SaltShaker

Buenos Aires - I thought about writing an Ode to Radicchio, but my poetry talents are nearly non-existent and limited to reasonably good attempts at haiku. I searched for an ode online and didn’t find one, though I did find one to arugula that more or less dismissed radicchio in one stanza. It’s not one [...]

Buenos Aires - José Andrés Pacheco de Melo was alive, here in Argentina, at one time. I’m reasonably certain of that. He was a priest, born in the northern city Salta, though I’m guessing he wasn’t a priest at birth. Later on he became a deputy of the national congress, and, was one of the [...]

Buenos Aires - The population of Argentina is just short of 40 million people, 75% of whom are over the age of 15. That means there are probably almost 30 million different recipes for the best matambre, or hunger killer. Like empanadas and chimichurri, everyone has an aunt, grandmother, mother, sister, uncle, grandfather, father, brother, [...]

Buenos Aires - You won’t be able to say I didn’t give you fair warning. It’ll have been your own decision. One of the things that is decried most in the world of dining out in Buenos Aires is the standard of service here. It’s unquestionably one of the most friendly places to eat out [...]

Buenos Aires - As anyone who reads this column knows, I am not a vegetarian. I toyed with it a few times in the past, I even trained in a professional vegetarian chef’s program at one point, but the siren call of various and sundry members of the animal kingdom always proved to much to [...]

Buenos Aires - It’s not often that I get sticker shock here. Even at the high end restaurants, it’s rare to see dishes that I find to be priced beyond reach. I’m not including something like a caviar sampler at a fancy Russian place, or the occasional foie gras - which isn’t produced here and [...]

Buenos Aires - Amongst the various food items that just don’t exist in Buenos Aires is buttermilk. I honestly don’t know how widespread its existence is outside of certain communities anyway, but here, it’s basically unheard of. Luckily, it’s easy to make a passable substitute for baking purposes, whether it be breads or making buttermilk [...]

Buenos Aires - The new James Beard 2006 Award nominations are out, plus New York Magazine’s Best of NY Food 2006, and I was pleased to see that between them, several of my friends have gotten nominated or named by one or the other. I’m thrilled that so many of them are being recognized for [...]