Chef Ignacio “Nacho” Matoss left Uruguay 17 years ago to build a career in New York, where he now runs three acclaimed restaurants, Estela, Café Altro Paradiso, and Flora Bar. In this episode, he goes home.
Anthony follows Nacho from Montevideo’s laid-back streets to the legendary 24-hour Chivito sandwich shop in Carrasco, through a country that quietly leads the world on progressive policy, legal weed, universal healthcare, free education, and a democracy with a 96% voter turnout. Along the way, journalist Karina Novarese unpacks Uruguay’s darker history: the CIA-backed dictatorship that crushed the country from 1973 to 1985, and how the nation rebuilt itself after.
Anthony eats with chef Lucía Soria at her Old City restaurant, gets an all-vegan perspective from Nacho’s childhood friends over pizza and a joint, learns the art of the parrilla (Uruguay’s wood-fired grill culture) at Marcelo’s neighborhood spot, and visits Nacho’s family dairy farm in Santa Lucía, where his grandmother’s Sunday gravy started it all. Then it’s off to the coast, Punta del Este, José Ignacio, and a beachside asado on a sandbar that might be the best meal of the trip.
This is Uruguay: soccer-obsessed, melancholic, unpretentious, and criminally underrated.
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Travel the globe with the legendary chef, author, and storyteller Anthony Bourdain as he uncovers the soul of a destination through its food, culture, and politics. Far more than just a cooking show, Parts Unknown dives deep into the corners of the world rarely seen on TV—eating with locals, exploring diverse culinary rituals, and asking the hard questions.
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