Rincon Argentino. (Inside Eating Out).

Vegetarians can stop reading here. Rincon Argentino makes no bones about what it is--an unadulterated steak pit in which sides of beef hang next to an open grill and waiters, on request, bring a tray of their choicest cuts to the table. If you are looking for a hunk of some of the best cuts of beef served simple, this place is for you.

Under the section "Nuestras Carnes," the visitor is bombarded with 20 selections, all detailed with their range of weight in grams--beginning at 450 grams for the bife de chorizo chico to a full two kilograms for the two-person rack of lamb.

The decor brings to mind an elegant ranch-style steakhouse, with a wide-open, four-tier dining room, walls decorated with horseshoes and antique rifles hanging off the sides of the kitchen.

Rincon Argentino lends itself to excellent people watching, although perhaps we were teased a bit by one of our companions saying, "This place is famous for legislators bringing their lovers," Well-dressed businessmen fill the restaurant for long, leisurely lunches in the afternoon, contemplating their next leveraged buyout while considering ordering another bottle off the extensive wine list.

Regarding the food, we could speak of the small and overpriced empanadas and the diverse soup and salad choices, but no one comes here for the appetizers and side dishes.

All steaks are of the highest quality and carry price tags to prove it. The 900-gram bife de choriza was so good, our companion actually finished the huge slab of meat in a possible display of evolutionary regression. For athletes, health nuts and the more civilized, try the fatless bife de lomo, a large filet-mignon-style cut that was happily eaten by two in our party.

A recovering vegetarian in our group, who had only recently begun to eat meat again after many incomprehensible years as an herbivore, ordered a Spanish tortilla filled with vegetables. She could have gotten the same thing, and possibly better, for half the price at a local market. After all, Argentines are not famous for their huevos. One sore spot of Rincon Argentine was the alarming price tag. The costs are fair for a fine steakhouse in New York or London, but most chilangos find it difficult to swallow a 2,000-peso bill for a lunch of four. The service at times can be spotty as well, although the waiters may just be trying to keep their distance out of fear of jinxing a deal in the making.

But if you decide to splurge on a great steak, you can't do much better in Mexico City than Rincon Argentino. So if you want to forget about being a miser for once, treat yourself to one of life's more primitive pleasures--a slice of beef so rare, you might just sharpen your incisors.