Durigutti Malbec 2008
Familia Pichot - Malbec Reserva Roble - 2009
Trumpeter- Malbec-Syrah – 2009
Monday, October 24, 2011
Restaurant Update: October 2011
Above: Mid-afternoon at A Nos Amours
Code: One star = bad, 2 stars – so so, 3 stars = good, 4 stars, very good, Five stars = outstanding
UPDATE: ***** A Nos Amours, Gorriti 4488, Palermo, Tel: 4897-2072 (Palermo – walking distance from Casa Palermo) $$ – This is one of our favorites. Every time we eat here, we say “why do we bother to go anywhere else?” The answer, of course, is simply that one must explore. Nevertheless, we return often to enjoy the excellent food. Although A Nos Amours is owned by a French expat, the food is what I would call “international” and locally is referred to as “de autor.” The design and furnishing is simple; reminiscent of a French café (see photo above). The ingredients, always fresh and beautifully prepared, are organic and even the wines are organic.
UPDATE: **** La Fachada, Aráoz 1283 – still our favorite pizza in BA. The restaurant is poorly lit and in serious need of remodeling. The restaurant has been remodeled and looks much better. The service is characteristic of a place that caters to 20-somethings. The pizza . . . it’s amazing. The Fugazeta de la Casa is perfect. The dough is somewhat bread-like, but it has a wonderful buttery flavor and an extremely crispy crust. Word to the wise: We discovered that if you are ordering the larger of the two available sizes, order two small pizzas instead. The large, we found, is soggy in the center. In contrast, the small pizza is crispy!
UPDATE: **** Las Pizarras Bistro, Thames 2296, tel. 4775-0625 (Palermo Soho/Viejo) $$$ – We have eaten here several times in the past and were happy to find that it has reopened. For unknown reasons it closed for a period several months ago. The cuisine is “de autor,” and everything is very tasty. The name of the restaurant translates to “The Blackboards,” referencing the several blackboards on which the menu items and wines are written. (It is not a pizza place.) Las Pizarras is always busy, so a reservation is recommended. They seem consistently under-staffed by one server, but the cuisine is interesting and always delicious. The décor is eclectic, with a comfortable ambiance. A good wine selection.
** Siamo Nel Forno, Costa Rica 5886, tel. 5290-9529 (Palermo Hollywood) $$$– This restaurant came with a good recommendation, however, it was disappointing. The service and ambiance were perfectly fine, but the most important aspect of the pizza, the crust, was the opposite of our expectation. The middle was soggy and the edges were chewy. Fortunately, the wine (Trumpeter, Malbec-Syrah, 2009) was excellent, as was the panna cotta with cherries. The cherries, imported from Italy, were unlike any I have ever tasted before. The service was relatively good, but the waitress was an American, which made the experience feel very strange. When in a foreign country, a tourist anticipates a local as a server. We didn’t pay attention to the prices when ordering, but were a bit stunned when the bill arrived. The pizza here is quite expensive. $85 for the Rucula con Prosciutto.
**** Cabernet, Jorge L. Borges 1757, tel. 4831-3071 (Palermo Soho) $$$ – Excellent! Ambiance, service and cuisine (“de autor”) . . . all very satisfying.
UPDATE: ** La Colonia, has moved to Araoz 1589. It used to be at Gascon Julian Alvarez and catered to locals. Taxi drivers appeared to be the best customers. In the last couple of years, however, the owner has enhanced the menu (and the prices), striving to capture tourists. The new location has a roof terrace and is another notch upscaled. The food was perfectly good, but similar to so many other restaurants in the area, however, we have not tried the new location.
Restaurants We Want To Try:
- Chef Iusef
- Armenia
- Arte de Mafia
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Renting a car in Buenos Aires
Above, Natalia, the rental agent, inspects the car after we return it
Yesterday we rented a car so that we could visit Tomas Jofre, a small village, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, that is curiously populated with an abundance of restaurants. Tomas Jofre is about 100 km west of Buenos Aires.
Our friend Tito recommended renting a car from Tango Rent A Car, however, we remembered that Dietrich, a car dealer just 3 blocks from our house, rents cars. Dietrich is more convenient, so we walked over to check their price. Tango Rent A Car advertises a very low price on their website, but the economic car doesn’t have air conditioning, the insurance is separate, etc. Dietrich, we found, built a new building and has morphed into Localiza. It’s at the corner of Honduras and Gascon.
The cost to rent the car at Localiza was $305 (pesos) for 24 hours. It was a new Volkswagen Gol, which is a 2-door economy model. It did have air conditioning. Natalia spoke a bit of English, so the combination of our Spanish and her English helped. Note that you need to bring your driver;s license, passport and a credit card. They require a $4,000 deposit (about $1K USD) on a credit card, but they don’t process it and cancel the hold when you return the car. Natalia was very thorough in inspecting the car before and after. Her uniform was very professional, somewhat like that of a flight attendant.
Driving in Buenos Aires: The traffic is crazy. Drivers seem oblivious to lane markings (in the few places that lane markings are found) and many drivers change lanes or make turns without signaling. Many intersections have no stop signs, yet the traffic is moving quickly and rather aggressively. In general, the cars coming on your right have the right of way, but it’s also a matter of who entered the intersection first. Obviously you have to be careful. Turning right at a red light is not allowed at all. On 2-way streets, turning left at an intersection that has traffic lights is not allowed, unless there is a dedicated left turn lane.
A real difficulty is posed by the lack of street signs. You often can’t find the name of the street with which you are intersecting. The name appears either on a corner building or a sign on a post, however, many building simply don’t have the sign or the post signs are broken off. Vandals, I suppose.
Lunch in Tomas Jofre: This was our first time renting a car in BA and our first unescorted foray into the countryside. We were surprised that it took us over an hour to drive from Palermo to Route 7. From there, it was another hour to Tomas Jufre. There were several tolls along the way. The entire adventure took from 11:00 AM until about 7:00 PM. We found that most of the restaurants were closed for some reason (a Friday afternoon). It’s not really a town, per se, but more a collection of houses. We ate at La Casona. The menu is fixed. For $98 you get an all inclusive meal that includes house wine. Julia ordered Coke and they gave her a 1.5 liter bottle. The food was typical rustic Argentine fare. Overall, it was so so. Certainly not worth the drive. A better trip is to visit San Antonio de Areco. Our friend Maria took us there a year ago and it was much more interesting.
Above: La Casona in Tomas Jofre
Above, the routes to Tomas Jofre and to San Antonio de Areco
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)