Casa SaltShaker's Profile
Buenos Aires - Please help me narrow down my choices!
Zadvarie, unfortunately, has been closed for almost two years now.
What is this Brazillian fruit?
The photo didn't come through, but you might want to check with the writer of The Flavors of Brazil blog: http://flavorsofbrazil.blogspot.com/ who could probably help you out.
BA for SOLO Diners
Dining out solo is as you likely know, very common here and no one is made to feel odd at places. That said, some nice, relaxing spots for solo dining in particular - La Olla de Felix, El Sanjuanino, Ocho7ocho in Recoleta and Palermo are good. In Puerto Madero really any of the spots but the fancy steakhouses are great for solo dining - I'd say Roque would be a great choice. Also Filo or Dada in the Retiro area. She might also want to consider one of the "puertas cerradas", the closed door restaurants, several of which have communal tables, which is another interesting possibility for a solo diner.
Buenos Aires - Please help me narrow down my choices!
Of course I'd pimp for us over Casa Felix, but you'll have a good time at either I think. Don Julio is our favorite steakhouse, so I'd put that on the list. And, though it doesn't get much press, I'm a big fan of 788 Food Bar. Almacen Secreto isn't really a closed door spot anymore, they bought a new space and expanded and are basically a regular restaurant these days - the food is still great. Your choice of Pura Tierra is perfect - probably our favorite restaurant in the city - I'd also suggest the little known Urondo Bar, it's a bit out of the way, but very creative and interesting Argentine food.
Buenos Aires for New Year's?
The problem you're going to run into is that outside of those places offering pricey, fancy dinners, there's not going to be a lot open here. Most restaurants and bars are closed on NYE, including the vast majority of casual spots like pizzerias and cafes. Unfortunately, I don't have much to suggest, it may come down to walking around just trying to find something open. It's a very family oriented night here, and the majority of people stay home and eat with family and friends, and then maybe go out to a club later (most will not open until past midnight on NYE).
One day in Lima (dining solo)
You shouldn't miss the ceviche at the somewhat hidden away cevicheria Sankuay (also sometimes called Chez Wong) - it's just amazingly fresh and good - I'd do that for lunch; and for dinner, I'd probably pick somewhere along the shore - good seafood and beautiful scenery - La Rosa Nautica, or one of the spots in the Larcomar complex - it won't be the finest dining you can get, but the experience is well worth it, particularly if you're only there for a day.
One restaurant in Buenos Aires
Thanks Susan! I'm just not sure I'd recommend either us, or Casa Felix, for someone who is really just looking for one restaurant to experience in Buenos Aries - presumeably the original poster is passing through for a day. I'd encourage them to go somewhere where they can have some really good local fare, and enjoy the local vibe.
One restaurant in Buenos Aires
Pura Tierra. Our favorite restaurant to go out to. Creative Argentine cooking in a beautiful old restored home.
[Buenos Aires] Korean restaurants in BA?
Only three - Yuki for sushi, Nihonbashi for shabu-shabu, and Comedor Nikkei for pretty much anything else.
[Buenos Aires] Korean restaurants in BA?
There are two Korea-towns here, the one in Flores that the article Barbara wrote mentions, and another in the neighboring barrio of Floresta. It's likely that the place is still there, and she's an excellent judge of quality of Asian food. However, be careful. The one in Flores abuts a shantytown which has, of late, been getting steadily more and more dangerous, often spilling over into the streets of Koreatown. Take a cab or hire car and have one pick you up, particularly if you go at night. Even during the day it pays to be careful. The other one, in Floresta, is a bit more spread out and in a more middle class 'hood, but I don't have a particular restaurant to recommend. Truthfully, these days, I tend to stay with Bi Won, in Recoleta, where although it's a bit higher priced, it's still authentic and good.
http://www.saltshaker.net/20050831/coreana-take-two
Either way, don't expect amazing Korean food here - it's generally good, authentic, and fairly priced, but with the lack of availability of many traditional ingredients, compromises have to be made....
GELATO in Buenos Aires----current list of the top choices?
Scannapieco (Cordoba & Armenia) and Cadore (Corrientes & Rodriguez Peña), really no one else, particularly the chain places, get even close. Of the chains, my preference is Volta, but there's truly not a huge difference in the quality level of the major players - Persicco, Volta, Chungo, Freddo - the first three were all started by the same family with the same recipes - they've changed over time, but not that much....
I want to learn to cook Argentine food in Argentina
If you want to take classes at a regular cooking school, that might be difficult without much Spanish - though, if it's a good hands-on class with a patient instructor, sometimes just doing things tops not being able to understand the explanations. To the best of my knowledge, other than small operations like mine or Teresita's or a few others, there aren't any English-language classes in Argentine cooking here.
Underground restaurant in Lincoln Center area?
Possibly Flute? http://www.flutebar.com/en/index.php?page=midtown-ny/
Italian NYC with teens
I don't think you'd find Lupa particularly "out there", it's classic Roman cooking modernized, not reinvented. But, other thoughts, Accademia del Vino, I love the one at 3rd Ave & 64th, I understand they have a new one on the UWS which I haven't been to, it wasn't open last visit to the city.
How do I order beef medium-rare in Buenos Aires?
I sent this to you directly as well in response to your e-mail -
Things are a bit loose in terms of exact done-ness, but::
"Blue" - vuelta y vuelta
Rare - jugoso
Medium - a punto
Well Done - hecho, or, bien cocido
And, keep in mind, that like steakhouses anywhere, they may have their own
opinions about either how well done each of those is and/or how well done
you should eat it (in general, I'd eat meat here done slightly more than in
the states - really rare beef here is usually pretty chewy because it's so
lean) - and there's not much of a culture of "sending it back", some places
would just ignore such a request, some would simply charge you for two
steaks, and, at least, some of the better ones, will do what you ask
(hopefully in the first place).
Chilean Food Book
There's a good, smaller book (easy to carry) from the Hippocrene Cookbook Library called Tasting Chile that's a great general introduction to the dishes and ingredients of the country.
Help Me Narrow My BA List
For really good steaks, great winelist and ambiance, I'd go to Don Julio in Palermo - corner of Guatemala and Gurruchaga
Anything new In Buenos Aires?
In terms of new and really good - don't miss Tegui and PozoSanto. Others that have been around awhile but you may not have tried - Urondo, Pura Tierra, Maat - all excellent.
Suckling pig in Buenos Aires
Although this topic is way in the past, it may still be of interest, and we recently came across a place that specializes in and prepares great cochinillo, Primer Corte on Venezuela:
http://www.saltshaker.net/20090831/this-little-piggy-went-to-market
Personal Chef or Caterer in Buenos Aires?
It may be too late to help you with this, but if not, contact me and either we may be able to help you or know someone who can.
Dan
I want to learn to cook Argentine food in Argentina
Teresita's one of the best, especially for someone who wants to have a pretty individualized class. We also offer classes at Casa SaltShaker, though when it comes to Argentine cuisine (our specialty is more Mediterranean), she beats us hands-down. ;-)
Un estudiante en Buenos Aires-7 weeks
Sox, you mentioned Italian food in the other post that you put up, and honestly, most Italian food here will likely underwhelm you. I've lived here for 4-1/2 years now and there's little in that vein other than at the expensive end that's particularly good. You'd think there would be more given the 40-some percent of the population that's Italian descent, but keep in mind they came here generations ago - the food changed, much of it based on what was available here, and alot of what's now on offer is simply a mere ghost of what it probably once was. There are a few places for casual Italian food worth eating at, none near to you in San Nicolas - Don Chicho out in Villa Ortuzar (Plaza 1411) and Salgado, Velazco 401, Villa Crespo, which is a bit closer to you. If you want to spend a little more, Filo, off of Plaza San Martin is quite good.
For the rest of it, local lunch cuisine tends to consist of things like empanadas, milanesas, pizza, hot dogs and sandwiches - not that much different from any big city's quick eats, and nothing particularly impressive about them. Even the pizza is a mixed bag - BA has its own style, tending towards medium thick crusts and a whole lot of cheese, with only a little bit of anything else, but you can find spots here and there that are better - Guerrin, Las Cuartetas (deep dish), Pirilo - come to mind off-hand that aren't far from you.
For the most part, outside of really good parrillas (steakhouses), the style of restaurant in which Buenos Aires abounds, if you want to eat well, you're going to have to spend or go to the more outlying barrios, it's just the way it is here these days - BA is not the "cheap eats" place that it was 8 years ago after the economic crash - 35% or more inflation a year is steadily bringing prices back towards the point they were prior (still a long way to go, but BA was one of the most expensive cities to live in in the world before that). That said, if you're willing to spend more or head out to the west or north part of town, there are many places to eat and eat well, lots of them reviewed here, lots on my own blog and other sources.
Pasta Puttanesca
Keep in mind that the early recipes wouldn't have used anchovies the way we think of them, as thin strips packed in salt, but fresh anchovies right out of the Mediterranean, simply filleted and spinkled witih a little salt to firm up the flesh - a far less assertive flavor. Even today, in Naples, where the sauce originates, the pre-packed anchovies used in the dish are generally olive-oil packed rather than salt-cured.
Food freak must haves in BA
If you're really a "food freak", you should also try the stuff that nobody ever recommends. All the better parrillas offer up a selection of "achuros" or "innards" - and different depending on the place - but it's a great town to try various versions, grilled and otherwise, of kidneys, sweetbreads, tripe, intestines, and a variety of other cuts. Plus the sausages, as Polly recommended - morcilla, chorizo, salchicha parrillada...
Buenos Aires cheese?
I'd concur - Valenti tends to have a great selection and has several locations. A little pricey, but, in this case, you do get what you pay for. There's a place called La Casa del Queso on Corrientes, roughly the 3700 block, that also has a great selection - I think totally domestic cheeses.
Buenos Aires Dining Recs
If you're looking for the places that the locals go, for the most part, just erase the list you have above - most of those are places that are more touristy, upscale, or at the very least, more likely that you'll be surrounded by expats and tourists as opposed to Argentines. That's unfortunately the way those "highly recommended" lists come about - mostly writen by visitors, not by locals.
Still, many of those are quite good - in particular, Sucre, Casa Cruz, Osaka, Social Paraiso (the only spot on your dinner list that you'll find more locals than visitors), Cluny. Bar Uriarte for lunch.
Best Italian spots - Il Matterello, hmmm... Siete Baco for more casual.
Fish - Damblee, Jangada
Vegetarian - Bio, Artemesia, Verdellama (raw food vegetarian), Casa Felix, Kensho
Astrid & Gaston is not open here, at least as of yet.
Buenos Aires Colour--- Thank You Casa Saltshaker and Paula 76
Glad to be of help and happy it all worked out well!
Don't worry about the chimichurri - it's a mistaken belief that we all eat it on steaks - for most Argentines, chimichurri is not steak sauce, it's the sauce you eat with the sausages and all the things like the sweetbreads and such, before you get to the steak. Same with salsa criolla for those who prefer it. Traditionally, the steak is eaten with just salt and pepper from the grill, nothing more added.
And while Freddo is good, next time you have to try some of the more interesting little individual spots like Scanapieco, Cadore, and Kavanagh.
Unpretentious, traditional food in BA
Second the recommendation on Sarkis for Armenian food - pretty much the best in town for that style. It is, however, at Thames 1101, corner of Jufre, not Cordoba.
Applesister - if you want to try a decent, though not amazing, Korean restaurant, there's Bi Won at Junin 548 in Congreso, or, you can trek out to Coreatown in the south part of Flores and there are some quite good traditional places.
Buenos Aires - Street Vendors with bits and pieces
It's just not a "street food" city. Locals don't really believe in eating standing up, we take time to sit down and have a meal. There are certainly a few hotdog stands around, and as Paula suggested, there are the two boardwalks - the Costanera Sur behind Puerto Madero that has open air grills, and the Costanera Norte out by the domestic airport along the river that has much the same. I've eaten at a good number of them and never gotten sick, nor found them to be particularly unclean, especially for outdoor type places. But, again, street food just isn't really part of the local culture (and, by the way, that Bourdain piece was a complete setup - the place he was filmed in eating at a street stand is in a neighborhood that had he not had a federal police escort, just out of sight of the cameras and keeping people away from them neither he nor his camera crew would have lasted five minutes).
