Threadbare Gypsy Soul

San Antonio Del Areco

I think this town was the first place I remained on budget in quite sometime. Even the nice dinners were cheap and it’s such a relaxing quaint well landscaped town. I don’t know if it’s all rich people or what; the houses and yards all seemed to be well manicured and everyone was smiling and helpful. I even witnessed them filming a movie around the town square while I was there. It’s aesthetically pleasing and everyone is super nice and trusting.

I spent 3 nights in this lovely town. I wouldn’t say that there’s much to do here other than observe the waterfront at sunset, eat and relax; which we all know I love to do. As some of you know by now I really eat about 1 meal a day; at most 2, so I really had to stuff myself to get this many places in such a short span. So, I dug into the small town with my fork and knife.

Bodega Septima: I actually think it’s called something else; however that’s what the menu said on the outside. It’s a couple of blocks off the main square towards to bus station. The empanadas were truly on point as were the tacos. Actually the tacos I could have eaten everyday. So good. The cheese plate was good here as well. They have a small quaint interior that kind of reminds you of a French bistro. Their outside patio is actually larger than the inside. Very friendly and accommodating. Spent a few hours on multiple days here just sipping on wine and ordering food. I even had a small breakfast here on my way out of town (and I don’t eat breakfast) just because I liked sitting in the place.

La Arcadia: highly recommended by the blogs and I don’t disagree. One of the nicer restaurants in town as far as atmosphere and table setting. Down home feel and really nice service. Of course, I had salad, steak and dessert with a bottle of wine. All really good and for a total price of about $15US or like $700AP.

El Tokio: a bar resto located on the corner of the square that seemed to be relatively crowded al
Kat all the time. Kind of like the local meet up coffee shop yet they served ice cream and wine by the glass. I was told by a local the food wasn’t that great; really enjoyed their box wine and the atmosphere though.

Balthazar: It is catty cornered across from El Tokio. I had a vegetarian sandwich here when I arrived on a Sunday afternoon which was quite tasty with some really good bread. Their kitchen was closed yet had a limited menu and glasses of boxed wine. In case you haven’t noticed I’m using my brief time in Argentina to try as much wine and beef as possible. Also, their outside seating enabled me to see my bags on the sidewalk outside the hostel that was locked with no one inside. I ended up having to go to the other hostel in town for the first night; it too was locked however they had a WhatsApp number and their WiFi password on a note on the door. Ended up with a private room and a double bed for the night. Woohoo!

El Mitre: the bar resto on the other corner of the square. Sat out and had some vino Sunday night until the rain and wind picked up too much to be outside. Nice place and friendly staff.

Almacen de Ramos Generales: came highly recommended by the local museum attendant. I walked in at 7:55 on Monday night. They closed at 8, so I decided that I’d return another day. Went for a late lunch on Tuesday. It was packed and the table setting relatively nice and upscale. They immediately brought out some delicious bread and butter. I ordered a salad and the skirt steak. Salad cane with onion tomorrow and lettuce and they provided salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the fixings. Mixed me up a great tasting salad and it was a large portion. They too brought the steak way before I was finished with the salad. It was well prepared and seasoned. In the large scheme of steaks it’s nothing to really write home about yet it had good flavor and was a decent portion for the price. They didn’t serve wine by the glass, so I ordered a bottle. It’s literally $4-6 US for good wine here. Slowly enjoyed the meal and ordered the bread pudding. Again, it’s not like bread pudding in the states it’s more like a really moist and grainy yellow cake however in this one they piled high the canela (caramel paste) and let me just state for the record it was a bit rich; I finished it all though. I was among one of the last in the restaurant before they closed to get ready for dinner. They were patient and allowed me time to finish my wine. A very good lunch for the low price of about $850AP. Highly recommend visiting this place if you are in San Antonio Del Areco.

Rosario

A lovely and lovely town. I really like Buenos Aires, however this town seems to have more going on if that’s possible. I didn’t find a whole lot of activities to do here. There are a few museums and some pretty architecture in the squares and the churches; I found the food scene and the young hip vibe to be the attraction here. There are tons of restaurants and bars along the river front and in the city itself. Just cool looking places you wanted to go and sit for a while. Just didn’t have the same feel in Buenos Aires except maybe in the Palermo area just not to this scale.

Bar El Cairo: spent a rainy afternoon here with a bottle of wine. I mean for $250-300AP Por que, no? It’s a very old bar/restaurant that apparently everyone reveres as it was packed when I sat down around 2:45pm. Both things I had to eat the steak sandwich that came with fries and the dessert were both well prepared and tasty. Total damage ran $650AP

Restaurant Bruno: walked quite a ways to get to this place because I had read a couple of reviews that it was good Italian. The wine was good, of course, the lasagna was good just not great. The bread pudding cane highly recommended just know their bread pudding isn’t bread pudding like in the states. I enjoyed it; probably would have been more appropriate to have the flan or tiramisu though. The service was on point and the atmosphere was muy bueno. A classic Italian place atmosphere with wait staff to boot. I forgot what I had for a starter the entire meal with a bottle of wine ran 7-900AP.

Rock n’ Feller’s: an Argentinian style Hard Rock Cafe. I’m told by everyone at the bar it’s the same crowd daily from 6-10 for their happy hour and supposedly the food is good. I would have to imagine it’s better than The Hard Rock since that food is awful from the word go. Had a couple of beers around the horseshoe shaped bar looking out on the boulevard. Place was crowded and reservations are recommended.

Chinchibira: a really nice establishment with superb service. Right on a busy corner with big picturesque windows and a nice bar. The wine selection was good and the steak had the best flavor of anywhere in Argentina to date. Steak came with potatoes and I think I had 2 glasses of wine with a salad all for $805AP. Pretty good price for the caliber of restaurant and service.

Cordoba:

I would say the same description as the Rosario one above, just perhaps a step down from Rosario. This is a pretty town and seems relatively safe. I would say Rosario has a bit more happening, however Córdoba definitely has its own scene going on as well. The thing I love about Argentina is that everything happens so late. Happy hours start around 8 and no one even thinks about dinner til 9. In fact, the restaurant La Mamma described below didn’t open until 9. When I arrived at 9:15 there was only 1 other table eating. By the time I left around 11:30 it was packed and whole families with young kids were piling in between 11-12. Kind of a strange sight to be honest.

Alcorta carnes & vinos: a semi formal restaurant with a formal wait staff. Had the best wine I’ve had in Argentina so far here. Of course, I paid a little more for it as well. Started with an empanada and bell pepper in olive oil. The empanada was tasty; there are better in this city though. The pepper needed some salt fairly bland even after the addition. Had the cream spinach and a ribeye both were well prepared to order. The steak was tender, juicy and flavorful. Tasty just not quite as tasty as the one I had at Chinchibira in Rosario the night before. Service was impeccable as was the bread and warm eggplant and carrots they brought out to start. Total damage came to about $2100AP though. That’s two appetizers, a ribeye and a side with a pretty nice bottle of wine.

La Cocina: stopped in here just passing by and got 2 empanadas (1 beef and 1 spicy beef) for $60AP. I waited while they warmed them in the pizza oven. Excellent flavor and perfect empanada dough. Highly recommend stopping in to try even more than I did.

Pugliese: rooftop in Guemes; just a glass of wine here. $60AP. Nice rooftop and interior overlooking the street vendors that really is more like an old garage sale. Guemes is definitely a place to check out.

La Mamma: an absolute pleasure. So happy I decided to hit up this place. Wow. Elegant atmosphere with windows looking out on the boulevard with the stream running through town. White tablecloths and nice wine glasses. Very formal yet personal staff. I arrived at 9:15pm and no one was in the restaurant. I wondered if I had made a mistake or if the reviews were wrong. Bread and a light appetizer of bread and diced tomatoes were brought out. I took my time browsing the menu. No one rushed me all the waiters were so patient; that’s why I knew to get comfortable and buckle up it’s gonna be a great meal. I ordered a bottle of nice Malbec and a light appetizer. I kept the menu and decided to order after the appetizer. People started to flood in and by 10:30 the restaurant was buzzing. I really like the idea and the practice of eating late; just when traveling alone there isn’t much to do besides drink until late while waiting for the restaurant to open. The waiter recommended a mushroom gravy steak. I enquirer about the lasagna and he lit up and quickly pointed out that the chicken and spinach lasagna was. Amazing. I had another glass of wine to contemplate what I would choose. Ultimately I told Luis to choose. He brought out the lasagna with a huge bowl of fresh Parmesan and a cream sauce. Wow! Really excellent. The whole experience from the wait staff to the wine to the atmosphere to the food was excellent. A class act of a restaurant. Halfway through the main course I knew I would order dessert. I let Luis choose again, he brought out La paneke la mamma de manzana (empanada bread on a plate with caramelized sugar and apples with a huge scoop of ice cream and berries with a cup of expresso. I’m not a huge coffee drinker however it all went together like peas and carrots. Still had 1/3 of bottle of wine that I had to finish that I took time while drinking to write this review. Definitely worth a stop if you’re in Cordoba.

Lesser Peru

Mancora: a small beach town near the Ecuadorian border. Not much to do here unless you are a surfer or heavy drinker and the drinks are somewhat expensive. Ordered margaritas from several places along the beach. They were all $6US and not one came close to the taste of a decent margarita. Ate at one sandwich shop right off the beach on the main pedestrian street that was a bit tasty and good value. Also ate at Tao, wonton soup was ok and I had tuna shashimi for the main course. Quite small for the price and it too was ok; however a bit pricey for a party beach town. I was scheduled to stay 2 nights decided to cut it a day short if that tells you anything.

Chiclayo: awful; just awful. I caught the only day bus from Mancora to this town. I was headed to Chachapoyas and I arrived about 2 hours before the bus left that night for Chachapoyas. Of course, there are only night busses to Chachapoyas and I should have just jumped on the night bus to Chachapoyas. For whatever reason I decided to give Chiclayo a chance. One of the strangest hostels I’ve stayed in; nothing wrong with it and the guy was very nice just limited options and it was just a weird setup that’s all I’ll say. The driving around town is ridiculously aggressive and overcrowded. The food is crap and it was really hard to waste the next day waiting on a night bus. I had lasagna from the highest rated restaurant in town ‘Cafe 900’ and I’ve gotta say it was pretty average on the weak side. The restaurant was well decorated and had a nice upstairs overlook of a busy dirty street. I ate around the square the night before and I have no memory of the meal it was so plain. I don’t recommend leaving the bus station if you find yourself passing through.

*note: I booked an overnight bus with Civa that offered 180 degree beds from chiclayo. The beds were on the top floor and the bus sways too much to get good sleep and it didn’t even have a plug at your seat. From Chachapoyas I booked with Mobil whenever possible. I booked the last seat downstairs in the single row on the right side. It only reclined maybe 170 degrees but the meals were good, the temperature always set right and they provide blankets and pillows. I recommend Olturso if Movil is unavailable or booked. I took Cruz del Sur once and I find that they take theirselves a bit too seriously. Demanding only passports for identification and they actually search your bags when boarding and take your fingerprint. A bit ridiculous if you ask me. I avoided them at all costs after this.

Trujillo: a pretty town; I probably didn’t explore it long enough; however it has a few ruins and nice tours nearby. I took the tour that did several of the ruins. I went to the first stop which of course you had to pay for entrance then they brought us to an expensive restaurant in town that I knew had terrible food, so I just left and skipped the 2nd half of the tour. Hopefully it got better for the crew I was with in the afternoon. Nothing life changing maybe worth a look though. I heard the beach was pretty nice just didn’t want to stay too long and have to reacclimatize myself to my next destination of Huaraz being 12,000 feet in altitude. The square was quite striking and I enjoyed some nice cocktails on a balcony overlooking the square for sunset. Definitely worth at least a night maybe 2 don’t see much potential beyond that though.

Lima: I was only here 2 nights and I ate at only 1 place worth mentioning. It is a somewhat famous place among locals and served up some exceptional ceviche, Mi Burrantu; I highly recommend a visit. I stayed at hostel Puriwani which was in a good spot and had an exceptional staff. It was in miraflores, I might stay in Burranco if I were to go back. Also, the large water park near La Victoria might be worth a visit. I went during the day and it was I think 4-5 soles for entry. Apparently Sunday and Tuesday nights they have 2 light shows with all the fountains worth attending.

Paracas: a small beach town that looks to be quite the paradise in the summer. Has a high end resort with 2 really nice restaurants I didn’t get a chance to try. I came to Paracas because of a small private museum located in the main building in front of the main pier. It’s 10 Soles to enter when you can find it open. It contains elongated skulls that have been DNA tested and found not to be human. All the skulls were found on the reserve that surrounds Paracas. I was told there are motorbikes for rent here however couldn’t find one at a reasonable price that didn’t come with a ‘guide’. I stayed at Kokopelli which was under construction at the time yet a really nice spot right on the beach. They had a nice bar with activities nightly and I hear the food was good at the hostel. I ate out. Fruzion has good fruit salads along with burgers and fries. Even the guy across the street with a burger joint admitted their fries were better. Pizzeria Venezia: I took the free walking tour and this was recommended as the best pizza place in town. I had been warned by friends to not even try pizza in Peru as it is generally bad. However this place was quite delicious and with very reasonable prices. I’m told the rest of the restaurants on the pier are cheap copies of each other to feed the cruise ships when they arrive. ; Pizza Nick & Nate’s: this was the place across from Fruzion and I had the wings. It’s owned by a Canadian and he seemed to have quite the gringo menu wand pretty well done at that. His main restaurant was in lima so he has some experience. Lastly, there is a vegetarian place that has a great view of the city. The walking tour recommended it, so I went up to check it out. The menu was pretty pricey for a vegetarian place in a small town, so I tried one of their unique desserts. It was the sweet blue corn pudding. It was like a semi-sweet blackberry mash. Quite strange and it came warm.

Ica: not much here, they have a large mall if you need to get some shopping done and they had places that sold large fruit bowls for cheap. It’s a $5 sole tuck-tuck ride to Huacachina and there’s a bus terminal there. That’s about all I remember of the town. I stayed a night there while I visited Huacachina and waited on a bus. There was a circus in town that advertised dinosaurs. I took the show in for $10 soles. I think there were a total of 15 people there with me, nonetheless entertaining for me at the time.

Huacachina: just a little lake in the dessert. Some say it’s manmade. I have no idea, it seemed like a nice retreat although supremely overly touristic. Sand boarding and dune buggies were the activities here. The new Wild Rover seemed to be really hopping as well. Nice views of the dessert if you choose to climb up the dunes or rent a dune buggy for sunset, not much else here besides the party scene which seemed to be happening, like I said even for the ‘off’ season.

Huaraz

Honestly, this town may deserve its own post; I just don’t feel like I have as much food content as I would normally for staying a week here. I guess some of the places seemed quite expensive and maybe I just wasn’t in a good kind of mood. The altitude sometimes takes the energy away from you. I stayed in Alpes Huaraz which was quite nice with comfy beds, nice showers, a rooftop and from what I hear an ok breakfast just slow. I didn’t hear of any other better places to stay while I was there. The staff weren’t overly welcoming however nice enough to not want to leave. They never had change though; it was incumbent upon you to being correct change. And they spoke enough English in case I had complicated questions.

Laguna 69 Tour: I recommend taking a tour on this one. I got the tour for $30 Soles although many places in town try to get you for 35-40 just walk away until they agree to 30. They picked me up from the hostel at 4:30am. It’s a couple of hours on the bus and they stop for breakfast. Once done with breakfast the sun is up and you are starting to warm up. They drive you to take some pics of a lake at the base that’s quite pretty just nothing like you’re about to see on the hike. Then they drive you the remaining 30-40 minutes up the mountain to the start of the trail. Be aware it’s another $30 soles to enter the park or you’ll have an opportunity to by a multiple day pass or a month to save some money if you plan to return for other hikes. Once at the trailhead you are at about 13,500ft and the first 1/3 of the trail is relatively flat; then there’s an ascent that isn’t too steep followed by some more flat. Finally, the last ascent is fairly steep and most are being affected by the altitude as you are over 14,500 by now. The top is TOTALLY worth all the pain. Just absolutely surreal views. It feels like you are looking at a high def green screen. Incredible. The top is around 15,030ft and I was glad to be done with the ascent. We got to spend about an about and a half there depending on how fast you got up there. It’s about a 3 hour hike, I think I made it in 2:30mins. Although the altitude was really making it hard to breath. I had been in Huaraz at 12,000ft 4 days now and it was still difficult. Probably why I ultimately decided not to do the 4 day Santa Cruz trek there. That and I was by myself with my tent in those mountains would have been amazing though. It goes a bit higher than this to 4900 meters and 15,030 is about 4600 meters. After we had lunch and pics we walked down hopped on the bus and they delivered us back at the hostel around 6pm.

Quri Tullpa: a quaint Indian restaurant that was extremely close to the hostel. Had really good butter chicken that came with some bread for 20 soles. I ate here twice and had the same dish.

Yurac Yacu Cafe: it’s a small cafe kind of far from town however has a great overlook on the city of Huaraz and they hire local women to work there. They take no profits and just help foster a community there and provide a place for the local women to make some money and sell any wares they make. Probably the best price and place to buy and hand made objects you want to buy. The food was extremely fresh as they grow almost everything on site and they also sponsor a school for the local children. I good spot for philanthropic reasons if nothing else. However, the food was excellent and the service quite friendly. Again, just a balance of getting a taxi up there or taking the long journey on foot.

Chilli Heaven: owned by an English woman, just walk in the place and take one deep breath and you’ll know you will be eating there. Have both Thai and Indian favorites extremely well prepared with fresh ingredients and super tasty. I didn’t want to leave. I just took the chef’s recommendation on everything and it was truly a fantastic meal.

Fruti Frutita: there are several places like this around town; this just happened to be my favorite. For $4 soles you get a huge bowl of cut up mixed fruit with some yogurt, honey, and granola sprinkled on top. A great stop every morning.

California Cafe: it’s worth a mention. Seems to be a central meeting place for gringos and the food is supposed to be really good. However it’s quite pricey. I had some tea and a dessert there as I just wasn’t ready for a meal when I visited.

Buenos Aires

Started at hostel Rayuela: nice small place in San Telmo. Good location and clean with friendly staff with a balcony and Netflix room. Within the first few minutes of arriving was treating by a friendly Texan that said one of the owners was coming to BBQ Argentinian style for the hostel and asked me to sign up. I agreed somewhat reluctantly because I was excited about so many places I wanted to visit here in Buenos Aires. However, I do like to socialize and wanted to meet everyone around the place. So, I put away my things and headed out to explore the town. Sadly, it was Sunday and most things were closed, so I took the opportunity to get to know the neighborhood and surrounding parks. Upon returning to the hostel kind of hungry having not done my usual snacking I was informed we’d be eating about 9pm. I normally like eating late just hasn’t been the norm as of recent countries I was traveling through. I thought about heading back out to grab a snack before dinner, however I didn’t see anything quick in the hours I was walking and BA is a bit fancy with not a lot of street food out and about. It smelled really good and the owner promised wine, so I bided my time doing some research about future travels. I tried to make my usual in roads with everyone around the place. No one seemed real responsive. No one was rude or didn’t answer, just didn’t seem to have the regular enthusiasm I’m used to. The same attitude carried through dinner except for 1 girl from England. Conversation at dinner wasn’t awkward but it wasn’t what it should have been either despite my numerous attempts to involve everyone. Anyway, on to the dinner. Boy, I am glad I didn’t pass this meal up. It was easily the best meal I had in Buenos Aires. There were 5 courses! Yeah, 5 courses at a hostel dinner for $300 AP (about $8US). The first course was Choripan. Beef sausage on a garlic buttered soft bread. A salad was served with this course with an absolutely divine sesame dressing that the guy from Texas made. I can’t say enough about how perfect the sausage was cooked with a sweet glaze and the bread left nothing to be desired. It left me wanting for more. Then came the side of beef ( I wish I would have asked more about each course, it like I said conversation was a bit weird at dinner). Perfectly charred on the outside and there were a variety medium rare pieces to well done. The owner really knew his audience. I took one of the rarer pieces and it was tasty, well seasoned (although he told me he didn’t even salt and pepper it) and very tender. Next came the short ribs, again perfect then came the pork shoulder which I abstained from as most know by now I don’t eat pork any longer. Last came the mashed sweet potatoes mixed with honey and some of the glaze used for the sausage in the first course. Bravo is all I can say. That dinner cast a shadow over the rest of my culinary experiences in BA. Although there was nothing wrong with the hostel, I still chose to move the next day. The only real complaint was all the beds were covered in plastic and fairly small so quite noisy in a room of 8. The room had heat I just felt the need to leave even after the great dinner.

Now at hostel Che Juan: this place is like a dream hostel. It’s only a month old or the price wouldn’t be as low as it is I am sure. Everything you could want in a place. Great location, everything is new. Beds are super comfy with great pillows. Plenty of bathrooms and showers that have amazing pressure and temperature. Plugs, lights, and curtains at every bed. Free filtered water, A work room, Netflix room and the internet works good from the room. It’s 2 blocks from the metro in a great part of town close to Madero, ferry ports, parks, bars, restaurants etc. Everyone in the place was truly excited to be there and couldn’t believe how nice and well thought out everything was.

The Ferry to Colonial del Sacramento or Montevideo Uruguay: there are two companies. I checked all the deal sites and the cheapest round trip was $84US. I went directly to the companies site www.colonialexpress.com and got a round trip for $65.50US. Apparently there are even better deals if you go to the counter in person. The bus is $35US each way and is an overnight bus each way. I think 12 hours and it goes to towns that aren’t even as cool as Colonia. The ferry is by far the better option IMHO.

The subway here is nice and convenient and pretty easy to traverse. Depending on which station you go to you may have to search to be able to obtain a card to put credits on. The first two times I tried to enter I was turned away at the booth when I tried to purchase trips because I didn’t already have a card. I think some stores sell them on the street; I still haven’t figured it all out on that front.

The Ferry to Colonial del Sacramento Uruguay: there are two companies. I checked all the deal sites and the cheapest round trip was $84US. I went directly to the companies site www.colonialexpress.com and got a round trip for $65.50US. The bus is $35US each way and is an overnight bus each way. The ferry is by far the better option.

Eats

Mundo: stopped in for a hot chocolate and some flan. The flan came with a side of canela. A strong dessert game. Has both indoor and outdoor seating a nice place to take a coffee. Fast friendly service. Don’t remember the price, however it wasn’t crazy.

El Stablo: steakhouse that came highly recommended by some very experienced reviewers on yelp. It appears yelp is fairly new in this area; however I find it easier to use and more accurate than TripAdvisor. One comment was that it was better than Don Julio’s. (Which is supposedly the standard for comparison here in BA. I later found out he got famous for a single cut of steak that he apparently uses the Sous-Vide method for cooking to keep it tender and flavorful). Now I haven’t been to Don Julio’s. It’s supposed to be the best. The atmosphere was quite nice with a big wooden carved bar with a few tables packed in around it with big picturesque windows with curtains covering the bottom half. Waiters were all dressed nice and almost in a cliche way of a steak restaurant of this sort. I got a little excited as I sat down at one of the only tables left open. I ordered a nice wine and took the waiters recommendation on the appetizer, salad, and steak. The appetizer was beef tongue in vinaigrette with chopped pickled veggies. It was quite tasty and came in a large portion almost too large for 1 person. I had ordered the smaller salad with fresh palm hearts. It also was really good and I think the freshest palm hearts I can remember ever tasting. I didn’t get 1/4 through my salad when the steak was brought out. I really don’t care for nice restaurants that either are oblivious to when to put in the main course or are trying to rush you out the door. However, it didn’t seem like they were trying to rush me it’s just how it’s done in BA. Other than this fact the service was impeccable. So, I put my salad aside and dug into the steak. It was tasty, tender and cooked just how I ordered it. However, the flavor was average at best. I had stayed in for dinner the night before at the hostel. One of the owners came and did an Argentinian BBQ for us for 300 pesos. (Described in detail above) It was a 5 course meal with 4 of them being meat. That dinner blew this one out of the water and needless to say it was a bit more expensive almost 6 times more expensive. There was a lot on the menu I didn’t try and the place was packed on a Tuesday night I’m sure for a good reason; my experience was just average though. Whole 3 course meal with a full bottle of nice wine $1700AP

Bocanada: fantastic empanadas I had the classic beef and the cheese and onion. Had a takeout deal for 2 empanadas and a drink for $125AP pesos. I made the block to get one more round they were so tasty.

Pizzeria Guerrin: a bustling pizza joint that seems to be constantly slammed serving slices as fast as they can rotate in the door. I recommend the neopolitana and the mozzarella. The onion one didn’t come with sauce. Kind of weird. There’s always a line however it moves fast as some sit and eat and others stand around the big bar and eat then leave. Just a face paced good snack or entire lunch. 2-3 slices should fill you up. 3 slices came to $148

Pani: stopped in for a coffee and dessert. Had the cappuccino and the Floriquita dessert. The slice of cake was HUGE, really rich and delicious. I couldn’t even finish my portion despite it being absolutely delicious. Nice atmosphere with plenty of tables and seating with prompt friendly service and big picturesque windows. Looks like the women love this place as there was hardly a seat open for what seemed like table after table of women sitting and chatting. They have a full food menu that looked appealing; just wasn’t ready for another full meal just yet. I recommend this place on San Martin if you’re in the neighborhood. Cappuccino ran about $120 and the pie set me back $300.

Old Beijing: wow! What can I say the reviews and the food did not disappoint. They actually had hot and sour soup that tasted good. First, you never see that on a menu out here and 2nd if you so it’s a weak attempt. I’m not saying it’s the best I ever had; however it was a good attempt and they brought me a quite sizable bowl. I think it could have easily been shared between 4 people. The place is small maybe 9 tables and seemed to be run by an elderly Asian couple. Sweet as can be and she cooked up a heck of a kung pao Chicken. The best Asian food I’ve had since I left the states. Easily a 5 star rating by any standards. If you’re in the mood for Chinese food I’d aim to get over to Old Beijing. Huge bowl of soup, main course with rice $700 pesos.

Bar Du Marchè: I tried the following wines here. Krontiras (organic Malbec) mild and smooth Bodegas Krontiras, Mendoza; padrillos fruity and a little dry. (Pinot noir Ernesto Catena Vineyards, Mendoza) Amalaya Rosado de Malbec-Torrontes (Bodega Amalaya, Salta) a house blend. Ordered the menu del dia ($320 pesos) which came with a spinach soup, small salad, a main course, a glass of wine and a dessert or expresso. Quite the deal for the fancy atmosphere they had to off. The soup was quite hearty and delicious just what I was looking for coming in out of the brisk BA air. The main course was an egg tart with tomatoes with a lettuce salad. The tart needed some salt; was fine after that. And it came with a small glass of the house wine Amalaya. All quite tasty with a very pleasant atmosphere with large tall windows on a charming street corner in Palermo. The extra glasses of wine were $150 pesos each. Sitting from my seat I spotted a sign a block away that said ‘wine bar’ which oddly enough I had looked for, expected and yet had not found yet in Argentina. Needless to say, I went straight there and sampled some of Argentina’s finest.

Salumeria Wine Bar very nice place tucked away on a charming street lined with lots of trees I have to imagine would be a little prettier without all the leaves missing in winter. What can I say, I ordered samples 7 to be exact then finished with a glass of my two favorites. Went ahead and ordered a cheese plate because what’s a wine tasting afternoon for if you can’t indulge a little. The Argentinian wines were cheap 30-45AP for a sample. The Chilean wines jumped in price to 150AP per sample. Needless to say it was a fantastic afternoon. I won’t bore you here with my simplistic wine descriptions. Just go and try for yourself.

Parrilla Peña: I decided to get one more steak before leaving BA. This place has a $$ rating with 4.5 star rating on yelp with great reviews. So did El Stablo though! Anyway I had a good feeling about the place so I hopped on the subway to traverse the mile to the place. Normally I’d walk and take in some more of the city, but I’m leaving the next day and still had some cash left on the old subway card. I arrived around 2pm on a Saturday. Downstairs dining was completely packed. They directed me to one of the 3 upstairs dining rooms. It too was pretty crowded however they found a table for me. Miguel was my waiter and immediately handed me a menu and offered his recommendations. There was already bread on every table. I ordered a house salad, a half bottle of wine and the ribeye. Service here was extremely fast and efficient. Promptly I was brought a starter empanada that apparently comes with every order a side of red chimichurri and some cut up onions, carrots, and bell peppers in an oil and vinegar sauce. Both went quite well with the absolutely delicious empanada. I’m not sure what it was filled with yet if the salad and steak hadn’t come out so fast I would have asked for 5 more. Wow, the dough was perfect as well. Anyway, the salad was onion, tomato and arugula with salt, oil, and a touch of balsamic vinegar. I saw Miguel doctor it up right next to me at his station. It was a lot of salad and only added $180AP to the bill. Again, just as at El Stablo the steak and fries come rushing out after just a few bites of salad. This time I finished a good portion of the salad first as it was quite tasty then dug into the steak. It was seared well and cooked just to order and was a hefty portion and very tender and juicy. I found it a little bland; so I added a few heaping tablespoons of the left over chimichurri sauce and it made everything perfect. A very pleasant experience overall and I would highly recommend a visit here especially for the reasonable price and high quality; that is compared to some other choices in town. $1050AP before tip.

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