As usual, we are all over the map, for both location (not really, all but one are in Palermo this time) and cuisine. Let’s start with the small stuff, the nibble marks….

 

One of quite a few revisits to Big Sur, Cerviño 3596 in Palermo, which I’ve reviewed in the past for their excellent burgers – it took them awhile to get their rhythm down, but now that they have, they’re pretty much doing everything right. This visit was the first time I’d tried their much touted fried chicken sandwich. It may not exactly fit into my fried chicken search, but then, I included things like Spicy Szechuan Peppercorn Chicken in my purview, so why not. Besides, this is a spectacular fried chicken sandwich – easily the best one I’ve had here in town. [Closed during the pandemic]

So, the Big Sur, which is the name of the sandwich, as well as the place (interesting that given their focus on burgers, the eponymous sandwich is the fried chicken one). Crispy, crispy batter, juicy chicken, simple but very good toppings, and you can load it up with pickled jalapeños from a big bowl up at the counter, along with their spicy mayo. Seriously, this is the fried chicken sandwich to beat. On its own, I think it’s 110 pesos, with fries and a drink, 180. A bargain!

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A very good burger from HJ Burger & Griddle, Aráoz 2403, Palermo. Nice and plump, and while cooked more to medium than the requested rare, still juicy, and well seasoned. Great toppings – crisp bacon, a properly cooked egg, pickles, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and squirts of ketchup and mayo. Excellent bun that stayed solid throughout. The fries quite good as well, though unsalted from the fryer – so when you salt them at the table, the salt doesn’t hold as well. A trio of housemade condiments to complement the burger and fries – a rocking good hot sauce, a very good corn puree, and a good, but odd choice, of tartare sauce, not a very common accompaniment for either burger or fries. The burgers are available with 1, 2, or 3 patties, and you can go for one of the quintet of existing combos, or, there’s a menu of toppings and you can build your own. For a single patty version, depending on toppings, you’re looking at anywhere from 160 to about 260 pesos, with fries.

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Excellent, excellent gelato at Helados Ladobueno (a.k.a. Nanuk Palermo), Julián Álvarez 2533 in Palermo (and two other locations, in Belgrano and Caballito). A trio – chocolate and candied orange peel (second best only to the same flavor at Scannapieco), one of the better coffee gelatos I’ve had in town, laced with cognac, and, the star of bowl – cinnamon gelato. Not a flavor I’ve seen elsewhere here in town and absolutely delicious!

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On to our “bigger” reviews. I’ve been hearing, on and off, about Santos Manjares, Paraguay 938, in Centro for a few months now. The general consensus seems to be: great service, very good steaks, reasonably priced, and very, very touristy. I’d second all of those descriptions. Friendly, helpful service, all the waitresses seem to speak some level of English, which was clearly necessary, as besides myself, as the place filled up over lunch hour (and it was filled by the time I finished), with the exception of myself and two young tourists from Brazil, every other table was English speaking tourists. Every other table.

Good salchicha parrillada, smoked sausage, albeit a little salty; and the same with the provoleta líquido – too much salt for my tastes. I’m also less a fan of the líquido style of provoleta than one that holds together – this was sort of gooey soup.

The social media consensus seemed to be that the bife de chorizo, essentially a boneless porterhouse, is the way to go. It looks great, and I like that they had the option of one of my favorite salads here, arugula and parmesan.

And, it was cooked right, a perfect rare steak. Tasty too. A bit heavy on the fat cap – that really needs to be trimmed more, especially for a steak being cooked rare, as it’s basically all uncooked fat.

Overall, very good steak, good appetizers, and yes, reasonably priced – for those three plates, plus bottled water, a glass of wine, and tip, the whole bill came in at 676 pesos, or just over $17 (and, yay, one of the few places around that lets you add the tip to the bill when you’re paying by credit card, a big plus, probably especially for all those tourists who aren’t used to having to pay the tip separately in cash) – rather inexpensive for the quality. And yeah, very, very tourist-oriented.

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Say hello to Hattori Hanzo, 16th century samurai, a.k.a., Demon Hanzo.

Now, say hello to Hattori Hanzo Asian Craft, Gorriti 3824, Palermo, a relatively new bar offering up sushi and Japanese… tapas… for lack of a better term (there’s probably a Japanese term, I just don’t know it). There’s nothing particularly reminiscent of samurais to be seen here – the focus seems more on geishas and the yakuza, neither of which really relate. But it’s got a cool vibe, the staff are friendly, and the menu sounds interesting. [Closed in late 2019, replaced by a beer bar called Abraham]

A Katana, which I suppose relates to samurai, as their sword, is a tasty little cocktail of gin, lemon, bitters, tonic, and Aperol. The other cocktails have less connection to the world of the samurai with names like Yakuza Grand Leader, Kill Bill, and Japanese Vengeance. In fact, those are the only four specialty cocktails, the rest of the drinks menu is more classic, with a couple of those offering versions with sake subbing in for vodka. A little pricey at 190 pesos, but not terribly – more in comparison to the rest of the menu, which is relatively inexpensive for this type of bar.

The one unfortunately part of the menu is the sushi list, unless you’re a local. Because with the exception of nigiri, like these whitefish or salmon, every bit of the rest of the sushi menu consists of rolls with cream cheese. I even asked about getting one without and was told that’s just the way they’re made – “just like traditional Japanese sushi”. Ummm… no. The fish is fresh, the rice is well made, and the 150 pesos price is very reasonable for six nigiri.

From their bar menu (which they title as principales, or main courses), okonomiyaki on the left – classic pancake, filled with vegetables, bacon (okay, not traditional), and bonito flakes, and drizzled with tonkatsu sauce – served up cut into wedges. Easily the best okonomiyaki I’ve had here, but then, I’ve only had two others in town – still, really good and as good as I’ve had in many other places back in the States. On the right, flavorful prawn and chicken dumplings. Nicely seasoned, just undercooked – the wrappers were still chewy – another minute, maybe two in the steamer and they’d have been truly delightful. Respectively, 220 and 170 pesos, also quite reasonable.

All told, a nice evening out, tasty food, good cocktail, decent price, nice place. I’ll happily return for more down the line.