The now, more or less, monthly round-up of spots worth checking out! Pizzas, once again, will get their own post, coming up shortly. Outdoor dining continues, and as the temperatures begin to cool off in early fall, most of that is happening at lunchtime when it’s more pleasant to sit outside. We’re still not at the comfortable with indoor dining stage, and with vaccines still hovering a little beyond the horizon here in Argentina for us, we’ll see where things go as it the weather gets less amenable to al fresco meals.
PLTZ Street Pub, Arco 5, Av. del Libertador 3883, Palermo – A relatively new opening in the gastro-plaza underneath the railway tracks in 3 de Febrero park, this spot offers up what amount to global tapas, or at least small plate food. The waitstaff aren’t the most attentive I’ve ever encountered, and there’s a smidge of pretention evident even when they’re being friendly – a sort of, “are you quite sure you’re important or interesting enough to be eating here?” vibe. And the slate grey jumpsuits they’re all dressed in are just odd. While the waitress attending to many tables had hers open to the navel with nothing but a sports bra on underneath, the well built waiter had his zipped up to the neck. Obviously I’d have preferred the reverse.
The food is really good. A sampling of three dishes seemed just right for lunch, albeit a tad pricey. Huge portobello caps were stuffed with parmesan and a coarsely ground almond butter and then roasted until golden brown ($680). Plump prawns were coated in a surprising crust of oat flakes and seeds and served up with a passionfruit mayo ($720). Both delicious. But the star of the lunch was the salmon and avocado tartare with crispy fried quinua and a beautifully balanced ponzu sauce ($790). All washed down with a tart lemonade tinged with lemon verbena and grapefruit peel ($200).
Worth it? Borderline. Personal judgement call. By international standards, we’re talking us$8 appetizers, for really good food, so not at all out of line. For Buenos Aires, albeit a gourmet food court on the park, a bit steep. Would I go back? Yes. Though not often.
Juan Pedro Caballero, Thames 1719, Palermo – Two and a half years ago, I wrote up this brand new spot offering creative, mouthwatering churros. The pandemic put a big screeching halt to a lot of their business, as it did for everyone. During the months when delivery was the only option, getting someone to place an order for a few churros, plus the fee that delivery services charge, apparently became untenable, and so they expanded into the savory side of things with… tacos. Tacos are kind of the new hit food here, as one after another spot seems to open offering up their take on “authentic Mexican” tacos, something which, over the years, you’ve seen in my writings are not exactly a common offering. Mexican food here, until recently, reeked of a barely upgraded Chipotle.
JPC bills itself as Chuntaro Style, a slang term for a, well, hick, from the Michoacan region of Mexico. They have handmade corn tortillas, beautifully grilled to a golden brown. There are, I think, half a dozen “fillings” on offer, including a vegan option. You get three tacos for around 400-500 pesos, depending on the filling, and you can’t mix different kinds in your trio. I gave a shot at the chinchulines, or chitlins, but they’d already run out, and, it was asserted, they run out of those early almost every day… well then, make more than you’ve been making if that many people are asking for them. Ended up with the the pork carnitas. Really nicely done, and I like the idea of the condiments bar – which offers up five different sauces, ranging from non-spicy to their extra spicy, which is… moderately spicy; as well as onions, lime, and cilantro. I’d have really liked my favorite “add-in” from Mexican street tacos, sliced radishes, but one can’t have everything.
Authentic? Yes. Tasty? Yes. Worth it? Yes. Looking forward to many returns, along with checking out others of this new introduction to local offerings.
Ohlalá, Azcuénaga 894, Recoleta – I must have walked by this place hundreds of times over the years and have never stopped in. It just has the look of any of hundreds of other casual local eateries, with nothing special to offer. A friend had a medical appointment nearby and suggested meeting up there beforehand – it was more about spending a lunch with him – so, why not? I’m glad I did, because the food here is leaps and bounds better than most similar spots, even if the menu looks identical.
Friendly, quick service, and very amendable to menu substitutions. My friend went for a vegetable and meat stir-fry, expecting little, but ending up with a huge mound of a perfectly cooked variety of vegetables and tender beef, all seasoned well. They have a list of beef milanesas, but only two offerings for the chicken side of things. I asked if I could get a chicken one done up like one of the beef ones, and substitute a salad for the accompanying “fries or puree” options. Both were immediate yeses, and I ended up with what might be the best, biggest, and juiciest chicken breast milanesa I’ve had, in a perfectly crunchy and tasty crust, topped with a zesty mustard sauce, and a whopping salad that had to be two full sized tomatoes, an onion, and a mound of lettuce. All for around 450 pesos per plate. A steal. And, being just a short walk from home, a place to return to, regularly.
Maja Jamoneria, Jorge Luis Borges 1732, Palermo – Many of you know I have a passion for blue cheeses, and I’ve written up extensive reviews of a lot of them. A regular reader sent me a note about this small shop in Palermo, where, he asserted, I’d find some “really cool blue cheeses”. And, indeed, they’ve got a great selection of them, ranging from the blue brie, to the blue goat cheese, that I bought, on to some difficult to obtain ones here in Buenos Aires, like Patagonzola, a Patagonian blue cheese (which I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why I didn’t buy a wedge of). They also, among the various charcuterie on offer, had disks of Pietro Sorba’s finocchiona, a fennel infused salami treat that I’ve only seen here before on pizzas at Soler, Vino, Pizza. Reasonably priced. Friendly service. Great selection. What more do you need in a cheese and charcuterie shop, other than that it be closer to home?
The finocchiona found its way into a pasta for lunch, sautéed with sliced garlic, radicchio, lemon zest, chopped hazelnuts, crushed green peppercorns, and parmesan; all tossed with paccheri.
