Post Tagged with: "buenos aires restaurant"

Casa Saltshaker :: Puerta Cerrada

Casa Saltshaker :: Puerta Cerrada

When we learned that our friend Jenn was coming to visit for our last 10 days in BA, we decided a perfect way to celebrate would be by taking her to a closed door restaurant! Jenn’s very into food, so what better experience than this uniquely Buenos Aires phenomenon. One closed door that kept popping up on my radar was Casa Saltshaker: the closed door restaurant in home of food blogger Dan Perlman (aka Saltshaker).

Casa Saltshaker

Dan’s home—Casa Saltshaker—in Recoleta is beautiful. Dim lighting, low ceilings, bookshelves filled with books and a large number of wine bottles make it a lovely space. Dan opens his home to 10 people, three days a week, for a 5-course meal, making it much more like an intimate dinner party with interesting strangers than either Casa Mun or Cocina Sunae. (Casa Mun feels like a very large dinner party—three tables of ten—and Cocina Sunae is run like a restaurant.) Casa Saltshaker is actually a dinner party in Dan’s dining room, which is what we expected a closed door restaurant to feel like, so he gets bonus points for that!

The demographic at Casa Saltshaker was very different than that at Casa Mun. Each guest at Casa Saltshaker was a traveller or a short-term expat. It was also an older demographic. That being said, I’ve come to realize that the kinds of people that end up at closed door restaurants are very interesting. And I loved the older demographic—so many interesting stories.

Dan himself is an excellent host, he explains each dish and wine pairing in the perfect amount of detail, and he is happy to share interesting stories about life in Argentina.

The Food


Unfortunately, I found food at Casa Saltshaker a bit disappointing.

  1. Stuffed peppers with potatoes, pancetta and shallots. The flavours in the first dish were quite tasty, and I enjoyed the sparkling wine pairing (Schroeder Rose de los Vientos).
  2. Tomato soup with white eggplant and chickpeas. The flavours in the soup were … good. But that’s it. Just good. There was not a lot of depth to this soup. It was paired with a Graffinga Pinto Grigio Reserva. A nice, if simple, white.
  3. Semolina gnocchi with mushrooms. This dish that quite tasty, restaurant quality, in fact—the homemade gnocchi was delicious, the mushrooms were a taste for lonely tastebuds (there aren’t mushrooms in Argentine cuisine) and it was paired with a tasty Syrah Rose from Las Moras.
  4. Lamb and pork terrine, with a cauliflower puree. While I loved the delicious puree [ed. Jenn's favourite component, all night], I found that the terrine lacked depth and was a bit too dry. Once again, it was just good. This dish was paired with my favourite wine of the night, a 2009 Don David Syrah.
  5. Oreo’s centenary. The dessert (an alfajor-like concoction of two chocolate cakes(?) cookies(?) with a vanilla fudge inside and roasted strawberries) was intended to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the oreo. My mom told me if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. So I’ll leave it at that. The dessert wine, on the other hand, was one of very few dessert wines I actually enjoy. It was a 2009 Late Harvest San Felipe.

The Bottom Line

Casa Saltshaker, three days a week, by reservation only, cash or paypal. 5 course dinner with wine pairings, 230 pesos (55 USD).

Whether or not I would recommend Casa Saltshaker would really depend on who I was recommending it to. A foodie? No. Someone less interested in food, but wanting a unique (and fun!) experience with good wine, a dinner, and the chance to meet some very interesting people? Probably. But if you only had one opportunity to go to a closed door restaurant, I’d hit up Casa Mun.

April 9, 2012 0 comments Read More
Cocina Sunae :: Closed Door

Cocina Sunae :: Closed Door

After our awesome experience at Casa Mun, we were keen to try even more closed door restaurants. We had heard lots of great (not just good) things about Cocina Sunae so decided to celebrate our 8-year date-iversary there.

Cocina Sunae


Unlike some other closed door restaurants, Sunae (a New York transplant) and her Argentine husband Franco’s puerta cerrada is run more like a restaurant where you arrive on your own schedule (as long as it is after 9) and dine at private tables. Immediately upon entering you see an awesome-sauce patio with a handful of tables as well as an inside dining room with several more tables. Since it was still quite warm when we arrived (shortly after 9pm) we opted to sit on the oh-so-atmospheric patio. Note to blog readers – bring a jacket so you can sit on the patio!

The Food


Cocina Sunae offers at 4 course set menu without wine pairings. Instead you select wine and/or drinks independently (again, more like a restaurant). Once you’re settled in and are relaxing over your first glass of wine, the first course arrives.

The weekend we visited, the first course was Lumpia Fresca, Phillipino ube crepes filled with vegetables and served with a spicy tamarind and peanut sauce. Though the sauce wasn’t all that spicy, the flavours were complex and delicious. The crepes were tasty and filled with vegetables that were cooked to perfection.

We needn’t have worried about the spice.

Next up we were served Laab, spicy chicken lettuce wraps tossed with fresh mint leaves, cilantro, crush roasted rice and citric dressing. I’m a bit of a tough judge on lettuce wraps, because I really, really, really love them. I mean seriously, they are like asian tacos. Asian tacos people. Not much gets better than that. These lettuce wraps weren’t quite “spicy” on their own, but Sunae brought out her homemade sriracha sauce (made from chilies from her own rooftop garden) and oh.my.god. Was it ever delicious. And spicy. So spicy that our mouths were burning. And while we may have gone a bit overboard on the sriracha, it was a perfect compliment to the lime-y, cliantro-y lettuce wraps. This dish was a big hit for me.

Sunae always offers two choices for her main course, and clearly the hubs and I were going to try them both.

The hubs dish: Pho, if you don’t know pho (pronounced, somewhat awkwardly, as fuh) it is Vietnamese noodle soup: rice noodle in a beef broth, served with tenderloin slices, fresh herbs, shallots, bean sprouts, hoisin and homemade sriracha hot sauce. The hubs quite liked it, but didn’t find it to be a standout. Note that he is a bit of a harsh critic when it comes to pho, due to vast quantities consumed while working in Richmond.

I got the Gaeng Kiow Gung, better known in Canada as prawn green curry. At Cocina Sunae it is served with bamboo shoots, eggplant, coconut milk and basil. I loved the green curry (and it was really truly actually spicy!), and for the first time in my entire life I enjoyed eggplant. I think I have never before eaten properly cooked eggplant. It was delicious.

Finally, it was time for dessert. And on the menu, an ice cream tart: taro and green tea ice cream on a sesame seed cookie crust, topped with a fresh plums, mango and passion fruit. Taste explosion in my mouth. That is all.

The Bottom Line

Cocina Sunae, Colegiales/Chacarita, Buenos Aires (exact address given upon reservation).

At $130 pesos pp before wine (360 pesos ($85) for two including wine and tip) this meal stands out as one of the best value meals we’ve eaten in BA. The food is delicious (and the sriracha super spicy), the space is beautiful, the hosts are awesome. Go and eat there. You won’t regret it.

April 2, 2012 0 comments Read More
kaizen :: japanese/peruvian

kaizen :: japanese/peruvian

Last Saturday we spent the day in Tigre, which was amazing. I shot b&w film in Tigre, so you are going to have to wait for the images, but once they’re developed I will certainly share more!  By the time we got back to our apartment late Saturday evening, we were worn out. Shells of humans. And going for groceries or out to a restaurant held little appeal to either of us. Enter Buenos Aires Delivery. I’ve already told you all about how awesome Buenos Aires Delivery is, and I think that every city with an independent restaurant scene needs a similar site.

On Saturday night, I was feeling like ceviche while the hubs was feeling like pasta, so we met somewhat in the middle (ok, a little closer to my end of the spectrum) and landed on Kaizen – a Japanese/Peruvian place, for ceviche and yakisoba.

The Food

We ended up ordering four dishes: steamed gyoza, Mex (salmon and guacamole) rolls, chicken yakisoba, and ceviche. We polished it all off and were just a teensy bit hungry at the end of the meal. This is more likely due to the little lunch that we had, rather than the amount of dinner that we had.

Appetizers: The gyoza was not so good. It was very doughy, and the outside to inside ratio left something to be desired. I’d give it a miss next time. I actually quite liked the mex rolls, but that could be because of the generous amount of wasabi that was provided to us. Delicious, delicious spice! We inhaled the rolls. Seriously, inhaled them.

Yakisoba: Like most things in Argentina, the yakisoba was too salty. That being said, it was quite flavourful and they were generous with the chicken, which itself was moist and delicious. I would probably order it again.

White fish ceviche: This was where Kaizen really excelled. I thought the ceviche was excellent – it was not fishy at all, just limey-cilantroy goodness. They were a little skimpy on the sweet potato, but did top it with cancha, which gave it bonus points.

The Bottom Line

Kaizen Sushi, Guatemala 4665, Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires, Mon to Sat, 20-24. You can also order online via Buenos Aires Delivery, minimum 60 peso order.

For 150 pesos ($35) including tip, this was a steal of a deal, and I would certainly order in (or visit the restaurant) again.

March 30, 2012 0 comments Read More
Puerto Madero Carrito :: Choripan

Puerto Madero Carrito :: Choripan

On Friday, we decided to take our friend Ian to the ecological reserve in Puerto Madero. Buenos Aires is a city of contrasts and the ecological reserve in Puerto Madero is striking example of these.

If you are familiar with Yaletown, Puerto Madero is like Yaletown. If not – imagine modern, glassy, shiny, buildings. But, as usual, Buenos Aires is full of surprises and butting off Puerto Madero is a gigantic ecological reserve.

Open Tuesday to Sunday, the reserve is a great haven in the middle of the city. However, the paths are wide and there is not a lot of shade. We learned this the hard way – and all came back super burnt. And, in another surprising feature, fancy Puerto Madero, is home to several semi-permanent street food stands(called carritos). These are sort of like hot dog stands on steroids.

Parilla

Some clients had told me good things about the parilla at the corner of Calabria and Mignone, it might be called “Parilla Bandiola” – it’s always busy (it looks like it does a fair amount of cab driver business). You can recognize this one because of its semi-permanence (there is a small garden behind the stand), its separate papas fritas guy, and its neat tables made out of tree stumps.

You order your food (even your fries) from the cash register next to the parilla, then you get a number for your sandwiches and ticket to take to the fries guy for your fries.

The Food

Offering a very short menu of various grilled meat sandwiches, we all opted for the choripan (chorizo on a bun) and a cone of fries to share amongst the three of us.

The fries were, far and away, the best fries we have had in BA. They were thin cut, hot, crispy, and fresh.

The choripans were huge. The chorizo was delicious (albeit a bit greasy – but this is street meat), the fried onions were tasty, and the tomato and lettuce made it feel like you were eating something at least a bit healthy. The only disappointment for me was the bread. I may have got an old one, however, because the guys said their bread was ok. I ended up eating my choripan as a open faced sandwich, a good idea because it made it a bit more manageable!

The Bottom Line

Carrito at the corner of Calabria and Mignone, hours unknown, if it’s closed try one of the many others lined along Giralt/Rodriguez, pick it by the number of customers

3 of us ate a big, delicious, greasy lunch, with a 1.5L bottle of water and fries for 60 pesos ($15). Well worth it, but don’t do it every day for the sake of your arteries!

March 28, 2012 0 comments Read More
a manger :: tapas

a manger :: tapas

We walk down Malabia street in Palermo Soho several times a day. About a kilometre away from our apartment, at the corner of Malabia and Charcas is a Manger. A place that stops us in our tracks every time we walk by. On the Malabia side is a deli bursting at the seams with delicious looking mediterranean foods, on the Charcas side a tapas restaurant. It’s been on our list for months, but was only a couple of Fridays ago that we finally tried it out.

A Manger


The indoor section of this restaurant is quite small, and there are a handful of tables on the street. Inside features lots of wooden accents and is lined with wine bottles, outside features heavy wooden tables. Food is served on wooden plates, which is unique and kind of awesome. We were served quite quickly upon our arrival, but it took forever to get the server’s attention to order a coffee after the meal.

The Food

The menu is thick and everything therein sounds delicious. I’m not entirely sure what we were thinking when we ordered a picada and a greek salad. The picada featured some cheeses, olives, and prosciutto, but we were already ham and cheesed out when we ordered it. I found it quite disappointing. While the prosciutto and olives were good, the cheeses weren’t anything to write home about. I did appreciate the selection of breads, however.

The greek “salad” was a bowl full of sun dried tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese, which was not quite expected but was tasty.

After lunch (when we finally got her attention) we ordered a capuccino and a brownie. At 6.25 ($1.50) for the brownie, I didn’t have particularly high hopes, and I would say it met my expectations.

The Bottom Line

a Manger, Charcas 4001, Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires, Mon to Sat, 10 – 24.

I’m having a really hard time thinking of the “bottom line” here. I was quite disappointed with the restaurant, but truly it may have been user error. Why would I order something I wasn’t in the mood for? I would give them another try, if only for the sandwich menu, which looked delicious!

March 26, 2012 0 comments Read More
BA Verde :: Vegetarian Restaurant

BA Verde :: Vegetarian Restaurant

We heard about Buenos Aires Verde from one of the hubs’ veggie friends who spent some time in BA last year. Buenos Aires–the city of the parilla–is the not the most veggie-friendly (or health-nut friendly) city in the world. So, we were pretty excited to get a list of good, healthy, veggie options to try out when our arteries just needed a break from the meat and cheese.

One of the most exciting sounding restaurants on the list was Buenos Aires Verde, a Palermo Hollywood restaurant.

Buenos Aires Verde

From the street, Buenos Aires Verde is true to its name. The exterior is bright green, making it hard to miss, despite it’s small size! When you enter the restaurant, you are greeted by a delicious looking raw treats display case. We didn’t try any (since we were super full from lunch), but if I’m in the neighbourhood, I’ll be sure to pick one up. The small restaurant is full of brightly coloured, tightly packed tables, and there is a small health food grocery section.

The tables are adorned with purple japanese-style placemats and bright green wheatgrass centrepieces. The walls are full of chalkboards listing features from the menus in brightly coloured chalk.

The restaurant was medium-busy throughout our visit (a Thursday at around 1:00), and the service was decent.

The Food

Buenos Aires Verde features an extensive menu ranging from about 40-60 pesos for most dishes. It’s not a vegan restaurant – as most dishes feature cheese – but I think there are a handful of things on the menu that could fit the bill if you are a vegan. The first page print out lists the platos del dia, big healthy meals for 33 pesos. Now we’re talking!

Upon our arrival we were served a cold sweet tea (I loved it, it was too sweet for the hubs’ taste) and whole grain breads and hummus. I think I’ve mentioned before that the vast majority of the bread in BA is not great, this was a big exception to that rule. Moist, flavourful and delicious.

We ordered the butternut squash risotto and the super bagel, both from the platos del dia menu. I topped my meal off with a ginger lemonade (15 pesos) and the hubs had an apple almond-milk shake with a shot of wheatgrass on the side (27 pesos).

The butternut squash was rich and creamy and delicious, but watch out if you are on a diet, it was fairly heavy on the cheese. The super bagel featured roasted vegetables, and I’m pretty sure they were roasted in sugar. I found the sweetness overwhelmed all the other flavours, and wouldn’t order that again. That’s probably a taste thing though, the inherent sweetness in a roasted vegetable is about as sweet as I like my savoury foods. The bagel itself was whole grain, thin, not to dense, and tasty.

The hubs’ apple shake wasn’t my fave, it was a little chunky. My lemonade was yummy, with small bits of ginger, but lemonade is forever ruined for me after the delicious lemonade at Salgado Alimentos.

The Bottom Line

Buenos Aires Verde, Gorriti 5657, Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires, Mon to Sat, 9-late. No credit cards. 2 peso cover pp.

At 112 pesos ($26) for two, the meal was an ok value. The food was tasty, the drinks were ok, the 2 peso cubierto (cover) was just annoying. 2 pesos? Really? At it to my meal. Next time (and if we were here for longer, we would return) we would split a water, which would bring it down to about 80 pesos ($19).

March 23, 2012 0 comments Read More