Monday, July 4, 2011

Consuming Buenos Aires!

San Telmo Mercado Central
Most of you know that I spent my last week in Buenos Aires completing one specific mission: eating and drinking delicious food and beverages.  I'm proud to say that I accomplished this mission with ease, finding B.A. to be chock full of culinary delights, some hidden, some easy to find. In such a giant city, it can be tough to find interesting, creative food and drink. You'll find mediocre pizza/pasta on almost every corner. Soggy milanesas and dry lomo sandwiches abound.  There are limitless amounts of scrumptious empanadas, but one can't eat empanadas all day everyday. Trust me, I tried. But once I started to really do my research, asking local chefs, bartenders, and foodies for their favorites, I found myself with a surprisingly long list of restaurant, cafe, and bar names. The truth is, I hardly had time to scratch the surface of this list, making sure also to revisit my favorite spots from my last visit to the city, but I checked in with some amazing spots and hey, now I already know where I'll be going next time I'm in town! So without further ado, here are some of my favorite Buenos Aires spots to eat, drink, and be merry.


Bar Dorrego


Set in the center of San Telmo on the corner of Defensa and Humberto 1, this classic bar is full of character.  Graffiti-covered walls and peanut shell covered floors make this place unique, and the ancient wooden bar gives you the sense it might have been around forever. Stop by on a Sunday during San Telmo's fantastic antiques market and you'll find the bar full of tourists and locals alike sipping local cider or filling up on lomito sandwiches.  I fell in love with this place on my first visit, when I ordered a Campari and soda and they served me a big glass of campari with a do-it-yourself soda syphon on the side. I was even more seduced when I wandered in around 7:00 p.m. (way early for dinner in Argentina) and they served me a full dinner without batting an eye. Upon my most recent visit, a friend introduced me to the Submarino, a traditional hot chocolate that involves a steaming glass of milk with a bar of dark chocolate on the side. More do-it-yourself deliciousness.



I'd say this place is a must-visit while in B.A. It has all of the classic charm that fits into the romanticized idea of Argentina that is often lost in other super-modern areas of town, but preserved well in funky San Telmo. 


Plaza Francia


This plaza near the Recoleta Cemetery is hopping on Saturday mornings.  Don't worry about grabbing breakfast before heading out to browse all of the handmade crafts for sale at the market here because there's enough tasty street food available to keep you full all day.  Probably my favorite cheap snack at the market is the giant cups of fresh fruit salad, always sold alongside freshly squeezed orange juice (something I am already missing here in Seattle).   Toasty stuffed breads are also toted around in big, cloth-lined baskets and come with empanada-type filling: chicken, beef, ham and cheese, and my most recent favorite, pollo portuguesa, a concoction of chicken, red pepper, tomato and spices.  Also look out for churros, spiced nuts, and lots of different cakes and sweets!


Buena Vida Natural Bar


Palermo is the spot for natural, organic nibbles.  A friend introduced me to this cozy little local joint serving up some of the best espresso in the city with a brand new Lavazzo machine.  Fernando, the owner is a total coffee nerd, just what a Seattle girl looks for in a strange city, and his cappuccino is stunning.  They also offer some great wines by the glass, though he will tell you his first love is still whiskey. The organic snacks are just the healthy treat you look for after days of red meat and pasta- try the pumpkin empanada made with whole wheat dough. Colorful and charming, this little cafe is a gem, a comfortable spot to sit and read or catch up with friends.  If you're lucky, maybe you can get Fernando to play a couple tunes for you- he's also the guitarist in a local rock band.


Maté on the Go!


Maté is a super important part of Argentine culture- usually served in loose leaf form in a special gourd cup with a specially designed straw, it's a strong, bitter tea served steaming hot.  Many who try maté for the first time find it a bit intense, but those like me eventually become addicted not just to the beverage, but to the ritual itself- maté is usually a social experience, passing the gourd around a group of friends in the park is a classic sunny afternoon pastime.  For me, it's a great way to start the day- a nice little burst of caffeine that lifts me up and doesn't make me crash after a few hours the way that coffee does. After lunch is also a good maté hour.  But for those on the go in the city, these portable carts (often also offering hot coffee) are a kind of godsend after late nights out in B.A. And by late I mean late. Like getting home at 7 a.m. type of late. The cart maté isn't loose leaf, but does the trick on the way to work after only a couple hours sleep. It also tends to be less strong and bitter than the raw type, so if it's your first time trying it, a $3 peso cup may be the way to go. If you decide you like it from there, you can move on to the real stuff, and eventually become addicted, carrying your mate, herb, and thermos around everywhere you go like I did and sometimes still do, despite getting weird looks from Starbucks-toting Seattleites.  Maté! Try it!



Cafe San Juan


Okay now things are getting serious. This is by far the best daylight eating I did in B.A. Another San Telmo spot, this place has been getting loads of attention by restaurant reviewers and I actually learned about it watching an Argentine cooking channel. The chef is a young, tatooed, trucker-hat-wearing pate wizard who also pickles all his own veggies. A modern take on traditional Argentine cuisine, the menu is full of tasty things like octopus, rabbit, and house made chorizo. The place is small and packed, defined by the partially open kitchen where you can watch the other hipstery tattooed cooks bustle about.  The menu is hand-written on two big chalkboards that the servers patiently display tableside while you make up your mind about what to order.  This process is a bit stressful for someone like myself who loves to take forever looking at the menu and hates to waste a server's time, but it's unique in it's own right, and I give that credit. 


This gnocchi dish with fresh tomato, basil and eggplant in a light cream sauce was as delicious as it looks in the photo. The rabbit pate with plum compote and rabbit stew with sun-dried tomato, crispy polenta and parma ham were also winners, washed down with a bottle of Alta Vista Premium Malbec, a common but consistently good bottle, made for a heavenly lunch.  The dishes are unpretentious, created with basic but quality ingredients, well-seasoned, and hearty.  Great food and a unique personality make this restaurant my current B.A. favorite.



Cocina Sunae



Closed door restaurants (Puertas Cerradas) are thriving in Buenos Aires, as everyone scrambles to discover the new, hip place to eat. Signs and commercial spaces are out, home kitchens and secret addresses are in.  Most of them work the way that Cocina Sunae works: visit the website, check out the menu for the weekend, send an email requesting a reservation, and wait to hear back with a confirmation, address, and any special instructions.  I had heard fantastic things about this particular Asian-fusion closed door restaurant and had to check it out. 
Take a cab to the address that will be sent to your e-mail, as the neighborhood where the restaurant is located (Colegiales) is less than friendly at night. After buzzing a the front gate and giving your name,  the big steel door will open into a lush garden patio with beautiful twinkling lights strung through the trees. The dining room is small and intimate but designed in a different way than other closed door restaurants I visited. While Casa Saltshaker feels like attending a dinner party at a friends house with a big communal table in a proper dining room, Sunae is more like eating at a really tiny restaurant adjacent to the house. Overall, the experience is slightly more formal. Of course the owners regularly stop by the tables to drop of dishes and check in on the meal, but two servers also work in the dining room. Though the menu is mostly set, we selected our entrees via email beforehand- a choice between Pad Thai and Green Curry.  I picked a bottle of the 2010 Laborum Torrontes, a gorgeous fragrant white from Cafayate sure to play nicely with spicy Southeast Asian cuisine. 




Spice heads take note- Sunae is not shy with the heat! This may be one of the only spots in B.A. where you find proper heat in the food. Now I have to qualify this statement by noting that I have a particularly sensitive, whiney, baby-like palate when it comes to hot spice and three courses of that much jalapeno or serrano was almost too much for me. My friend from Wisconsin also found herself reaching for the water glass after every bite, her eyes red and watery. But there's no doubt that people who have a taste for hot spice (are probably missing it in Argentina) will be more than satisfied at Sunae. Overall, the space is beautiful, service gracious, and cuisine thoughtfully crafted and artfully presented. Many thanks to implant chefs like Sunae's Christina Wiseman for diversifying the culinary scene in B.A.




Gran Bar Danzon


Okay now it's time to get down to that topic I am most passionate about: the drinking!! Above I've inserted a horrible photo of one of the best bars in town- Gran Bar Danzon. I also seem to have lost any resemblance of recipe or tasting note I might have recorded while visiting this bar. I can only deduce that this means that every time I visited, I left super pleased... and perhaps sloshed. What I can tell you is that this place offers some of the most creative, well-balanced cocktails that I found in the city and some of the most well-trained bar staff as well (one of the barmen recently flitted off to a new position at London's award-winning Milk and Honey). Danzon has taken a bit from the speakeasy trend, as the entrance is missable and the bar itself hidden up some dimly lit steps on the second floor.  Like many bars in B.A., the aesthetics are well-planned, it's gorgeous on the inside with a cozy lounge, long sexy bar, and expansive dining area. Located in the posh Recoleta neighborhood, the crowd mainly consists of attractive, suited downtown business types and the fashiony ladies they are trying to attract. It's a great spot for a happy hour cocktail or prefunk beverages before hitting the dance floor (check out El Living a few blocks away). The spacious dining room is always packed and the wine list better than most, promoting a different winery every few weeks. A pretty place with a well stocked bar (see probably the only place that carries Bison Grass Vodka in town), interesting concoctions and an army of well-dressed, charming barmen.


Milion


Milion is one of those places I kept finding myself coming back to, not so much because of the cocktails, but because of everything else that the bar offers. Set up two flights in an old giant mansion, this place is stunningly gorgeous, with antiquey furniture, large funky paintings, and an incredible starlit garden patio. When sticking to classic cocktails, the bar impresses, with a nice liquor selection and mastery of certain recipes, while their original drinks are less exciting. My first Negroni in Argentina was happily sipped here.  The crowd is a crazy eclectic mix of mostly young artists, professionals, daddy-money spenders, and others. Wander through the many tucked away rooms to check out the strange decor and stranger clientele. Perhaps my most notable experience consisted of a long night with a group of Argentine soccer players who were rambunctious from just having won a big tournament and had toted with them to the bar a massive trophy shaped like a big gold cup. When I made the mistake of jokingly suggesting they fill the cup with sparkling wine and drink from that, the boys enthusiastically embraced the idea. Soon bubbly and Red Bull were sloshing all over the floor and the bartenders were giving me the evil eye. That trophy of champagne accompanied us all over town that night.  Milion is just one of those places that you always walk out of with a story. It's a top pick for beauty and a certain breed of debauchery.



Doppelgänger



This one I've saved for last as it is near and dear to my corazon. Think San Telmo has little more to offer than tango and the Sunday market? Make no mistake, this neighborhood is home to hands-down the BEST cocktail bar I found in Buenos Aires. I cannot say enough about the care and attention that goes into the bar program here. Owners Guillermo (pictured above) and Stella have put their heart and soul into this venture and execute it all- food, cocktail, ambiance, personality- gracefully and with charm.  

I was drawn to the Doppel when I came across an internet site that advertised them as offering a cocktail list of over 75 different drinks. When I finally coerced my roommates into checking the place out, I had two cocktails and fell in love. Not only does the list impress with a huge selection of classics (try their Journalist and Martinez, among others... many others), the service is great- Guillermo venturing out from behind a busy bar to check in and chat it up with tables, and the people are just plain awesome- buena onda. For those of you who keep up with nerdy cocktail things, describing Guillermo as an Argentine Murray Stenson will help explain. For others, just imagine a super friendly guy is able and willing to brilliantly make you anything your heart desires as long as he's got the right ingredients. Lillet is an important part of my favorite cocktail, the Corpse Reviver #2, but it is impossible to find in Argentina. They simply don't import it. So when my mom came down to visit I asked she bring with her a bottle for Guillermo's bar, a gift gladly received as he proudly whipped up his very first Vesper and my beloved Corpse Reviver. When I left for four months in Mendoza, Guillermo continued serving Lillet cocktails, but saved me just enough in the bottle for my return to B.A. That's just the kind of people we're dealing with here.

From great music, to low-pretension, to amazing drinks and a tiny kitchen cranking out awesome bar food, the Doppel is the full package. And the best part is that it's still relatively undiscovered. Because Stella and Guillermo deserve the business and recognition, I am shouting GO TO THIS BAR, GODDAMMIT!! Meanwhile, remember to only let the truly cool and deserving people know. "This is not for everyone" is the bar motto and it is more than appropriate. Oh Doppelbar, I miss you. I hope to see you again real soon. Hearts and hearts and hearts.


OKAY! That's it! I did it! Over a month and a half back in the states and I finally completed my monster blog Buenos Aires food/drink round up. Though amazed by my ability to procrastinate, I am at the same time proud of myself. And I hope this proves helpful or interesting to someone somewhere at some moment.

Cheers. Drink on.





1 comment:

  1. I can tell you the restaurants in Buenos Aires are plentiful, with a wide assortment of menus and cuisines. Beef is still king in Argentina, and you can expect excellent steaks and meats, but you can also find international and specialty cuisine, particularly Italian and Mediterranean, reflecting the ethnic heritage of many Argentines. When I travelled there, I got one of those apartments in Buenos Aires in the center of Palermo and there were so many bars and restaurants I got to go to different ones every night!
    Lindsay

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