30 Days in Buenos Aires

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2009-09-03T02:35:00.001-03:00

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2009-09-03T02:35:00.000-03:00

http://30daysinba.wordpress.com/

Please use this link as we are no longer posting to this blog.

Day 6 - Best Day of Angela's Life

2009-08-31T22:02:00.007-03:00

I read on the website whatsupbuenosaires.com about a local designer in Palermo having a super liquidation to clear room in her showroom for the launch of her new line. We decided to go check it out since Angela felt she hadn’t scored any great deals yet. The address on the site was wrong (and as we found out later the studio didn’t have a sign and it seemed to be a mostly residential area) so we thought it was a bust. We decided to go grab a bite to eat at a little French restaurant called Oui Oui in Palermo Hollywood. The name “Hollywood” comes from the many film studios on this side of the barrio. Oui Oui was is a small French (obviously) spot that has become one of the most popular breakfast and lunch destinations in town. Angela got vegetarian sandwich with humus, brie, sun dried tomatoes, lettuce and a mystery green vegetable that resembled a hybrid between a cucumber and squash. I had a smoked salmon sandwich with cream cheese. We both had papas fritas on the side. We don’t want to go as far as to say these were the best fries we’ve ever had (especially since we made that comment at Don Julio a few nights before) but we’ve never had fries any better than these. The same can be said about the homemade lemonade served with tiny chunks of parsley (or something).

After lunch we decided to take another stab at finding the local designer. We used the iPhone at Oui Oui to find the correct address and we cabbed it there. When we showed up, though, it appeared we were at a small food market, but there was what looked like an apartment building above the market. We rang the bell, and down the stairs came Maria Lizaso, the designer herself. From what we’ve gathered, Maria is a really up anc coming designer and has her clothes all over Buenos Aires, Madrid, New York City and most recently Seattle. We got up to the studio and clothes started flying off the racks and into the fitting room. Jackets, skirts, dresses, hats, shirts you name it. Angela loved all of the clothes and even more so, how everything fit perfectly. Since this was a super liquidation, the prices were extremely low. Items that were typically $150 were on sale for $12.50. When all was said and done, Angela picked up 12 awesome items for about $150 and was describing today as the best day of her life. We gave Maria our email address and she said she would invite us to her launch in a few weeks. We hope to hear from her.

We rushed back home so Angela could change into her new shirt and then cabbed to the Museo Nacional De Bellas Artes in Recoleta. This museum boasts the world’s largest collection of Argentine art and a total of 24 ground-floor galleries of European and American art. Among the world famous artists with original work inside of the museum are Picasso, Pollock, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Rembrandt and Van Gogh. Simply amazing. Unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures so you’ll just have to imagine how beautiful this collection is.

After the museum we stopped by the Basilica Nuestra Senora del Pilar. Whereas the rich get buried at the Recoleta Cemetery, they get married and hold other ceremonies right next store at this gorgeous facility. We snapped a few pics and headed down the road. Our plan was to do a wine tasting at Grand Cru, but it was closed so we settled on an early dinner at Duhau Restaurant and Vinoteca at the Grand Hyatt Resort. To our surprise, this is a full-on five star restaurant so we felt a bit underdressed. Nonetheless, we took our eat in the scenic courtyard. Since it was early, we decided on the wine and cheese tasting instead of a full dinner. We chose two malbecs and a syrah, all from Mendoza, Argentina. We were served four cheeses which ranged from mild to extremely intense. Everything was picture perfect from the wine to the cheese, service and ambience of the restaurant. After over two hours of enjoying the delicious wine and cheese, and for once not feeling overly indulged, we decided it was a perfect end to the day and walked home.

Day 5 - Palermo Part Deux

2009-08-31T21:12:00.006-03:00

One activity we didn’t get a chance to do yesterday was go to the Buenos Aires Zoo. Combined with the fact that Felix forgot to take the sensor off of my new shirt which warranted a return trip, we decided to go back to Palermo Viejo. With another 75 degree plus winter day on our hands, we decided to take the quick cab instead of walk. The zoo is quite a bit different than any we’ve been to in the U.S., most notably because of the unique architecture for a zoo and the skyline surrounding the zoo walls. Also, it was impossible not to notice the huge water rats the roamed freely around the entire zoo. After strolling through the zoo, we grabbed a “choripan” from a street vendor on the way out. We’d heard a lot about these and were glad to finally have a taste. An Argentine choripan is a sausage made out of beef and pork, hot off the grill, split down the middle and served on a roll. We added the legendary sauce chimichurri and it was afternoon snack.

Choripan in hand, we walked to the huge local park - Parque Tres de Febrero - where we took in the great scenery and giant rose garden (although being winter they were not in bloom). After our leisurely stroll, we walked back to the shopping district. After exchanging the shirt at Felix, I bought a t-shirt at a small boutique called Antique Denim. We then stopped into the cafe, CLUNY, for a mid afternoon snack (which is a Buenos Aires staple) of ham croissants and coffee.

After CLUNY we headed back home because we had some laundry to attend to. Instead, we got lazy, turned on some It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and instead of hitting another parilla as planned we settled on some late night Mickey D’s before calling it a night.

Day 4 - Palermo Soho

2009-08-31T18:24:00.019-03:00

Knowing I had to find some shopping for Angela - and fast - we headed to the Palermo barrio on Thursday. Palermo is the cities largest barrio and subdivided into various unofficial districts, each with its own distinct flavor. This day, we focused in on Palermo Viejo, popular for its high end boutiques, eateries and cobbled streets. After about a 25 minute walk on this 75 degree day, we arrived at a little restaurant called Mark’s Deli. The wait was about 15 minutes so we put our name in and strolled down one of the many cobbled streets known for its shopping. It only took Angela one store - Doma - and about 5 minutes to find a leather jacket that she had to have. After the purchase, we headed back to Mark’s for our meal. I had a chicken sandwich with guacamole, which was the perfect contrast to all the heavy meals I had been having. Angela went with a tuna salad with spinach, iceberg lettuce and spring greens, cheese, cherry tomatoes and green olives. This was a very good lunch and the restaurant was very busy providing top-notch people watching. After lunch, we popped into a few more stores, including Chocolate, where Angela picked up a dress and a top.

After we finished shopping, we made a ten minute walk to Museo Evita, the museum celebrating the life of Eva Duarte de Peron, or Evita. The museum is set in a gray-stone mansion from 1909 that was converted into a home for single mothers by Evita’s foundation. The museum took us through Evita’s humble origins as a struggling actress, to footage of her powerful speeches in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans, to her death at 33 years old. It also chronicles the fate of her body after her death, which was stolen and hidden for 17 years before being returned to Argentina and laid to rest in the Recoleta Cemetery. A highlight, especially for Angela, were the original designer outfits worn by Evita that were on display.

After we walked through the Evita Museum, we headed further north to the Jardin Botanico Carlos Thays, a botanical garden with 18 acres of gardens and 5,500 varieties of exotic and local flora. After spending about an hour winding through the maze of this garden, we headed back towards the central shopping/restaurant/bar area for a drink. We decided to pop into a bar with high reviews called Bar 6. We were immediately impressed by the stone, wood and glass decor. We each had two mojitos - they were above average which is saying something for a mojito - and asked for our bill. There must have been a language barrier because we received our bill, with another mojito each. We gladly drank them down, paid the tab, and headed out for some more shopping. I found a shirt at a cool shop called Felix, then we decided to get a quick bite and another drink.

We stopped into a cafe called Mama Macha. Instead of another alcoholic drink, we noticed yerba mate on the menu and decided to give it a try. Mate is a strong tea made from the dried leaves of Ilex paraguariensis, known as yerba. It’s drunk from a gourd (or mate) through a metal, filtered straw. It is made up of caffeine, vitamins B, C, E, B1, B2, B3, B5 and B complex with antioxidant properties equal to that of green tea. Mate serves as the basis for social interaction and people drink it at any hour of the day. Aside from wine, it is the most popular drink in the country of Argentina, and we were glad to give it a try since we’d heard so much about it. The waitress was nice enough to walk us through exactly how to drink it. After about 25 minutes of back and forth drinking - which is the custom - we were done and ready to move on to the next stop.

We arrived at the Don Julio parilla around 10:00, which is a more ideal time for a meal in Buenos Aires. Although the restaurant was packed, we were able to get right in. Don Julio is known around the city as a high quality parilla at an extremely low price, and that description was right on the money. We started out, of course, with an order of provoleta. Out of the three provoleta’s we’ve had up to this point, the Don Julio version was the best. Although parilla’s have many options on the menu, Angela and I both ordered the bife de chorizo for our entree. We both ordered the “thin” version of the steak and were amused that this was still as thick as any steak we’ve had in the U.S. I’ve had the opportunity to eat steaks at many of the top steakhouses in the country, and none of them are any better than what we had at Don Julio. Based on reputation of other steakhouses, I imagine we’ll have a better steak yet before our trip is over, but this was our best dinner yet and as good as any steak I’ve ever had. The fries, as they have been at every restaurant, were delicious as well. After finishing our bottle of Malbec, we grabbed a cab, again too full to do anything other but go home.

Day 3 - Crossing the Widest Avenue on Earth

2009-08-31T12:56:00.007-03:00

We spent our third day in the Microcentro barrio, known as the central business hub in Buenos Aires and famous for its Plaza de Mayo, where many political speeches - and protests - have been made. We started the day be checking out a plaza whose name slips our minds and apparently that of our guide books. From there, we circled the world famous Teatro Colon. This theatre is regarded as one of the top 5 opera houses due to its magnitude, acoustics and architectural excellence. Unfortunately, the building is under construction for another several months so we were not able to do the tour or gain a full appreciation of this building. Nonetheless, it was still spectacular looking and worth the visit.

From the theatre, we crossed Avenida 9 de Julio, which is the world’s widest avenue. It took three street lights to cross, but in the middle of crossing we were able to view and snap a photo of El Obelisco, which was built in 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Buenos Aire’s founding. After finally crossing Julio, we tucked into the popular business lunch cafe, the French styled Brasserie Berry. Here we experienced a classic Buenos Aires lunch, which is a standard three-course meal on a set-price, always static menu. I had a perfectly done, thinly cut steak and Angela had a quiche that she described as the richest and best quiche she’d ever had. We were also served coffee and had ice cream and chocolate mousse for dessert. Total price about $14USD.

After settling our tab at Brasserie Berry, we fled by foot to the pedestrian street Florida that crosses right through the middle of Microcentro. This street is filled with boutique shopping, restaurants, street vendors, bookstores and two shopping malls in buildings from the 1800’s. We stopped into the beautiful Galerias Pacifico to do some shopping and site-seeing, but didn’t purchase anything. I made a few purchases at the local stores along Florida, which did nothing to slow Angela’s concern that she was yet to find any clothes for herself.

After a few hours on Florida, we cabbed back to the area surrounding our apartment, deciding to save Plaza de Mayo and everything that comes with it for another day. We decided to stay local for dinner at a restaurant called Duero. Duero is a fine bar, cafe and proper restaurant all in one. We both had a cheese and onion empanada as our appetizer, which was the first time either of us had tried this delicious treat. We ordered a bottle of malbec along with our dinner, where I had another mozzarella pizza and Angela had the ricotta filled ravioli covered in alfredo sauce with diced pieces of fried ham, two slices of crispy bacon layered on top, and freshly shredded parmesan-reggiano sprinkled all over the top. Healthy. Either way, it was another fantastic meal and Angela had discovered another dish that proves bacon makes any meal better. For the third night in a row, we were both so full we could barely walk, so we called it a night.

Day 2 - A Cemetery as an Architectural Phenomenon

2009-08-31T12:15:00.006-03:00

We decided to spend our first full day in the barrio (neighborhood) of Recoleta. Recoleta is of French architecture style and known for its squares, parks, cafes, galleries, restaurants and the aforementioned architecture. It is often referred to as the “Paris of the Americas.” The first thing we noticed when we got to this area was indeed the architecture. We are finding that this city and its people have much more in common with that of the Europeans than of other Latin America countries. Our first stop was the Cafe Monet where we both had a cafe and ham and cheese sandwich.

With food in our bellies, we wandered to La Recoleta Cemetery. La Recoleta is a famous cemetery designed by a French engineer in 1822 and remodeled in 1881 by an Italian architecht. It includes graves of some of the most influential and important Argentinians, including presidents, doctors, artists and wealthy business people. Eva Peron (Evita) is the most well-known person buried in this cemetery.

All of our guidebooks ranked the cemetery at or near the top of their “must see” lists, so we wanted to do this early in our trip to see how a cemetery could be such a great site. It didn’t disappoint as we both rank this as one of the most interesting and beautiful sites we’ve ever been to. The cemetery contains many elaborate marble mausoleums, decorated with statues, in a wide variety of architectural styles. The entire cemetery is laid out in sections like city blocks, with wide tree-lined main walkways branching into sidewalks filled with mausoleums. We spent about three hours in the cemetery and snapped over 100 pictures.

After the cemetery, we stayed in the area and went to Buller Brewery. This is the only brewery in Buenos Aires and gaining a lot of popularity. We sat outside on a 75 degree winter day and both ordered the beer sampler with our meals. The sampler consisted of a light lager, hefeweizen, honey beer, oktoberfest, IPA and dry stout. We both agreed the oktoberfest was the best and ordered an additional dollar pint. The food was solid as well - Angela had a nicely prepared caprese salad and I had a chicken panini.

After Buller, we decided to hit the streets to do some shopping and site-seeing. Avenida Alvear and Calle de Presidente Quintana are two parallel streets in the area lined with designer shops, more restaurants and some of the most posh hotels in the city - all in very French-influenced buildings. We stopped into several shops and I made purchases at bensimon and Old Bridge. Along Avenida Alvear, we also stopped into the Rubbers art gallery. Xul Solar, Berni and Spilimbergo are among the artists that have their work here.

To round out our day, we ate dinner at another parilla, this one called Clarks. Again we ordered provoleta for our appetizer and it was even better than the night before. We both ordered steaks but this time we both had the bife de chorizo. The steaks were huge and very good, but we left Clarks knowing still we would eat better steaks as the trip went along. Paired with another great bottle of Malbec, this meal totaled about $50.

Day 1 - Introduction to the 4 Food Groups (Meat, Cheese, Wine, Coffee)

2009-08-31T10:35:00.007-03:00

We’re finally here! Our plane landed at the Ezeiza airport around 7:30 am after a ten hour redeye from Atlanta. We flew to Atlanta from Seattle the morning before (about 5 hour flight time) so, needless to say, we were pretty gassed when we arrived. We both tried to sleep the entire flight but even with the help of some melatonin and Advil PM, we combined for about two hours of sleep. The plan for day 1 was to lay low which is more or less what we did.

We cabbed to our apartment on the famous Avenida de Santa Fe and arrived around 9:00. There we met our agent, Emmy. Emmy is from the company enjoyingba.com. We booked the apartment through them a few months ago and were very satisfied with the results and the service. The apartment was just as described and in a centralized area of town. The only thing we would have done differently is that we would have waited until we got here to book an apartment as the prices would be much lower. Still, at $38 per night for a fully furnished apartment, we can’t complain.

After check in, we walked down the street to Cafe Anchorena. Cafe’s are an integral part of the Buenos Aires culture, so we intend to try as many as possible while we’re here. We both ordered pizza and a cafe. The cafe (coffee) here is more like an espresso and is a part of most meals in Buenos Aires. Angela had a blue cheese pizza and I had a mozzarella, which is one of the specialties in town.

After a nap we felt somewhat reenergized. Our local grocery store, the Disco, is right across the street, so we went there for a few essentials - toilet paper, deodorant, shampoo, laundry detergent and three bottles of local malbec. I was delighted to see that the most expensive bottle of Malbec was about $20 and there were actually 2009 bottles on the rack for about 99 cents. Probably want to stay away from those...

After the grocery store, we decided on an early dinner. Dinner in Buenos Aires is late, usually somewhere between 10:00 and midnight. We went around 8:30 and as expected we were basically the only people in the restaurant (this is also on a Monday at a restaurant that was fairly mediocre). The restaurant of choice was La Payuca, which is right down the street from our apartment. Our expectation was that the meal itself would be pretty average, which is what it was. It did, however, provide a few memorable experiences.

First off, its worth mentioning that La Payuca is a “parilla” style restaurant. A parilla is essentially an Argentine barbecue, and these restaurants are on pretty much every street of Buenos Aires. Argentina’s meat is some of the best in the world, and cooked this way - over a charcoal or wood fired grill - the flavor is very simple and natural. Angela went with the bife de lomo, which is like a tenderloin, and I had the bife de chorizo which is like a sirloin. The steak was delicious, but not the best we’d ever had. Based on what we’ve read about the steaks here, we intend to eat the best steak we’ve ever had during this trip. The meat was good enough, however, that we immediately decided we needed to eat at as many parilla’s as possible. Our appetizer for this meal was “provoleta.” This was the first time either of us had provoleta and we were both instant fans. It is basically barbecued provolone cheese and can be made in a variety of ways (olive oil, basil, tomato sauce, other herbs and spices, red pepper flakes, etc.). I immediately proclaimed it to be my new favorite food. I was posed with the age-old question a few weeks ago, “If you were in a situation where you could only have one more meal in your lifetime, what would it be?” I didn’t have a great answer. I went with pizza by default. That answer is now provoleta. All in all, the dinner was solid by any standards but not great. The service was average and the food was good but we know we’ll have better. Provoleta was the standout. For provoleta, two giant steaks, fries and a bottle of "La Linda" Malbec, the total price was about $40. Time for bed so we can have a full Buenos Aires day tomorrow!