Cafe de la Ciudad, Corrientes con Carlos Pellegrini
When I’ve been travelling for a while, I sometimes just want to know where I can find good, solid grub! Therefore, this week, I’m suggesting Café de la Ciudad, 900 Avenida Corrientes (on the corner of Carlos Pellegrini opposite the obelisk). It may not be the fanciest restaurant in town, but it serves great chips (hard to find anywhere, in my opinion!), an excellent selection of coffees (including little alcoholic numbers) and is topped with a service and presentation that would be hard to beat.
The individual pizzas, which cost around AR$18 are perfectly cooked. I’ve tried the classic ham and pineapple and was pleasantly surprised to see whole rings of pineapple as part of my meal, with a few sneaky olives for decoration. Good old egg and chips (a British favourite) is also on the menu for roughly the same price and we all know how difficult it is to prepare a good fried egg. Dipping the best chips I’ve tasted in BA into the perfectly cooked yoke was a real treat, I can tell you yourself, to pour the amount of chocolate you want (not to mention the complimentary side serving of sweet biscuits), was a real treat. I felt like a queen. And when I ordered the chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream, I was heartily impressed to be served not only TWO brownies (with just the right level of chocolatey devilishness) and very creamy vanilla ice-cream, but fresh strawberries and four sweet wafers as decoration as well…. Everyone likes a freebie, don’t they!
One thing to bear in mind though… be careful of paying too much heed to their translations. The ‘Flan Casero’ is translated to ‘crème brulee’ on the menu and crème brulee it certainly is not. It is a simple house flan and was therefore swiftly returned with a disappointing look. However, if a poor translation is the only thing I’ve got to complain about, you can be rest assured that to dine at Café de la Ciudad puts you on to a winner from the start!
Most importantly though, Café de la Ciudad has become one of my favourite places because it is a place where you can catch up with old friends, enjoy an indepth conversation with your travel buddy in peace, sit on your own and watch the world go by or feed an unbeatable hunger at the end of a night out on the town. Last week, my friend and I managed to while away seven beautiful hours. We drank coffee, snacked and put the world to rights. The next morning I realised that seven hours is actually a full day’s work for most people and I was amazed at how the time had flown. Equally, I was amazed that we were able to stay in the restaurant until 5.30am, especially when the waiter had already told us that the restaurant closed at 5am. We were not once asked to hurry up, to pay our bill and get out. In fact, two other girls were allowed to come in and order at 4.59am (and that’s not an exaggeration! They were still supping coffee when we left!) The atmosphere was very relaxed and the food (as I have now been back a further three times) is always excellent. Who would have thought that a place so good could be found in the middle of BA’s central hub, amongst the tack and the over-priced tourist traps? I was certainly surprised.
Monday 4th May 2009
La Continental: Empanadas, Empanadas, Empanadas!
Ok, so last week I picked out the late-night opening ‘Café de la Cuidad’ hot spot for its great coffees, excellent service and added freebies with many of the dishes. I have to say it’s still a favourite of mine and popping by to say hello to the staff is always a pleasant thing to do to get out of the whirlind that is the microcentre for a while. However, this week, I decided to go on the hunt for the best empanadas.
Empanadas are not just an important part of the staple fast-food diet here in BA, but in South America as a whole. For this reason, I decided to do a little research and have spent the week annoyingly procuring the opinions of born and bred porteños on the subject. It would have been far too easy to simply eat lots of empanadas and make the decision myself. So I decided to approach the subject more objectively.
The winning empanadas, after much questioning, deliberation and enthusiasm on the part of all the porteños I’ve spoken to are sold at any of the La Continental outlets (of which there are many) in the city. They received the top vote for taste, price and variety. Therefore, get yourself over to one of these spots and try one for yourself. The interesting thing to note about this chain of restaurants (two outlets are listed below for your convenience) is that most people I have spoken to have said that the majority of the food on offer is less than appetising. Apparently, if it weren’t for the empanadas (of which, the meat variety get the winning vote) La Continental would surely lose a lot of custom. Again, my suggested food spot this week is not one of all-round excellence or of top-notch wow factor, but one of simple tastes. If you’re looking for an empanada to eat on the run, this is the place to go to and it’s nothing more than that.
By all means, write in to me at buenosairesclubhouse@gmail.com to share your own thoughts on the subject. Having lived in South America for a year, I know how important the topic of empanadas really is and so I welcome your thoughts with open arms!
Enjoy!
Monday 11th May 2009
Give me the Meat!
O.k. I've recommended late night hot spots for whiling the hours away with a good friend, I've recommended top-notch Argentine snacks on the go and this week I've decided to go really traditional. Yes, I'm talking about one of the main attractions of Argentina in general..... the meat!
Frequently, we are asked where the best places are to go for a steak that is going to blow your mind, without blowing a hole in your pocket. Therefore, I am this week suggesting TWO places in which to dine. Both parilla restaurants serve great cuts of steak (it's generally recommended that you stay away from the 'lomo' cut as it can be thicker and therefore a little tougher wherever you go) and both are guaranteed to satisfy even the hardcore carnivores out there.
I recommend TWO restaurants to you as one is a little pricier than the other and perhaps offers a little more of the finery and adornments with each plate that make for a very special evening, including a variety of side dishes and sauces to bring out the flavours of the meat. Therefore, you can take your pick of the two as, and I have to repeat quite clearly here, that the quality of the meat is very high in both restaurants. The first (and pricier option of the two) is La Cabrera, located on Cabrera 5099 in Palermo. The second, slightly cheaper option, is called Las Cholas, located on Arce 306 in Las Canitas, which also has a vast selection of very reasonably priced wines..... has to be worth a visit!
In La Cabrera, it is advisable to share a plate between two, as there is no skimping on the portions in this place. Or, if you're anything like me, you'll order your own plate and then ask to carry the huge amount of meat that you simply cannot eat home in a box to snack on for the following week to come! And let me say that if you're not really a big red meat fan (should I really even utter those words in Argentina?!) there are some excellent chicken dishes to choose from too. In La Cabrera, the chicken with orange and vodka is always a dish that strikes out at me from the menu; the flavours sound weird but wonderful and if there's anyone out there that takes the time to try it, I'd love to here back from you!
Both restaurants can be found easily on the net through google and then you can book a table ahead of schedule if you want to be sure of a seat. However, Argentines never start dining before about 10pm anyway and so if you're someone who, like me, still has to eat at a reasonable hour, you're not going to have any problems securing a quiet little spot in either of the two.
Enjoy!
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