausage and fries, the $25 was more than enough for two people.
Also on El Che’s menu: skirt steak, strip steak, grilled chicken, fried cutlets (beef or chicken), salads, rice, beans, sandwiches, burgers, pizza and daily specials. Empanadas (beef, chicken, corn and ham and cheese) and pastries are made by Diessler’s wife Stella Maris Mayorga. Everything is available for takeout or can be consumed in the small dining room decorated with Argentinian memorabilia.
Homesick Argentines will be thrilled to find frozen Mr. Tango sausages, jams from Patagonia, and cookies, snacks, chocolate, Yerba mate tea and many other imported groceries.
It was a long road from Argentina to Eastport. In Buenos Aires, Diessler ran a barbecue restaurant part-time while holding down a full-time job as a hospital tech. After he immigrated to Long Island, he started a Hampton Bays-based barbecue truck-caterer and, three years ago, he and a partner expanded that business to a restaurant in downtown Riverhead, Che Steakhouse. It opened in Feb. 2020 — just weeks before the pandemic lockdown.
The partnership didn’t make it and Diessler wound up selling the truck so he could take over the Eastport location that used to be Taqueria Cinco de Mayo. The restaurant is open every day but Monday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Even without the truck, Diessler still does catering; call him at the restaurant.
El Che BBQ is at 491 Montauk Hwy., Eastport, 631-801-6277.
