A week in Buenos Aires

[Kim Shook]

4 hours ago, chefmd said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was this a ghost or some kind of albino sea creature?  LOL   Gorgeous meals and surroundings!  Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.  

[TicTac]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

Was this a ghost or some kind of albino sea creature?  LOL   Gorgeous meals and surroundings!  Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.  

Too funny - I thought the same, almost like a baby ray!

 

Looks like an amazing meal.

[chefmd]

4 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Was this a ghost or some kind of albino sea creature?  LOL   Gorgeous meals and surroundings!  Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us.  

This was an incredible sole with almond cream? Sauce?  It did look white on white ghostly...

[kayb]

Lovely. I dated an Argentinian for a while, and he always contended he'd take me to BA. Guess I should've stuck it out with him until he had a chance to do so.

[chefmd]

It rained all morning and afternoon.  We took an uber to Don Julio for lunch.  This restaurant is recommended by Eater, guide books.  It also ranks highly on 50 best Latin America restaurants.  There was a line when we got there.  Free sparkling wine at the entrance.  The wait for inside table was hour and a half.  We opted for an immediate seating outside.  They have rather sharp steak knives with the logo and cowhide for placemats.

 

[chefmd]

We had sweet breads, assorted sausages, rib eye.  I ordered rib eye bien jugoso, supposedly rare.  It was medium at best and not rested.  Food was rather average.  Walked right into tourist trap!

[KennethT]

Sorry to hear that. Sometimes tourist traps are unavoidable. Is the Argentinean definition of rare/medium etc similar to that in the US?

[chefmd]

Food art at MALBA museum.  

[chefmd]

2 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Sorry to hear that. Sometimes tourist traps are unavoidable. Is the Argentinean definition of rare/medium etc similar to that in the US?

 

I was following this advice from Eater:

You might want to ignore your Spanish dictionary when figuring out meat temperatures because the translations won’t help you in Argentina. Surprisingly, the majority of local palates prefer well-done meat, so if you like your steak rare, ask for it bien jugoso, or vuelta y vuelta for blue. If you tend to order steak medium or medium-rare, request it jugoso. Apunto steaks are usually medium-well, while saying “cocido” will get you a dry, burnt piece of sadness.

 

And tourist traps create fun stories!  A bottle of Malbec made life better.

[chefmd]

Ice cream for dinner.  I am an adult and can do it!  And you can park your dog at the entrance.  

 

Goat cheese dulce de leche and passion fruit for me, coconut and pistachio for DH.

 

[Okanagancook]

Enjoying your blog.

Thank you for sharing.

[kayb]

14 hours ago, chefmd said:

Ice cream for dinner.  I am an adult and can do it!  And you can park your dog at the entrance.  

 

Goat cheese dulce de leche and passion fruit for me, coconut and pistachio for DH.

 

Ooohhh. One of each, please.

 

[chefmd]

Lovely breakfast at the bakery.  Ham and cheese croissant and ham and cheese sandwich.  Lovely crispy baguette and buttery flaky croissant.

[rotuts]

well

 

I woiuld'n want to get into an argument w Don Julio

 

with knives like that

 

however ,  ask around if you have the time for a better

 

maybe you can find a Churrasco

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churrasco

 

restaurant that can deliver meats to your done-ness specs ?

 

maybe take some pics of what rare means to you

 

you did pack some extra Statins ?  no ?

 

 

[chefmd]

Large botanical gardens in Palermo, right in the middle of the city.  Unknown to me fruit tree, Yerba mate caught my eye.

[chefmd]

Food art.  At least I think that bovine statue is food art

 

[BonVivant]

Ordering a (blue) rare steak in AR (Argentina) and CL (Chile) and getting it the way you want is a matter of luck. Doesn't matter how much you stress how you prefer it done half the time it comes out medium or worse. South Americans prefer other cuts of meat so the tender parts are perfect for tourists. These are typical cuts Argentinians prefer for their assado: Bavette/flank/skirt/picanha/tail of rump steaks, short ribs and so on. They start an assado with offal, then move on to the cuts.

 

When I go that way again I will be carrying this photo of steak doneness with me to show them when ordering. Had the same experience in Namibia.

 

 

I like AR empanadas, especially "caprese" (filled with chopped fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil). Couldn't stomach their beloved "medialunas" and bread with dulce de leche for breakfast. It's hell for someone who hates sugar.

 

My AR breakfast:

 

 

There's a craft beer scene in BA but the pubs tend to open in the evening only. Quality and selection could be better now.

 

If you are not going to AR Patagonia anytime soon maybe you want to try Patagonian lamb in BA. I ate my fill on both sides of Patagonia and thought it was one of the best (second to Texel, perhaps. Not sure).

Edited November 21, 2017 by BonVivant (log)

[chefmd]

Thank you @BonVivant, I will save this picture of the steak.  

 

I am am with you on savory foods preference.  Especially for breakfast!

[chefmd]

Lunch at Casa Cavia.  Food was delicious.  And bread was really good too,

Octopus with hummus and quinoa mushroom salad to start.  Pork belly and steak for mains.  Everything was delicious.  Lots of locals eating there.

 

 

 

 

 

[chefmd]

Went to Darto store today.  Prices in Peso are much lower than in dollars.  27 inch skillet will be coming home with me.

 

[chefmd]

Dinner tonight was in our apartment in the Poetry building.  Building has a garden on top floor where guests are invited to pick whatever veggies are in season.  I forgot to take the photo of the garden before it got dark but here is my bounty.  Kale, Swiss chard, celery leaves, scallions, beets (only beet tops made the photo).

[chefmd]

Dinner.  Baby kale, baby Swiss chard, scallions, dill, celery, beets salad.  Left over bits of protein with sautéed kale, chard, beets greens.  Rutini Malbec @BonVivant recommendation.  Cookware is of course non stick, just like any other rental place where I stayed.  I do not want to use my new Darto pan until I get home and season it properly.

[chefmd]

It helps to remember that M stands for mujer when using the bathroom:)

[chefmd]

Famous rapa nui ice cream shop is crowded at night.  Will try it again during the day tomorrow 

[chefmd]

Oh the horror!  Eggs are sold UNrefrigerated AND with the remnants of biological material on them!  But honey, look how orange the yolks are .  DH likes his eggs scrambled.  I like mine over easy.