Extraordinary Meals

Last night we dined at one of Buenos Aires' "closed door" restaurants.  These are mini-restaurants, by reservation only, in a person's home.  We chose Nola, run by a young woman chef from New Orleans and her Argentine, sommelier-in-training, boyfriend.  Their home is a modern space in an old neighborhood.  An enclosed outdoor "hall" leads to an indoor foyer and open plan living dining area. The walls were painted warm colors contrasting with the grey cement floor and exposed brick ceilings.  We were greeted with a glass of champagne and a few minutes to meet the other couples we would be dining with.  There were other American couples from Chicago and San Francisco, a couple from Toronto, and a couple from Alice Springs, Australia.  We all had an interest in food and travel in common, so at least for one meal, it was a very sociable group.

There were four courses, each paired with a wine.  We started with a slightly spicy mango gazpacho topped with shrimp, paired with a floral Torrontes (see recipe here!).  Next was a fried tomato slice topped with a squid salad, paired with a dry, chardonnay-like rose wine from Mendoza.  The main course was a piece of pork shoulder that had been braised for 5 hours, tender and with a slightly sweet glaze.  It was served on top of grits flavored with green onions.  This was paired with a really nice Malbec.  Finally, for dessert we were served individual blueberry tarts with a little goat cheese mixed into the filling.  The goat cheese was only barely detectable and  added a rich, slightly earthy flavor.  This was paired with a sweet, but very flavorful dessert wine from the UcoValley.

On Tuesdays, Liza, the chef, operates a pop-up Mexican restaurant in Palermo as well and I'm sure it would be well worth a visit!  I expect that sooner or later she will have her own successful restaurant in B.A. but until then, see if you can get a reserva at Nola!

Needless to say it was a late night and a lot of wine, and we realized when the doorbell rang at 8:30 am that today was apartment cleaning day and we needed to clear out.  We went to our favorite bar/coffee place, Bar Poesia, and fortunately they were open and even have a good breakfast menu.

A second excellent restaurant we went to, treated by friends visiting for a night from the U.S.A., was Cabana las Lilas in Puerto Madero.  Las Lilas specializes in beef, from its own estancia.  We sat outside on a long covered veranda overlooking the water as waiters brought us an amuse bouche of appetizer selections while we pondered the menu.  Three of us ordered beef, and the vegetarian among us ordered several vegetable side dishes.  The side dishes turned out to be sizable, and probably meant for sharing among a table.  They have the traditional soufleed potatoes, like a puffed french fry.  Grilled vegetables were also particularly good. The beef was absolutely delicious, grilled to order.  We ordered a dense chocolate cake to share, but also got a complimentary selection of small cookies and confections.

I'm compiling a  list of our favorite places that I'll post before we leave.  We have several more recommended places that we hope to get to before we return home!