Enrique Rodríguez Larreta, Uruguayan by birth, but raised in Argentina. A famed author, teacher of medieval history, politician, and art collector. Married into the politically powerful Anchorena family. Important enough to be buried in Recoleta Cemetery. He was nominated for ten Nobel Prizes in literature, and though he didn’t win one of those, he did win the coveted Miguel de Cervantes award for Latin American literature. His name, these days, graces the museum of Spanish art on Juramento in Belgrano. His name also graces a restaurant around the corner from the museum, and it was the site of the Roving Ravenous Horde’s 64th outing.
Restaurante Larreta, Mendoza 2369, Belgrano – Old school Argentine spot, with all the classics on their menu. White tablecloths, waiters who’ve been there since Argentina was founded…. Their claim to fame is their selection of a dozen different supremas, or chicken milanesas – breaded and fried chicken breasts, with various creative toppings.
Their version of the Suprema Maryland, a dish I’ve waxed on about in the past. First off, the suprema itself, superb. A large, whole chicken breast, with the wing drumette still attached. Juicy, well seasoned, and with a beautiful crunchy breadcrumbed exterior. The classic fried banana is done just as well, the whole thing draped with a thick slab of caramelized bacon, and then accompanied with a generous portion of creamed corn (a touch sweeter than I prefer, but delicious), and crispy, thin, shoestring potatoes.
The Mon-Cris, French for “my cries”, or is it? The Horde member who ordered this suprema felt there might be a relation to the classic monte cristo sandwich, though given the toppings of palm hearts, asparagus, ham, and mushrooms, that seems a long stretch to a turkey and swiss sandwich on french toast. But, why would it be named “my cries”? Then again, the naming of most of their supremas doesn’t seem to relate much to what they’re topped with – the Alaska is topped with bechamel and pickled onions, and served with a side of creamed corn; the Singapur has a medley of pineapple, pear, peach, plum, cherry, and ham – basically fruit cocktail plus pork. Regardless, another delicious one. Our waiter did point out that normally this one is served with a chicken breast that’s not breaded, but offered it either way – we opted to go for the breading.
And, the eponymous Larreta, with peas, ham, white asparagus, palm hearts, and hollandaise sauce, plus little side wedges of pineapple and peach. Bizarrely, with the hollandaise sauce atop, it comes over a pool of chicken gravy. More bizarrely, the combination works. Oh, and both this and the above come with noisette potatoes rather than shoestring fries. This one, by the way, is the one that alerted me to the restaurant – in an article I ran across online that talked about the places to eat the most “exotic” milanesas in the city.
There’s always someone at our Horde lunches to buck the trends. But hey, we get to see more of the menu that way. Our fourth ordered veal scallops with basically the same combo of toppings as the Mon-Cris above. It just had more gravy and less of both meat and topping.
The prices for all the main courses run in the mid-300 peso range, add in waters/soft drinks, and a 70 peso apiece cubierto charge, and basically it rounds out to 500 pesos each for lunch, plus tip – $13. I’d go back and try more. I’d say these are some of the better supremas I’ve had in town.
