That home video is of me, Allie Lazar, 4 years old, in 1989 (yes, I was a large kid). Ever since a very young age, growing up in the mean streets of suburban Chicago, I’ve been a good eater — intensely devouring all things edible like a possessed chubby demon child. Since I’ve always spent my days eating, cooking, dreaming about travel, writing, and planning my next meal, it was only fitting to channel this unhealthy food obsession in the form of something a bit more socially acceptable: become a professional eater. Plus, working as a freelance food writer is a legit excuse for never going on a diet.

I came to Buenos Aires in 2006 to study Political Science at the Universidad de Buenos Aires during a semester-long exchange program, and five ten (!) years later I’m still here, crazy enough to have fallen in love with this wonderfully chaotic country. I started writing Pick Up the Fork in 2010 as a hobby to document my love-hate relationship with food in Argentina, attempting to liven up traditional restaurant reviews with a little bit of honesty and a lot of bit of silliness. The hobby turned into an obsession, which eventually transformed into a profession.

I have been lucky to see lots of hungry people enjoy the blog, and have received chubby praise for my Buenos Aires food knowledge from New York Times, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, The Travel Channel, The Food Network, and the Netflix show “Somebody Feed Phil”. I even helped President Obama and Justin Trudeau choose restaurants when they were in Buenos Aires! (I’m sorrynotsorry, but I had to throw in that humble brag because, well, it’s the OBAMAS and the TRUDEAUS.)

What are my qualifications besides being a food-lovin’ fatty with an overeating problem? For the past decade, I’ve traveled around the world eating, drinking, and writing about food and culture. My writing and photography have appeared in publications like Condé Nast Traveler, Eater, The Guardian, Food & Wine Magazine, Saveur, New York Post, National Geographic, Vice Munchies, Lucky Peach, Serious Eats, La Nacion, Clarin, Roads & Kingdoms, BBC Travel, New Worlder, Travel + Leisure, The Infatuation, among others. I’m also the former Food & Drinks editor of Time Out Magazine Buenos Aires (RIP), and I created a TV series about restaurants in BA. Sometimes when eager food-obsessed travelers come to Argentina I organize customized Buenos Aires food tours, and I also work as a fixer helping out production companies find the best food locations when in BA filming travel and food shows.

From dirty street food vendors to top chef tasting menus, I don’t think I’ll ever stop my endless quest for discovering the great foods in Argentina and around the world. I hope you enjoy reading my labor of love and find it as a useful guide just as much as I have fun eating and writing it. And if you don’t like it, go suck a chorizo.

Yours Truly,

P.S.

– All of the reviews are my honest opinion based on personal experience, even if you think they are wrong. You don’t owwwwwn me, restaurant owner, chefffff, Yelp elitist, or press dude.

– I took all of the photos on the site (unless otherwise noted), so please don’t steal them. Or if you do, give me credit for being the fab photog I pretend to be.

– I’m also one of THOSE PEOPLE who post photos of food (and maybe sometimes cats, dogs, and Seinfeld references). So if you don’t roll your eyes at #foodporn posted at a healthy rate, twatme, likeme, and insta-assme on da worldwide social media webz –> @pickupthefork

– Questions, comments, complaints all welcome. Feel free to tell me if you want to be my new best friend…. or if you think my drivel is full of shit. Comment below or shoot me a fax —> imhungry@pickupthefork.com