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Buenos Aires, Argentina > Buenos Aires attractions > Abasto Shopping Ciudad de Compras Abasto Shopping Ciudad de ComprasCorrientes 3247 (@ Dr. T.M. De Anchorena); Tel. +(011.54.11) 4959.3400
 The giant edifice of the Abasto Shopping begs locals and tourists alike to shop, eat, play, take in a movie, and more. Photo by Clare Nisbet. A mall is a mall, and I hate malls. That said, Abasto Shopping is an incredible mall. The imposing façade on Avenida Corrientes looks more like Union Station or some huge train terminal than an upscale centro de shopping, but inside this multi-storied structure occupying a square city block, visitors will find a luxurious and elegant palace of consumerism. In the nature of all malls, one can obtain just about anything he or she desires, from brand name apparel like Puma, Adidas, Levi’s, and Wrangler (actually very fashionable here, not like the in US where it’s only sold in places like Sears and Big R), to cell phones, flat-screen TVs, perfumes and colognes, banking services, and concert tickets or bus tickets to destinations around the country. There is also a huge video arcade/ game center that boasts a 3-story ferris wheel, in addtion to a 12-screen movie theater and one hell of a food court. On top of parilla, pizza, and pasta (of course), you’ll find sushi, shawarma, stir-frys, gourmet sandwiches, and a little place called Barbacoa American Grill that serves up delicacies like barbeque ribs and chicken fingers. There are three McDonalds (count ‘em), including one which is Kosher. The ceiling is a massive glass arch that fills the mall with natural light and makes it feel more even more expansive than it already is, and the corridors are about ten times as wide as the city’s sidewalks. And to inspire consumer confidence, Shopping Abasto also employs a healthy amount of those indispensable folks without whom no mall is complete: rent-a-cops. —Abasto Shopping Ciudad de Compras review by David Muller
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