“The Bersaglieri (marksmen) are a speciality of the infantry corps of the Italian Army. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on June 18, 1836 to serve in the Army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, later to become the Royal Italian Army. They have always been a high-mobility light infantry unit, and can still be recognized by the distinctive wide brimmed hat that they wear (only in dress uniform in modern times), decorated with black capercaillie (wood grouse) feathers. The feathers are usually applied to their combat helmets. Another distinctive trait of the Bersaglieri is the fast jog pace they keep on parades, instead of marching.” – excerpted from Wikipedia
For the second time this year, the Roving Ravenous Horde trouped out to the first town to the south of Buenos Aires, Piñeyro. The last time we dove into mounds of seafood at Félix Clásico for our 18th outing. Now on our 49th trek into the gastronomic wilderness, we headed to Il Bersagliere, Av. Pres. Hipólito Yrigoyen 2017. An easy trek on the #37 bus, as last time. We neither needed to march nor jog.
On a busy industrial avenue, there’s a small triangular point of land, right around the corner from the bus stop. On the two sides of the triangular building the sidewalks are trellised with vines, a sight so out of character for the surrounding area that we had to stop and take pictures.
Scouting our way into the edifice, we found ourselves in a lovely three story dining room – beautifully decorated, edging on the formal, though none of the customers who came in while we were there were dressed other than casually.
There’s a large wine cellar on the lower level with a huge dining table that would make for a very cool group dinner. With only three of us, we were shown to a table on the main level.
The menu covers a range of Italian regional styles, from north to south – a little bit of everything, designed to offer something to a wide variety of tastes. It’s expensive. Surprisingly expensive given the neighborhood. But we kind of found that at Félix too. Somewhere nearby there must be a reasonably wealthy community and/or corporate or exhibition facilities.
This didn’t bode well as a caprese salad. Given that the menu offers bocconcini of fresh mozzarella and fresh burrata, along with a 380 peso price tag, we had figured on this being a much more classic caprese with fresh mozzarella di búfalo and sliced tomatoes, etc. Instead, it’s cubes of cheap industrial mozzarella for pizzas, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and some julienned basil. Our waiter, at the least, dressed and served the salad.
Likewise, though tasty, three thin slices of eggplant with a layer of the same pizza cheese between two of them and a little grated parmesan atop, at a 235 peso pricetag, didn’t wow us.
On the other hand, albeit pricey at 570 pesos, a half dozen scallop shells filled with bay scallops, prawns, and bacon and gratineed, were absolutely delicious. Probably the best thing we had on the table throughout lunch.
Our main course round – one of our number making a vague attempt at staying on a keto diet, ordered up the most keto friendly dish he could find – grilled salmon with a green salad on the side. The salmon a trifle overcooked, but not dried out. 580 pesos….
Quite good rigatoni with a lamb ragú. The pasta a shade overcooked as well, missing that toothsome al dente quality. The sauce, a reprise of the tomato sauce from the eggplant, but with lamb added. 390 pesos.
And also, a very good lasagna, packed with ricotta, prosciutto, and ground beef. An unusual presentation with so much sauce that the lasagna was nearly floating in it – basically the same tomato sauce blended with a bit of bechamel for creaminess. 390 pesos.
Overall – love the space, though the location is odd. Great service. They have a store downstairs too, and I ended up buying a ridiculously good pannetone to be saved for our Xmas Eve dinner with friends. Expensive. All the above, plus three waters, a bottle of wine (nope, wait, I’m looking over the bill, he forgot to charge us for it, 660 pesos, damn… contacted them and they told me not to concern myself, if we ever came back, feel free to remind them then if I wanted to, or accept it as a gift), three coffees, and three cubierto charges (75 pesos each), plus tip, rang us in at 3600 pesos, roughly $95 right now. Not expensive in the world scheme of things for all that, but for an industrial suburb of Buenos Aires, it’s up there. I’d go there for a nice night out if I was living in the area, though with so many good Italian spots here in the city, I doubt I’d make the trip again.
