Wednesday, Feb 12

After wandering around the streets of Palermo on our first afternoon in town we stopped for a glass of wine at Bird. Eric tried the Le Petit Voyage Torrontės and I had a glass of Bodega Chacho Criolla Cereza.

My red was served chilled, closer to a really dark rosé. This grape variety is only grown in Argentina and is related to the rediscovered Mission grape in California. Dark chocolate nose with a hint of bitterness on the finish, really good. Eric thought his white was solid – chewy grape, white peach and nectarines, dusty mineral, and some bitterness on finish.

We spotted a frambuesa beer on the menu when we walked by Blest, so we stopped for a pint. I got a pint of the Bock, after preferring it over the Scotch Ale I also sampled. It was a nice evening so we drank them outside for more people watching.

Our dinner reservations at Overo Bar were for the terrace but to enter the building you have to be buzzed in at the street level. It was hard to understand the voice on the other end, so we walked up several flights of stairs and just flagged someone down on the top floor. It was definitely lively, with a relaxed vibe. We split a bottle of clarete, a new style for us! Our notes for the Paso a Paso Wines ‘Las Criollas de Don Graciano’ Field Blend Clarete: very floral and cranberry, vanilla on nose. Lavender in palate, red berry, a little honey, nice balance on acidity. Medium body, stands up nicely to food. (Side note: we asked about clarete wine at every wine shop for the rest of the trip and no one had it!)

We decided to split a few small plates: fries, marinated artichokes (served with homemade bread) and beef empanadas. Empanadas were good – very lightly fried exterior, chunks of beef interior. The sauce served with the potatoes was different, lemony and herbal and the artichokes were nicely acidic. Didn’t love ordering through the QR code menu but service was friendly. When it came time to pay, the website wanted a ton of extra info so we just settled up with our waiter.

Thursday, Feb 13

Eric got empanadas while I was at my cooking class from Central Pizza and Empanadas – cheeseburger and ham y queso. Ham was great, burger was more chopped than ground, so an unexpected texture but decent. Probably the best deal of the trip at only 800 pesos each (~0.75USD!)

 

In the early evening our first two choices for wine were closed so we decided on two glasses at Esbornia Wine Bar.  There were a few options available by the glass and we both opted for the malbec rosé. $12K for two glasses during happy hour was an okay deal and the small dish of olives that was delivered was a nice surprise (for me).

Our dinner at La Flambee was a bit of an adventure. We walked in and immediately the owner said, “Ah! you have a reservation for two at 8:30.” And I said, yes, but what is my name? A whole joking conversation ensued and we wound up seated on an outdoor balcony entirely to ourselves with lots of attention from Matteo for the rest of the evening. We each ordered a cocktail to start (which came with stories), me the La Marie and Eric the passion fruit caipirinha. Eric’s drink turned out to be 2 for 1, so I switched to a glass of (lovely) Malbec when he got his second. Once again the red was served chilled and this time accompanied by a small container of ice cubes. Turns out this is very popular in BsAs. Huh. The Tarte Flambee gratinee we had was lovely and the Nutella crepe was also delicious. Overall a memorable experience and tasty food.

Friday, Feb 14

For breakfast we walked to a few bakeries only to find pricey medialunas and flat whites with near-American pricing! Got two mini pastries from Gusto Cafe for Eric and I ate the leftover chipas from my cooking class the day before.

We found ourselves in Recoleta around lunch time, so tried out Buller, a brewery/pub. Eric wanted the Oktoberfest which was luckily on special at $3K for a pint. My stout was tasty and a reasonable $5K. For food, I ordered the NAPO Milanese with beef, covered in ham and cheese, rather like a pizza with a breaded beef crust. Eric got the caesar wrap. We sat outside in direct line of the fan. Service was a bit slow but friendly, we ordered two waters but should have checked the prices because they were $3K each!

Drinks and dinner at Pain et Vin. We had good timing as we had our choice of a few tables. Place was lively but never overly full and the owner was especially nice. We opted for a bottle of extra brut sparkling from Patagonia – 100% pinot noir with light brioche flavor, fairly dry and a little dusty with low acidity and medium finish. That was paired with a cheese plate (mostly Eric) and beef carpaccio for me.

Monday, Feb 24

Our flight into town from Port Iguazu was fairly late so we just used the free drink and snack coupon in the Marriott hotel bar for dinner. It was good!

Tuesday, Feb 25

I walked over to CIC Buenos Aires Coffee for a flat white and nutella croissants. The coffee was good but pricey, and the pastries were tasty but greasy and a bit messy.

We hadn’t tried Argentinian pizza yet, so we headed to El Cuartito to sample a few slices. This place gets super crowded at night so we thought lunch would be better and we scored a table no problem. We ordered a slice of the jamon and mozzarella for Eric and the fugazzeta for me, basically grilled onions and cheese – so delish. We both liked the bready crust. My house red was a great deal at $3K. The atmosphere is definitely lovely, but we wished they had some fans set up as it was quite warm inside.

On our wander/walk south to San Telmo neighborhood, we picked up a meringue cookie with shredded coconut (cocada) at Italpan.

After walking around for a few hours we needed to rest our feet and chill for a bit. We found a wine bar that was open in the afternoon, 1853 The Wine Experience, where we had to buzz the doorbell to get in. The owner was quite welcoming and we managed to get by with a mix of English and Spanish. There were 6 wines available by the glass in a dispenser machine with prices depending on amount poured. We tried large pours of the Pinot Noir and Torrontés and half pours of the Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc to use up the rest of our pesos.