After my write-up of Don Ignacio, I’ve had milanesas on the brain… and, more to the point, in my mouth… and stomach…. it is practically the national icon casual dish of this country, and as I mentioned in that post, something locals grow up with often eating multiple times a week. The government, years ago, even declared the milanesa napolitana as part of the local culinary heritage. Years ago I even had a minor kerfuffle over a picture I took of one. So, I went on a brief tear here in Recoleta over the last three weeks….
Anastasia, Ayacucho 1563, Recoleta – I mentioned this little pizzeria/café many moons ago when I was looking around at the spate of relatively new pastry cafes in the area. Although it’s close by, it’s just not one of those spots that calls attention to itself, and I usually walk by without a thought. When I was looking for good ones in our neighborhood, this spot popped up repeatedly online for being one of the better milanesa napolitanas. And, it’s a very, very good one. Well made, well seasoned, huge portion, the sauce nice and zesty, plenty of ham and cheese, a good sized portion of whichever side dish you choose (I went with the mixed potato-squash mash), and an okay focaccia on the side (not needed with the milanesa, but I saved it for breakfast the next morning). I can’t find the receipt, but I recall it was an even 300 pesos, or maybe just a shade over. [Closed during the 2020 pandemic]
Daisy Duke Beer House Café, Azcuénaga 1872, Recoleta – I mentioned this spot in Bite Marks #56, back in February 2018. It was the latest in new craft beer spots opening here in the ‘hood. It has improved steadily since then, with a much larger selection of beers (after all, it was opening week back then, but, you’d have thought they’d want to open with a splash, full on), and a far more extensive menu, with sandwiches, burgers, main courses… hell, they even have a chef’s name listed on the signboard now. It’s also become a great spot for those who want to grab a beer during the day, because unlike most of the other spots around, it’s open from mid-morning until 4pm, and then again at 6pm until 1.30am, every day but Sunday. [Closed during the 2020 pandemic]
I hadn’t tried their milanesa, but since we’re on a roll…. The lunch special one day recently was the milanesa napolitana, running a mere 200 pesos… but I’m not sure why that made it the special, since that’s its regular price, and it didn’t include anything extra, like a beverage. I have to say this is probably the smallest milanesa I’ve ever had, basically just a thin steak of the type you might normally get here on a sandwich, and they go with the bare minimum to make it a “napolitana”, of just pizza sauce and cheese – no extras. It’s decent, but that’s about it. I’d have rather had the sauce and cheese on a pizza base and added some other toppings. Good beer.
La Esquina de Aníbal Troilo, Paraguay 1500, Recoleta – One of those, “oh, I’ve walked past this place a zillion times, why not give it a try?” moments. Anibal Troilo was a tango musician, band leader, and bandaleon player, particularly famous in the 40s and 50s. This place is adorned with photos of he and his band, and other tango musicians. You’d think that would extend to the music being played in the background – actually there wasn’t really background music, just some sort of more modern musical sounds emanating from the kitchen. [Closed]
An okay ground beef empanada – it could have used a touch more seasoning, but it was fine. And, an acceptable if nothing more than average milanesa napolitana, with slices of ham, some melted mozzarella, and what was probably tomato puree from a can. The ensalada rusa was a tad undercooked – the potatoes just a shade towards the too firm side. Meh. I’ve had better, I’ve had worse.
Locos por El Fútbol, Av. Las Heras 2101, Recoleta – This place has moved twice here in the neighborhood while we’ve been here – originally located in the old Village Recoleta shopping mall, then taking over the space vacated by Volf housewares – while a branch of Club de la Milanesa took over the current spot (which formerly had been an absolutely awful restaurant called Los Porteños) – and then one day those two just simply closed up and swapped, all in the course of a day or so, with the Club taking over the Volf spot, and Locos where it is now. Made/makes me wonder if there’s an ownership connection. Locos is the only Argentine outpost of a Bogotá, Colombia franchise chain of inexpensive bars with lots of TVs dedicated to fútbol, or soccer.
Although milanesas seem to be a bit of an afterthought on a menu laden with sandwiches, burgers, and small pizzas, I thought I’d give one a try. The options were beef or chicken, and napolitana or fugazzeta. Feeling a bit overloaded with the former, I thought I’d try the latter. First, though, one of their lamb empanadas – which was unfortunately a) nearly burnt, and b) filled with nothing but ground lamb. Literally, nothing but. I don’t even think there was salt mixed in. The menu listed $160 for 3 of them, I asked if it was possible to get just one, the guy running the place said yes, and then charged me just 30 pesos for one. Okay….
The milanesa fared only slightly better – it, too, was overcooked, though not to the burnt point, it was rather greasy, it was chewy, and it was laden with melted cheese and just barely cooked onions, and then more green onions atop. I would note that the french fries were excellent, and worth having on their own. 250 pesos for the milanesa. Either way, I probably wouldn’t order either again. Maybe the sandwiches, which they’re known for, would have been a better option.
One of my regular readers, after reading the Don Ignacio review, put forth that his favorite spot for a milanesa napolitana was Restaurante Norte, Arenales 2600, a spot I noted about six months ago in Bite Marks #62 for its tortilla española. He regularly sends me suggestions and questions about one place or another – he’s the one who tipped me off to the imminent openings of Namu, the new Korean spot in Palermo, and Bronx Pizza here in Recoleta (the less about said, the better, as it turns out). So given my little mini quest, it seemed like a good spot to cap off this post.
It’s huge. As big as the ones at Don Ignacio, maybe even bigger. And it’s very good. But not at “king” level – as they saying goes, it ain’t even on the same playing field. It’s nice and juicy, it’s got a decent crust, it’s kind of drowned in way too much sauce and cheese, it’s almost floating on tomato sauce. And I’d very happily eat it again. Or what I could of it. I ate about 2/3 and brought the rest home. 250 pesos.
