In 1940, in the city of Punta del Este, there was a restaurant called “El Mejillón,” owned by Mr. Antonio Carbonaro. One night, the owner of the place had the misfortune of experiencing a power outage. At that moment, worried about the situation and somewhat in the dark, a tourist from Argentina entered “El Mejillón” and ordered a chivito, as she had tasted this meat in Córdoba province and loved it.
Faced with this situation and the difficulty caused by the blackout, the restaurant owner decided to improvise a solution. Since they didn’t have a chivito, they prepared a bread roll with butter, added ham, and a juicy steak. The lady loved this sandwich, and they decided to name it “chivito.”
From that moment on, the restaurant started serving this new dish under that name, and it was a total success: they sold up to a thousand sandwiches a day. However, neither the name nor the idea were registered, leading others to copy it, and it spread throughout Uruguay.
The ingredients of the current traditional chivito are: bread, steak, ham, bacon, lettuce, mozzarella cheese, hard-boiled egg, and morrón (bell pepper), usually garnished with mayonnaise and served with French fries or Russian salad. Today, the original restaurant in Punta del Este no longer exists, but the chivito can be found in any bar, café, or eatery across Uruguay.
