Argentine restaurant is a KC favorite. Will it be for World Cup travelers?
Editor’s note: Welcome to KC’s Best Eats, a series where we explore the most iconic, beloved and tastiest spots in the metro. These restaurants are places you’d recommend an out-of-towner (say, someone who’s coming for the World Cup).
If you have a recommendation, email our reporter at jthompson@kcstar.com.
Cristina Worden isn’t holding her breath, but wouldn’t it be neat to serve Lionel Messi empanadas?
After all, she did serve Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at her Northland restaurant Piropos, 4141 N. Mulberry Drive. That was back in 2023, as Swift historians will recall.
Cristina and her husband, Gary, have been cooking Argentinian cuisine there for 25 years, easing hunger pangs of celebrities, local legends and average consumers alike. Some nights at the restaurant are exceptionally lively — ask Gary about the wine stain on one of the walls — while others are routine.
What’s unclear is whether soccer superfans from Argentina will show up in droves, craving choripan and milanesa.
It’s possible. Argentina’s soccer team is staying just minutes away, preparing to grace GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and defend its World Cup title.
If they do, Cristina is confident visitors will find dishes fit for La Pulga himself.
‘Very fanatic’ fans
Cristina is from Buenos Aires, so naturally, she’s a Lionel Messi fan.
“It’s unbelievable. He doesn’t have legs,” Cristina gushed. “He has four legs, I think.”
Ahead of Argentina’s first match at Arrowhead on Tuesday, Messi has been practicing at the Sporting KC Performance Center in Kansas City, Kansas. And if Cristina’s suspicions are correct, this could be the 38-year-old’s last World Cup.
Argentinians are as crazy about Messi as fútbol itself, to the point where fists have been thrown during intense matches.
In August, over 100 fans were arrested after a fight broke out during the Copa Sudamericana in Buenos Aires, according to the Associated Press. While violence is condemned by many Argentine soccer fans, passion for the game is almost universal.
“They’re very fanatic,” Cristina explained. “It’s in their blood.”
She admitted that she hopes the fans don’t bring rowdy energy to the restaurant. But it would be nice to see Kansas City catch a glimmer of Argentina’s excitement.
The couple was in Buenos Aires the last time it hosted the World Cup.
“The city just stopped,” Gary explained. “There was nobody. They were in the restaurants, they didn’t leave the restaurants. They didn’t really drink all that much. The buses stopped.”
Hundreds of thousands of fans, sitting in bars throughout the city, watched televisions in nervous silence. All was calm until a sudden burst of noise erupted from every corner.
“It was a roar through the city,” Cristina added. “I told Gary, ‘They did a goal.’”
The upscale restaurant may not be the prime viewing experience, however.
It has a few televisions, but it’s mainly stained-glass windows and white tablecloths. A winding staircase separates the upper level, with its terraces and skyline views, from first floor seating and private dining rooms like the library.
Outside, a marble statue floats in a trickling fountain.
As told on a sign under the covered patio, there’s a bit of a dress code. Guests are asked to not wear garments like cut-offs, flip-flops, bathing suits or sleeveless shirts.
While Piropos isn’t the place to hoot and holler, Gary and Cristina want it to be an option for fans who need a break from sticky watch parties.
“We’re hoping we’ll get those folks who are coming for the games who are looking for a more upscale dining experience,” Gary said.
This is simply a prediction, but the couple thinks there will be more Argentinian expats who come for the games than those who are currently residing there. Cristina said some of her friends and family had planned to attend but have decided against it.
“There were a bunch of people coming, and now they’re not coming,” Cristina said.
International travel is expensive, for one, and worries around immigration enforcement have put a damper on the festivities for some fans, according to reporting from The Guardian.
Cristina herself isn’t going to the game — she’s not a fan of traffic and crowds — but she’s keeping her eye on the TV, always marveling at Messi’s quick footwork.
The No. 1 drink
Living in multicultural Buenos Aires, Cristina grew up with neighbors from several different European countries: Greeks, Spanish, Italians, French and so-on. She was able to smell and taste cuisine from each of their homelands.
Nearly 90% of Argentines have some sort of European ancestry. Cristina’s family is Polish, hence her maiden name being Oleink.
“Not only did I learn all the food that they cook because I was in their house with all the kids, I (fell) in love with food,” Cristina said. “And my mother was the greatest cook ever.”
Something all Argentines must learn, regardless of what country their family hails from, is how to properly make empanadas. The flaky, meat-filled pastries Cristina serves in the restaurant are her mother’s own recipe.
Her beef, chicken, three cheese, corn or caprese empanadas ($4.50 each or three for $12) are served with housemade chimichurri. The best way to eat empanadas is to devour the top first, then use a petite spoon to stuff the spices inside.
Argentina’s top cocktail is the fernet con Coca, a drink mixed with Coca-Cola and bitter Italian amaro. It has a sour afterbite, but the sweetness of the Coke is still detectable.
“The young kids, with the 20-something to the 30-something, it’s No. 1 drink, and it’s mixed with Coca-Cola,” she said. “It’s a good mix, but you have to be used to it.”
Luckily, those looking for the sour-sweet drink can get a taste at Piropos.
Argentinians visit and tell her the almendrado at Piropos is better than what they have back home, Cristina said. It’s an ice cream topped with toasted almonds, brown butter and drizzled with dulce de leche ($12).
Meat is a substantial part of an Argentine diet, so Piropos offers filet mignon, ribeye, pork chops, chicken breasts and lobster tail cooked in imported Argentinian salts and spices.
More Italian-style dishes include linguine carbonara, pasta primavera, and seafood ravioli.
Coca-Cola queen
It’s been a while since Cristina lived in Argentina full-time.
Cristina resided there until she was 24. Before moving to the U.S., she was a popular commercial model, introducing Argentina to Coca-Cola via billboards across the country.
“I was the Coca-Cola queen at that time,” she said.
She immigrated to the U.S. in 1971, but she still visits Argentina frequently to see friends and family.
“I am more here than there, but there is always here,” Cristina said, patting her chest.
Gary worked in the aviation sector for several years and cofounded industry publication FlightTraining, as well as DiveTraining (a scuba magazine) and Restaurant Startup & Growth (a restaurant publication). When Cristina and Gary first met and fell in love, they had no intention of opening a restaurant.
One day, Gary and Cristina were walking down the street in Buenos Aires during one of their trips home.
A man looked at Cristina and politely said in Spanish, “If beauty were a sin, you’d never be forgiven.”
Puzzled, Gary asked Cristina what he meant by it. Cristina told her husband not to worry, it was only a piropo, or a flirtatious comment men give to women passing on the street. According to Cristina, they’re not pickup lines but are meant to be compliments.
Gary thought it sounded like an excellent restaurant name.
Flash forward to 2001, when Gary had the opportunity to open a restaurant in the Northland. Initially, someone else was lined up to run the restaurant for them. But they backed out at the last minute, so Gary and Cristina grabbed the reins.
“What could be so hard about the restaurant business?” Gary thought.
Cristina, who grew up in her mother’s kitchen and ate at every restaurant in the city, wrote the menu. It came somewhat naturally, as she’s always loved to cook.
Piropos celebrated its 25th anniversary this April.
“We’ve been through recessions, we’ve been through 9/11, two wars, now three —” Gary said.
“And many presidents,” Cristina interjected.
The pair said they’ve been able to carry on for so long thanks to excellent, devoted staff members. Some have been at the restaurant for decades. Plus, it’s the couple’s way to interact with the community and meet new people.
That’s really what they like to do.
“It’s been a worthwhile venture not only financially, but also from a social point of view,” Gary said. “It’s really worked out pretty well.”