Buenos Aires – When I was departing New York back in January from my brief visit, my friend Frank handed me a few books he thought I’d enjoy. We do that. I left him one that I hadn’t. But then, that was all I had with me. I’ve been reading Abroad, by Paul Fussell, on and off since, not that it’s a long book, it’s more that it’s an odd book, and I had lots of other things going on. In the end though, it was a completely enjoyable and fascinating book. Mr. Fussell takes a look back at literary travel writing – in particular during the “golden age” of travel, between the two world wars. It’s sort of partly literary review and partly a bit of a travel book itself. I’m not going to say it’s action packed, but it definitely evokes some wonderful images of the world of travel via rail and ship and foot during that era. And if nothing else, I learned that the entire concept of passports and visas, is a very recent, 20th century invention of the British – in fact, the very first passports were issued only 91 years ago in 1915! Before then, one just sort of went where one wanted, often with little more than luggage and a little cash or a letter of credit. Think about that the next time you’re in a two hour long line at customs!
Then we went back home and watched the re-broadcast of the concert on local television so that we could actually see and hear her!
Only a part of the menu is “authentically” Cuban, maybe a quarter. But the rest of it is definitely Cariibbean and/or Cuban influenced. We started with a plate of guacamole, a glistening, parrot green, chunky mound of absolutely fresh avocado, seasoned perfectly, and topped with an array of plantain chips for dipping. A small salad on the side added a little extra interest. We also nearly inhaled the tower of pristinely fresh shrimp ceviche, still tasting briny from the sea, dressed in a light citrus, herb, and vegetable mixture, and topped with radish sprouts. Quite happy, we continued on to a plate of ropa vieja, a huge scoop of shredded pork, stewed in a mildly spicy tomato sauce, heaped atop a large plate of white rice and a “potage” of black beans. On the other plate, masitas de puerco con moros y cristianos – cubes of pork sauteed in garlic, onion, orange juice, and spices; alongside a large hill of a black bean, rice, and chili mixture. A bottle of locally bottled, but quite good tabasco and vinegar hot sauce was brought to the table and a dash or two added just the right amount of heat. We finished off with a creamy rice pudding with a vanilla brulee top, and a cup of the most sublime vanilla custard, swirled with caramel and topped with cinnamon, that I think I’ve ever had.
Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Yes. It’s a shame that the place was so empty, and I hope it’s not that way regularly – literally while we were there only two other people came in, and they only shared a quick snack and a couple of drinks and left. The place seats probably 200 people. If this is normal for them, go before it closes!
Returned to this place another time and was less impressed. And, we ordered the same two main courses – neither of which was as good as the first time, though still decent. We also ordered their degustacion of appetizers – which turned out not to be a selection of their appetizers for the most part, but a series of small bowls of mostly the guarniciones for the main courses – fried plantains, fried bananas, potato chips, batata chips, white rice, black beans, rice & beans mixed, guacamole. There were two actual appetizers included – the paté de ave which was decent, and the shrimp ceviche that we’d liked so much the first time, this time completely flavorless, unseasoned, and with shrimp that were probably thawed, frozen baby shrimp. This time, too, the hot sauce was standard brand Tabasco.
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